Situated in the southern resort of Tozeur, the park, which is open seven days a week, recalls 3,000 years of Tunisian history. "To this day, the PMD320s continue to function impeccably over an eight-hour cycle, operating until midnight on a daily basis," says M N Chelli, from Backstage Technology - a company created with the visitor attraction's owner Chérait Jallel back in 2002 to take care of all the Chérait Group's technical requirements.
But times have moved forward and the professional playback device has now evolved into the PMD325. In addition to playing conventional CDs it will handle CD-R and CD-RW discs, as well as MP3 files - and with RS-232 serial port it will accept control signals from third-party devices. And so when Chérait contacted Backstage Technology about a new animation park he was developing in Tozeur, Chelli had little hesitation in recommending the PMD325. Via its RS232 protocol it will be triggered by an Alcorn McBride V16+ (16 x 16) Show Controller - managing the switch-on/switch-off protocols and enabling the PMD325s to operate in real time. It will also lock to SMPTE time code and handle 512 channels of DMX lighting.
Named Chak-Wak, the new geological and prehistoric theme park, situated on five hectares, will recall the history of man's evolution via 25 scenes, featuring life-size characters and animals depicting various civilizations. According to Chelli: "This is an exceptional project in view of the beautiful environment in which it is being constructed."
All the equipment was supplied by EDEVIG (Echo et Vision & Design Electronic), Marantz's Tunisian distributor, which hold a 25% stake in Backstage. They are also in charge of the overall execution of the Chak-Wak project.
(Lee Baldock)
