In December Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened the amazing new Beeld en Geluid building and “Media Experience” in Hilversum. Electrosonic was a member of the team that made it happen. 

For many people Hilversum is a station name on the radio dial, but it is also the major centre of broadcast media production in Holland. Its Media Park is now home to the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid, generally shortened to “Beeld en Geluid”).

Beeld en Geluid looks after 70% of the Dutch Audio-Visual heritage, comprising around 700,000 hours of material dating from the 19th century. Its striking new building contains the huge archive in an 18m (60ft) deep underground vault, while above ground there are offices, research facilities and public areas housed in a huge cube decorated with striking images.

The general public is given access to the Institute’s resources through an exciting exhibition, the Beeld en Geluid Media Experience. Expected to attract 150,000 visitors a year, the Experience got off to a great start with 60,000 visitors in its first three months.

The Experience exhibition is divided into 15 themed areas which between them give visitors access to no less than 10,000 hours of archived images and sounds. As they enter the exhibition visitors purchase an interactive ring (a ring fitted with an RF tag) which they first use to “log in”. The log-in stations are intuitive to use, and include a camera. Subsequently the ring is used to activate all the principal interactive exhibits, and the system keeps a record of the individual choices made. When the visitor gets home he or she can review their entire tour of the Experience over the Internet.

The themed areas present material from the archives in an entertaining way. “Feel like a star” not only introduces stars from past programmes, but also demonstrates formats, formulas and programme genres. Best of all it allows visitors to appear in front of the cameras and be a star for 15 seconds!

More seriously “Power of the media” shows how the relationship between politics and the media has developed over the decades, and “The world as a village” explores the influence of media developments on daily life. “This is the news” emphasizes the size of the news industry, and includes interactive “green screen” exhibits where visitors can become newsreaders (and see themselves later at home, via the internet)

Every hour, on the hour, the lights in the main exhibition area dim down, and all the main interactive stations display a message announcing that the “Media Panorama” show is about to begin. This is presented on what must be the longest motorized roll down screen in the world at 42m × 4m (138ft × 13ft). In fact three different shows are shown in rotation, and the overall effect is spectacular.
 
 The Team

Client, concept, and direction  Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid
Architect                             Neutelings Riedijk Architecten
Façade design                      Studio Jaap Drupsteen
Exhibition design and construction Making a Scene, a consortium of:
                                         Hypsos Leisure, Northern Light and Swynk
Lighting Arup Lighting,            Lichtpunt
Electromechanical                  Van Krieken Design & Engineering
Graphics                              Captain Video
Computer interactive software  Kiss the Frog
AV Facilities and media production Beeld en Geluid, eStation,
     Metropolisfilm, Ciris, NOB Crossmedia,
     CCCP, Tungsten, Medialandscape
AV Systems integration           Electrosonic

The Technology and Electrosonic’s role.

The Audio-Visual system behind Beeld en Geluid was engineered and installed by Electrosonic under sub contract to the Making a Scene consortium. 42 two metre high racks of equipment were factory built at Electrosonic’s Dartford facility and installed in four separate control rooms on site.

The great majority of exhibits are computer driven and the exhibition uses no less than 180 computers (not to mention 180 monitors, 20 projectors, 140 RF tag readers, 300 loudspeakers 11 video cameras and 25 webcams).

Some exhibits use simple video replay, and these are sourced from 13 Blade single channel servers, and one Electrosonic MS9304 four-channel video player (used where synchronized replay is required). The Media Panorama show uses six Electrosonic MS9200 genlocked High Definition players both as sources and to provide the image edge blending. The show uses Christie DS+5K projectors.

For housekeeping purposes an AMX control system provides overall start-up and shut-down control. Because of the amount of equipment involved this takes several minutes, both to ensure correct procedures on computers and projectors, and to ensure sequenced power switching to eliminate surges.

A variety of audio transducers are used, including car loudspeakers, compact hi-fi speakers, through-glass transducers and conventional headphones. Where school-childproof handsets are required, AVC-Electrosonic heavy duty handsets are installed.
 
About Electrosonic  Founded in 1964, Electrosonic has always been among the first to apply new technology creating state-of-the-art solutions to meet the challenges of the professional audio visual and digital media markets. Today, Electrosonic combines design with high-quality product, engineering and integration for corporate applications, control rooms, broadcast, advanced imaging, museums and exhibitions, digital signage, theme parks and visitor attractions.

Electrosonic operates across the globe with offices in Dartford, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Stockholm, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York, and Orlando.

For further information, please contact:

Peter Gumm 
Marketing Manager EMEA, Electrosonic       
Tel: 01322 282236
EM: peter.gumm@electrosonic-uk.com     
       
Web: www.electronsonic.com

All photographs are © Beeld en Geluid.