Retail Fashion Giant 'Express' Sets Up High-Tech Conferencing System at Corporate Headquarters

RETAIL FASHION GIANT 'EXPRESS' SETS UP HIGH-TECH CONFERENCING SYSTEM AT CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

—Yamaha 03D Scene Settings Provide Seamless Switches Between Meetings—

COLUMBUS, OH (September 22, 2000)—While pro-audio professionals set their sights on successfully completing another AES convention, the fashion industry turns its attention to the Spring 2001 season.

Multi-purpose conference room installed by Columbus (OH)-based Live Technologies for retail giant The Limited Inc.'s Express Division.

The Express Division of The Limited Inc. recently conducted a meeting at its headquarters in Columbus, OH, showcasing next year's clothing lines. With an elaborate conference room at its center, a typical meeting here will draw 100-plus attendees. To accommodate such gatherings, the retailer commissioned install/rental company Live Technologies, Inc., also of Columbus, OH, to design and install a conferencing system that had the ability to operate in a variety of modes.

"They approached us to set up a conference-room system in a noisy environment," said David Mead, CEO and a chief designer, Live Technologies. "The facility has an exposed ceiling, and it's near an HVAC facility. Residual background noise was about 82 dB. Some changes were made to help the room acoustically." Located at the conference room's center is an impressive table that measures, according to Mead, approximately 40 x 16 feet. "People couldn't hear one another around the table."

A look at the Express Division's install reveals a Yamaha 03D digital mixer at the center. "After we had completed the install, the client determined the need for the conference room to have theater-style set up for training sessions as well," Mead noted. "The flexibility of the Yamaha 03D, and our longstanding relationship with the client, allowed us to adapt the system to their wishes." Mick Giere, Nathan Moore and Any Elble installed the system on behalf of Live Technologies.

The equipment rack, featuring the Yamaha 03D. The scene memory capability of the 03D console became a key ingredient needed in order to provide the multi-application system.

Speakers include Bose model 25 small stereo speakers, which are divided into eight groups and utilize the 03D's outputs (excluding the stereo master, which is used for video feeds). Other system components include QSC CX254 amplifiers, Crown PCC170SW microphones (podium/foot mics), Electro-Voice MS3000C wireless systems, a Yamaha MLA7 eight-channel mic preamp and Rane ME15B two-channel, 2/3-octave equalizers.

To accommodate the multiple microphones in use, a CD8ADS card was installed into the 03D to provide an additional eight line inputs, bringing the total up to 24. While the 03D offers digital operation, all inputs and outputs are run in the analog domain, which, stated Mead, was the ideal arrangement for this speech-oriented install. The scene memory capability of the console became a key ingredient needed in order to provide the multi-application system that Express sought.

As a result, there are three modes of operation used for Express meetings and presentations; each with its own programmed scene memory on the Yamaha mixer. A memory pre-set stores the Boardroom setup—used often during the week for the presentation of company financials and production and marketing plans. In this scene, the 16 Crown microphones and two EV wireless systems are controlled. "The 16 mics all have set levels and are gated," Mead explained. "All the gates are closed unless someone speaks; this is what triggers the mics," he continued. "The two EV mics are left open at all times."

In the Boardroom setup, each of the 16 Crown mics have designated speakers with six speaker systems being controlled in the pre-set scene memory. "The 03D memory keys come in great here," Mead said. "There is one key, an 'off' button, which is programmed to default to 0 levels in the case of technical difficulties. The other three keys represent the scene memories, which are triggered by the push of a button." A second memory pre-set is programmed to operate the Classroom setup, used three times a year to address the fall, spring and summer fashion seasons. The Classroom scene memory controls all eight of the speaker systems.

"The orientation of the room [in Classroom mode] is toward the focal point, which is the display area of the store, not the huge conference table," Mead explained. "The 16 Crown mics are set up on classroom tables in rows."

A third memory pre-set is reserved for Theater-style operation, which is called upon twice a month for management meetings of 100-plus attendees. Here, six wireless EV systems—lavalier and handheld—are controlled.

"The trick with this system, and a reason why the Yamaha 03D digital mixer came to mind," Mead said, "is that all the Crown mics are on during conference-room situations. The gates on the 03D allow me to have the mics on all at once." For added protection, Mead reports that a Yamaha MDF3 (MIDI Data Filer) is used to store all the scene-memory settings for retrieval in the event that the programs are erased.

The Express conferencing system has been in operation for nine months with a similar-type system being mapped out for a second Limited Group building.

For more information on the Yamaha 03D, visit Yamaha at AES 2000, Los Angeles Convention Center, Booth 601; write Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Commercial Audio, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail info@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/proaudio on the Web.

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