AV is boldly going where delicate electronic components fear to tread. Here are some of the products and integration techniques used to battle extreme locations.

High-performance audio and video began to migrate outdoors about 20 years ago, with venues like Denver’s now-long-demolished Mile High Stadium integrating distributed sound systems. The audio fidelity was a huge step forward when compared to the sound that came out of the metal paging horns these facilities had used in the decades prior. However, at Mile High and many other outdoor venues like it, there was definitely an oversight in regards to durability.

“I had contractors who would call me and tell me about the wooden cabinets they’d find in the scoreboards,” recalls John Wiggins, VP of new business development for Chester, PA-based Community Professional Loudspeakers. “They’d be full of worms and bugs, and they’d

The massive tornado that tore through Chapman, KS on June 11, 2008 was powerful enough to topple utility poles at the Chapman High School football field. While much of the facility was a total loss, all of its Community R-Series weather-resistant loudspeakers survived fully intact and operational.

disintegrate when you’d try to pick them up.”

Meanwhile, at a theme park that also upgraded to high-fidelity audio around that time, Wiggins recalls hearing about how bugs got into the loudspeakers and ate holes through the paper cones. “The parks started calling their loudspeakers ‘condos for critters,’” he quips.

These days the product offerings from AV manufacturers are a lot better prepared to deal with the elements. Community, for example, offers full lines of weather-resistant audio products that are designed for challenging outdoor applications ranging from theme parks to ocean cruise liners to ski resorts. The company’s R and WET series (short for weather environmental technology) feature speakers with UV- and corrosionresistant fiberglass enclosures that have a 15-year warranty, as well as perforated, three-layer protective grilles to keep out dust, moisture, insects, and other intruders. “We don’t think of a speaker and say it will only live in a nice, clean wonderful environment,” Wiggins notes.

Of course, there are price considerations for choosing all-weather AV products — they’re not cost-efficient for all applications. “A stainless steel (loudspeaker) grille is going to cost more than a regular steel grille,” concedes Rodger von Kries, vice president of Boston, MA-based Technomad, another manufacturer of all-weather loudspeakers, which operates under the motto “audio anywhere.”

But for the technology manager looking to build an AV system, the physical environment’s hospitality towards electronic devices is

Lifeguards at Fletcher Cove in San Diego County communicate with swimmers and surfers with the help of Community R.5-HP loudspeakers. Designed with corrosion-resistant fiberglass cases and triple-mesh screens, these speakers are designed to last while immersed in a highly corrosive marine environment. Photo courtesy of Community Loudspeakers.

often as an important consideration as the display and the acoustical environment.

The threats can assume many different forms — not just the elements, but also theft and vandalism, as well as other natural calamities, such as earthquakes. And knowledge of products made to account for these challenges, as well as some of the systems engineering and integration techniques useful in offsetting them, is useful.

“The set of rules you apply outdoors is different than doing a retail store in a mall,” says Brian Edwards, president and CEO of El Segundo, CA-based Edwards Technologies, the AV integration shop for Carlsbad, CA theme park Legoland and many other outdoor venues. “You have to know that the environment is working to destroy whatever you’re putting up. You have to know how to use proper fittings, proper coatings — all the right stuff.”

Randy Robbins, project manager for AV integrator Ford Audio-Video Systems, agrees. “There are a lot of good solutions out there now, it just depends on the application,” he says.

THE HEAT IS ON
Working in the Vegas heat for Ford AV since 1994, Robbins routinely faces the challenging design task of integrating outdoor systems for casino clients in searing environments. “Along with the heat, you have the casino misting systems, waterfalls, and the occasional micro-burst downpour that have to be considered when designing and installing outdoor loudspeakers, digital signage, mic paging stations, I/O panels, etc.,” Robbins explains.

Some design considerations, such as outdoor speakers, are now no-brainers. “In the world of passive devices like loudspeakers, the manufacturers have evolved to a level of design engineering and construction such that there are few issues with failure due to longterm weather exposure,” Robbins says. “I installed Martin C115 70- volt speakers on the lamp poles in front of the Venetian Hotel Casino in 1999, and they still sound great today.”

A recent project at Terminal 3 of Vegas’ McCarran Airport called for the installation of 300 outdoor speakers. Robbins and his team chose the Atlas AH99-8ST, a 100-watt, 2-way stadium horn with an 8-inch subwoofer and a “weather-resistant” construction that, in addition to tightly perforated screens, also includes a “weep hole” that lets out condensation and any other moisture that collects inside.

However, “active” AV components, such as LCD displays and power amplifiers, present a trickier proposition. They must be protected against moisture, but any enclosure cannot hinder ventilation. “As we all know, most active electronic components will not survive for extended periods in temperatures in excess of 110 degrees,” Robbins says. “And we always face a catch 22 — air flow is required for ventilation, but an air-tight enclosure is required to keep the moisture and dust out. And, in most cases in the Las Vegas summer, simple passive convection cooling is not adequate for components such as LCD and plasma displays, projectors, and distribution amps.” For that reason, Vegas technology managers and their integration partners have increasingly turned to airtight, air-conditioned glass enclosures to house such components.

For display panel enclosures, Ford AV works with Anaheim, CA-based Premier Mounts, which has for several years manufactured pricey custommade AC-equipped enclosure systems that are rated NEMA 4. (Both the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and the International Electrotechnical Commission rate the level of environmental protection for electrical devices such as AV equipment. A “NEMA 4” rating means the enclosure is suitable for outdoor use, and provides protection against “falling dirt, rain, sleet, snow, windblown dust, splashing water, hose-directed water, and corrosion. See sidebar for more information about ratings.)

Recently, demand for such enclosures reached a point at which the Premier could mass-produce these devices and lower the price. The company now makes a universal product that fits displays ranging from 42 to 52 inches and sells it for about $2,500. These units contain a small air-conditioning unit that turns on when the ambient temperature inside the airtight boxes reaches 110 degrees.

AV mount specialist Chief Manufacturing also makes a full

With a water-resistant construction, SunBriteTV has targeted its 2310HD all-weather LCD television to the nautical market. Photo by AquaticAV.com

line of enclosures, including the high-end Display Guard series. Besides protection against overheating, these boxes provide a range of other benefits. For one, their antiglare acrylic overlay significantly improves viewing angles for LCD displays operating in direct sunlight. Another benefit is security — the acrylic overlay is tough, resisting scratching and breakage. Security is further enhanced by dual-key locks.

And these enclosures aren’t just for hot weather. Premier recently provided custom enclosures to the operators of a North Dakota turnpike information center, where temperatures routinely fall below the 40-degree operating threshold of the monitor. These boxes come equipped with an internal heating system.

Meanwhile, there are other durable display solutions entering the market. Some companies are combining the display and a weather-resistant enclosure in a single unit. Last year, Japanese electronics giant Sanyo launched a 52-inch industrial-grade LCD display that’s both waterproof and sunlightreadable. The CE52SR1 displays were recently installed outdoors at the Toronto Zoo, in a year-round digital signage application that tells the park’s 1.3 million annual visitors about daily special attractions, restaurants, and other important information. “Some of the challenges a zoo faces with using technology in situations like this are weather conditions, daylight (brightness) conditions, insects, dust, and dirt to mention a few,” says Charles Duncan, manager of Computer & Telecom Services for the Toronto Zoo.

Moorpark, CA-based SunBrite TV offers LCD monitors that are moisture and temperature resistant (up to 120 degrees and down to minus-20). Electrical connection points are all gasketed and sealed.

According to Lynn Stearn, VP of sales for SunBrite, the company’s revenue has doubled every year since its 2005 launch, with Southern California theme park venues such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Sea World now included among its clients. Firmly rooted in a product sector she calls “outdoor entertainment,” Stearn believes demand for weather-resistant electronics will continue to grow, and that price points will shrink along with that growth.

“Last year, we were up 40 percent [in revenue], and we’re still ahead of the game this year, despite the economy,” Stearn notes.

COMPETING WITH THE SUN
One of the most difficult environments in which to view a displayed image is one that’s bathed in sunlight. Yet, as natural light becomes an important element of “green” building interior design, competing with sunlight is becoming a growing challenge for AV designers. Flat panel displays, LEDbased panels, or rear-projection systems are the typical solutions. But each of these has drawbacks, especially if a high-contrast, high-brightness image is desired. Large images on plasmas or LCDs can be costly. LED screens can be even more expensive, and require viewing from a minimum distance. Rearprojected images have space requirements, and can also have brightness limitations.

AccelerOptics offers another alternative. The company’s projection screen technology uses a precision optical surface material applied to a curved screen backing, which takes the image energy from a front projection source and tightly reflects it within a defined viewing area, yielding uniform luminance throughout. The result is a crisp, consistent image that can be designed to accommodate horizontal viewing angles of up to 150 degrees and vertical angles of up to 25 degrees. The screen produces no center “hot spots,” and projected images remain brilliant and high contrast even under bright light conditions.

THE LIFE AQUATIC
While operating electronic gear in the desert presents an extreme challenge, environments featuring ample moisture — cruise ships, beach resorts, etc. — also provide a supreme test for AV equipment.

“We find that cruise ships present some of the harshest environmental tests,” says Community’s Wiggins. “Not only do you have a saltwater atmosphere that’s just incredibly corrosive, components such as loudspeakers on cruise-ship decks are typically pressure-washed every night. We’ve learned a lot [from servicing this sector]. If it works on a cruise ship or other marine environment, it will certainly work on a football field.”

And the corrosion doesn’t just hinder the functionality of the components. Technomad’s Van Kries says “aesthetic failure” — AV products that look rusty and worn out — is also a consideration. “If you use [regular] steel in a wet environment, you may not have functional failure,” he explains, “but you’ll have aesthetic failure pretty quickly. That’s a problem, too. You can’t have rusted out AV products at a high-end beach resort.”

While integrating Legoland a decade ago, Edwards says speakers were chosen that could withstand being fully submerged in water. Besides the ocean-side Carlsbad, CA air, there were also water attractions and cleaning crews to consider. “We didn’t know just how wet it would get,” Edwards explains. “And we wanted to be sure.”

Besides using corrosion-resistant AV components, integrators working in such moist places must make special consideration for their cabling connections and mounting hardware. “Marine-rated hardware is different from normal hardware-store hardware,” Edwards says. “You have to use a lot of stainless steel, which is pretty expensive.”

Of course, there are other factors besides extreme temperature or excessive moisture that constitute a harsh environment for AV gear. There is security, fire, flood, and even earthquakes (see sidebar on ratings).

“We call anything that you install in a public place a harsh environment,” says SunBrite’s Stearn.

Daniel Frankel is a Los Angeles-based freelancer who regularly writes about the businesses of entertainment and technology. He can be reached at frankel_daniel@hotmail.com.