Marriott Hotel looks to the future with China Tech
Published: ASIA
CHINA: In order to entice business travellers to stay, work and dine at the four-star facility, the Marriott Hotel Chain has called upon China Tech Engineering Co Ltd to install an A/V system into the multi-functional ballroom and public areas of its Marriott Courtyard in the Sha Tin district of Hong Kong. The installation comprised video projectors, audio amplifiers and speakers, all tied together with an AMX NI-3100 control system.
The Sha Tin district of Hong Kong has long been synonymous with the enormous Hong Kong Jockey Club racecourse and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Now developers are creating a business environment in an attempt to attract both local and foreign subsidiaries to this out of town area in the New Territories. The Marriott hotel chain quickly recognised this trend and opted to invest in the construction of a Marriott Courtyard close to the MTR station and new shopping centre.
The Grand Ballroom can accommodate up to 430 guests in theatre mode, although it can be sub-divided into three sections. Providing room combining functions and DSP parameters, China Tech Engineering Co Ltd installed two Symnet Edge Dante networked processors to provide an open architecture Dante scalable DSP audio system into this 557 sq-m space. The Dante protocol promotes low latency audio expansion over the standard Cat-5 infrastructure, whilst transmitting and receiving 16 by 16 channels of audio. The Edge processors have been installed into a control room rack above, which connect to the Grand Ballroom’s three main plug and play wall box facility panels.
‘The hotel wanted Dante as it allows future upgrade expansion very easily and can be configured whilst in operation,’ explained China Tech project manager, Emma Leung. ‘Working with Sound Classy, it was the first occasion we have used Symnet Edge processing and it turned out easy to programme. We worked with an open minded audio consultant in Campbell Shillinglaw Lau Ltd which was receptive to new ideas, but we did encounter problems with the interior design.’ Guests arriving at the 6.5m floor-to-ceiling pillar-less Grand Ballroom are greeted by three overhead crystal chandeliers. ‘Unfortunately, these were not confirmed when we were making our plans and so we had to make adjustments accordingly.’
The three overhead Panasonic 10,000-ANSI lumens HD projectors which were to be recessed into the ceiling when not in use also had to be redesigned. ‘Because of the chandeliers, we had to change the lenses and make recalculations before placing them in new positions,’ explained Ms Leung. ‘Furthermore, the ceiling above the Grand Ballroom had insufficient room to house the projectors with a labyrinth of AC ducting, electrics and fire insulation. We therefore simply decided to elevate them to the ceiling and discretely disguise them when not in use with covers.’
Powered by dual channel Biamp CPA650 amplifiers, some of the 24 EV C8.2HC ceiling speakers also had to be relocated. Interfaced to an AMX NI-3100 control system, the hotel technician can manage all the A/V parameters via an iPad with a customised GUI. Sources affixed to mobile racks include Sony Blu-ray, Philips DVD and TASCAM CD-200i players, eight channels of Shure SLX wireless microphone receivers and a Mackie VLZ3 1604 mixer. An Avolites Pearl 2010 and Extron ISM824 integration scaling multi-switcher provide lighting and video control during functions.
The main hotel’s BGM including the lobby reception area, Signature MoMo Café, toilets and executive lounge are served by a third Symnet Edge processor, which is linked to the two processors used in the Grand Ballroom. This allows the Grand Ballroom to receive the audio feed from the hotel over the Dante network if desired, although both systems are generally used in stand-alone mode. EV C4.2LC and EV C8.2LC speakers have been installed throughout the hotel, with the exception of the outdoor area which is catered for by Bose Freespace 360PII models.