Artistic Controls Blog

Most of the houses or offices will have at least one jack for telephone line and one jack for network line.  How about having one more jack in the house for fibre optics cable to hook up to high speed broadband. Fibre optics has been widely used in industrial and AV system for faster signal loss free data transmission. If this technology is installed in every house you can plug in to watch high definition movie or do life-like video conference instead of just voice.

While the existing wall jacks will remain in place the new fibre optic link will open up a world of offerings via new high speed broadband. Each fibre optics cable no thicker than a piece of thread has the capacity to deliver services such as phone calls, high-definition TV programme and internet access.

So far for the high-definition TV programme only Astro Malaysia has launched the new Sattelite Transmission B yond offering pay services to watch HD content.

Fibre optic cable which uses light signals to transmit data can transfer up to 1000Mbps (1Gbps) whereas copper cable which uses electrical pulses to transmit data can transfer maximun up to 100Mbps. Currently TM Streamyx using copper telephone line offer up to 4Mbps packages.

Whether it can be implemented in Malaysia is remain unknown but Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan has started installing fibre optics in the housing area.

The 5 club operators in Jalan P. Ramlee are allow to have their live bands back again this week end by the local authority. The Beach Club, Thai Club, Aloha, Peppy Garden and Rum Jungle will have their live music back provided they do not play their music too loud.

Earlier on the 1st January 2010 the local authority decided to revoke their entertainment licenses on New Year’s Day after numerous warnings by the DBKL last year to lower the volume of the music. This is because the resident staying around the area complaining about the loud music.

Quiet night at the Beach Club - No Live Bands

During this time there were no live bands play in this area and you can only listen to piped in music when you step inside. Too quiet for Jalan P Ramlee and the scene were rather dead and hollow.  Jalan P. Ramlee is known for its vibrant music and nightlife with an average 5000 visitors mostly foreigners thronging the clubs during the weekends.

“Club owners must make an effort to tone down the volume and ensure the noise threshold is maintained at 65 decibels (dB) or less during the evening and at 55 dB during the day” said the authority. The permitted level for Jalan P. Ramlee is 60 decibels.

I wonder how they are going to measure the sound pressure level (SPL). Is it just outside the club or along the Jalan P Ramlee. Since the club is the open air concept they have to really tone down the loudness inside the club to 65 – 68db in order to have 65 db on the outside.

The last time I was there last year in one of the clubs I think the average sound pressure level (SPLs) inside the club was around 95 dB to 110 dB. To have 65 dB is like walking in a department stores or talking in a noisy office environments. I am not sure this time. I will check out the clubs in one of this day.

Unless they install soundproof devices inside the club to absorb the loudness they cannot really increase the music level.

According to Ronnie Chong who owns Poppy, Beach Club and Rum Jungle said he was happy with decision and would stick to the rules. We as light and sound company and the sound industry in general were happy with this decision also. Let the music play on.

Recently Astro Malaysia has launched Astro B.yond which is HDTV broadcast. Many people still do not know the meaning of HDTV and asking if it is necessary to change to Astro B.yond and what is needed to ready enjoy it.

What is HDTV?

HDTV stands for High Definition TV.  Watching HDTV is about watching high-resolution picture quality. Current Astro broadcasts are in standard-definition TV (SDTV), which has about 400 visible lines of resolution. HDTV, on the other hand, offers up to 1,080 lines of resolution, which has approximately five times more detail than SD.

HDTV format such as 1080p has more pixels than conventional SDTV - PAL format

If you refer to the picture above, it is akin to having two to four times the number of pixels to render the same image, which means that HDTV provides far more detailed images than SDTV.

There are currently two main HDTV resolution formats: 720p and 1080i. The numbers refer to the number of lines or horizontal resolution on the screen, while the letter suffixes refer to “interlaced” and “progressive” scanning of the picture. The native resolution for a 720p video source is 1,280 x 720 pixels and for 1080i, it is 1,920 x 1080 pixels.

There is also another standard called 1080p which is called True HDTV. The 1080p format is mainly used in Bluray discs and HD DVD. Normal video DVD is only 480p resolution (720 x 480 pixels).

In an interlaced picture, only half the picture resolution is displayed at any one time.

Because they interchange so rapidly, the eye perceives it as a whole picture.

With progressive scan, all the lines in the picture are displayed simultaneously, resulting in a clearer, more defined picture.

At the moment, HDTV content is hard to come by in Malaysia, although it has been available in Japan and the United States for some time (predominantly via TV broadcasts). Our only best bet will be on Astro B.yond HDTV broadcast.

Astro’s B.yond will primarily broadcast in 1080i, but if the source content is in 720p, broadcasts will be in the same resolution.

Unlike standard television, HDTV resolutions are typically in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, which makes it ideal for movies and today’s widescreen flat-panel TVs, most of which are HD compatible. Sound quality is also improved and, when available, is in full Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound.

What do you need to watch Astro B.yond?

You will need a widescreen HD television with a HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) input to properly display Astro’s B.yond HD programmes. HDMI is the new standard Interconnect for HD devices. Of course you need to subscribe to the new Astro B.yond programme. By paying RM20 extra per month you will receive new set-top box and smart card, a new outdoor dish.

Most widescreen flat-panel televisions sold in stores today will display HD picture, but take note of the actual display resolution of the set.

Those labeled as “HD ready” typically have a resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels, which is really only enough for 720p HD content. However if the programmes offers picture with up to 1,080 horizontal lines some of the detail will be lost as they will scale it down to 720p or less.

To view the picture in its full glory, you should get a “Full HD” unit. These have a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which can perfectly display all 1,080 lines of resolution.

Next, the dilemma would be whether to purchase a HD Ready Plasma TV or Full HD LCD TV? Plasma TV provide a high contrast ratio and pictures looks super crisp clear but it has lesser pixels whereas LCD TV at the same price can provide more pixels, but images do not look so vivid and the backlight make things worse.

At the moment, 1080p-compatible LCDs are few while 1080p plasmas are not officially available in the country yet but I can see they started to come on shore recently. An 42 in LCD TV Full HD Panel (1920 x 1080) cost around RM5,000 to RM8,000.

However, those with normal SD resolution TVs can still enjoy the benefits of the new B.yond service.

Connection can be made via the normal composite or component video connections, but there will be reduced resolution.

However, as the incoming picture is in HD, the picture quality will be much better than existing Astro broadcasts – and potentially better than DVD quality.

Are you ready for HDTV?

With the newly launched Astro B.yond, are you ready to change to HDTV? The main problem with HDTV is that almost everybody is perfectly happy with today’s SDTV broadcasts and DVD movies.

It’s because colour, contrast and movement are more easily appreciated by the human eye (and the brain). These are things which today’s TVs already do pretty well and also something which HDTV doesn’t improve on.

So unless you’re a HiFi nut, the differences between SD and HD are really only apparent on a big TV or a projector.

You need to but a 40 in or bigger HD TV in order to ready enjoy the HD content and if the TV size is lesser than that then you would see the different unless you sit too near.

And in scenes with a lot of movement (in action films, for example) the increase in resolution is all but invisible – since motion blurs out details.

But that’s not to say that HD is irrelevant – if you do have a big TV or a projector, the difference is rather amazing. Movie buffs will no doubt salivate at the added detail in the scenery, costumes and other textures (skin, hair, walls, etc) in their HD movies.

See also other related articles:
Astro TV Launched HDTV on Dec 11

Dec/Jan issues Systems Integration Asia Magazine

The new issue of System Integration Magazine December/January issue has arrive to my office last 2 weeks. I have no time to flip through untill now. Finally today some how I find some time to start reading it. And I like it. As a system integration company it will be good to update ourselves regular on the latest installation articles that happen is our region.

You should by visiting Systems Integration Asia Website for more details.

Zero 88 Jester ML24 with Operating Software 3.0

Zero 88 has released JesterML Operating Software version 3.0 for the Jester ML series and Jester TL for quite some time since December 2009. Release 3.0 adds MIDI Show Control functionality, support for Inverse channels, plus a number of other improvements.

Recently we have the chance to upload the release 3.0 software to one of Jester ML24 console before deliver to our customer. The old version was 2.3 and after upgraded we can really see different in the console.  The older version only show 3 lines of display in the LCD display and after installing the release 3.0 we can see more lines display which is helpful and other features like assign fixtures in setup mode uses MFKs button to select fixtures library. It is important to keep the Jester ML console up to date as often software is available as it has new features as well as critical update for the console.

How to upload new software?

To perform a software update on the jester ML, first download the file form the Zero 88 support website and unzip it to the root directory on a USB memory stock. The USB Memory Stick must contain the .JOS file and .JOH file (the help files).

Next boot the Jester ML with the memory stick in the USB port and hold down the left and right cursor buttons before turn ON the power to the console. The update will begin almost immediately (about after a few second depending to the memory stick size) and you can see the instruction appear on the LCD display.  The Upgrade Menu will appear on the LCD and the monitor screen if you plug in.

Follow the instruction process as shown and you will that it is quite easy to follow. After the update is complete you can remove the memory stick and the desk will load the new software.

The artist impression of the Penang International Convention Centre

I come to know from the STAR Online that The Penang State Government is planning to build a new 6000 sq meter Penang International Convention Centre (PICC) and target to complete by Dec 2010. This is great. The estimate cost is about RM50mil.

But some people already question over the need to build such a convention centre in Penang.

The proposed new convention centre location is going to be within the current Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa) compound.  According to the source the centre will be able to cater for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) market. It can contain 500 banquet tables for dinner, 3,000 tables for seminars or 300 exhibition stalls for exhibitions.

It will be good to see this proposed Penang Convention Centre have the go ahead as it will benefit the Penang community, the northern people and it can attract other international exhibition to come here.

It will be good for the light and sound company as well.

Sources from The Star On Line
Open tender for RM50mil Convention Centre
Centre of dispute: RM50mil PICC project questioned

Firework in KLCC 2010

Happy New Year 2010.

The year 2010 has come with high hope and anticipation from the people all around the world. They usher the year with cheers and fireworks and looking forward for a better year ahead.

Year 2009 has passed and as I looked back to the last year and ask myself what have I done for myself and the company.  Did I do enough? Or have I been wasting time unnecessarily. The answer I think was the year 2009 was a tough year and even though we have achieved many things in sales and projects but I didn’t do enough.

We have done a numbers of good light and sound projects like Ummo building in Pekan, DCA new building in Sepang, UPM new building in Serdang, UiTM Shah Alam and many smaller and preferred installation around Selangor and Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia is general. We set up a showroom for light and sound in Puchong, upgrade a few sales marketing and the website and secured a few projects for 2010.

Looking back the efforts that we put in just to achieve these result is too much. We have to spend many resources and it does not justify the outcome and we still have inefficient working method where we spend many hours just to get one task done. Spend more than 10 man hours just to get a simple sales proposal done is no good. Some time our technical team have to go to the site a few times just to solve a few problem. The reason given was not enough information given, parts is not enough and need to come to buy, contractor pull the wrong cable or worst still waiting for other people to come.

Of course some factor is due to external environment and we have no control in it. The efficient level of the local contractor is still on the average as there is no qualify people to do a certain job. The consultant and the project manager some time play a pushing game and we as the contractor have to undertake most of the blames in order to get moving.

Competition is still very stiff in the light and sound contracting work. Other supplier is trying to undercut or to bypass us by quoting directly to the client. We specify their product in and we hope with this effort we have the chance of winning the project. But these supplier quote directly to the client in order to earn higher profit.

Another external factor where we feel is not right is the contractor did not pay us promptly when work has been completed and done. The common answer is that they have not received payment from the owner and they expect us to wait. Even though they receive the payment but they delay paying us.

If we follow the same method of working attitude and business method for this year then they will definitely see the same result as last year and there will no improvement. I must do things differently this year in order to see a better result at the end of 2010.

This is what I will do for year 2010.

1)    To spend less hour in getting work done by improving the system around the office.

2)    To train more in house technician and technical team so that they can do faster installation and solve problem easily. This can only be done by sending them to more product training.

3)    Get more main products ourselves by becoming the distributor rather than just another product dealer.  This means increase our in house marketing and sales. We don’t want to rely so much on the third party product.

4)    Organized and update the sales and marketing catalogue/material in the server and get more drawing updated for quick proposal.

5)    Invest on the presentation software like the 3-D visualization. Your client will be impress with the presentation.

6)    On the personal matter I will spend less hours working especially in front of my computer and spend more time to myself and with family and friends. Will I achieve it? Let us see.

7)    Lastly, I will blog more.

That’s it. This will be my New Year resolution and do the things differently in this more challenging year 2010. What about you? Have you done enough last year and what about this year?

By Michael Liew