Horizon AVL Updates TV Studio Looks for Temple University
As Temple University’s digital cable station that produces original programming from across the university’s schools, colleges, and campuses, TUTV (Temple University Television) serves a vital role in bringing news, fine arts programming, sports activities, and a wealth of additional content to members of the university’s academic community and beyond. In order to better reflect the diversity of interests at Temple University, TUTV recently overhauled the set design for its TV studio. To better provide a rich assortment of visuals in support of the many varied topics covered in the station’s programming, the decision to implement LED video displays was made, which ultimately resulted in the deployment of Axion Series LED video panels from Vanguard LED Displays of Lakeland, FL.
Horizon AVL of Blackwood, NJ, a full-service audiovisual integration firm that services the education, worship, broadcast, and commercial markets, was contracted to design the set and deploy the new LED video displays for TUTV.
“Members of the Temple college communication department had toured our installation at Ocean City High School in New Jersey, where we had integrated the Vanguard product into a curved wall as part of the set design,” relates Joshua Kell, CEO of Horizon AVL. “We also installed the broadcast suite, the control room and all the audio-visual components needed.”
Impressed with what they saw, the committee contracted Kell and Horizon to rebuild, update, and revitalize their college broadcast studio.
Ultra-High Res Panels
Originally, Horizon spec’d an Axion P2.5mm tile, unaware that Vanguard was about to introduce their newest product in the Axion series, the P1.8. “Vanguard has always been great to their customers,” Kell says. “They gave us the Axion P1.8, which is a finer pitch product, at no additional cost.”
When queried about those aspects of the Vanguard Axion P1.8 LED video displays that made them so well-suited for this project, Kell offered the following comments. “There were several considerations in selecting the Vanguard Axion LED panels. For starters, having the flexibility of the LED panels enables the on-screen talent to show specific content quickly and easily while delivering superior color and brightness uniformity. Equally important, in a broadcast environment, the fine pitch LED wall brings exceptional clarity without moiré effect, which can easily degrade the quality and resolution of graphic images. Further, the Axion series’ pre-threaded mounting locations simplify installation, which was an important consideration for integration into the set we created,” Kell adds.
“For Temple, we not only incorporated our ability to design a curved wall, but we also did all the set work,” says Kell. “We have CAD engineers and welding fabricators so we can manufacture and handle the entire project, from set design out to line schematics and designing audio visual drawings, then fabricate the entire project from start to finish. We do not sub out any aspects of the job.”
A One-Stop Shop
Further evidence of Horizon as a one-stop shop for TV broadcast suites is that they are able to assist with not only set design, but all audio visual, lighting and cameras, too.
“TUTV’s new set is really quite elaborate,” Kell notes. “Housed in the corner of their studio, the new set is comprised of 60 Axion P1.8 LED panels that were arranged in a five-high-by-12-wide configurations, resulting in an approximately 35 x 9 aspect ratio. This curved display resides inside a Horizon AVL custom fabricated, aluminum backlit set with black trim that creates a very high-tech visual aesthetic. A Ross Carbonite video production switcher feeds the display; making it quick and easy to present whatever visual backdrop reinforces a given story.”
With many AV installation projects, questions inevitably arise, so responsive, capable customer support services are vitally important to AV integration companies. In this regard, Kell was very complimentary of Vanguard LED Displays. “We’ve been working with Vanguard for over three years now, and we’ve been very pleased,” he says. “When we have questions, the people at Vanguard are easy to get hold of, which is very important in order to keep a project on schedule. Secondly, with a thorough background and understanding of the challenges we sometimes encounter in the field, their technical staff are very adept at helping us resolve any issues we might encounter. Vanguard’s quality customer support provides all of us at Horizon AVL with a high level of comfort.”
The new set at TUTV was installed in September 2018 and immediately placed into service upon its completion. Since that time, Kell reports the new equipment is performing beyond expectations and he has received numerous compliments. “TUTV’s new set is really a sight to behold,” he says. “With bright vivid imagery serving as the backdrop to the on-screen talent, the university’s programming has assumed an entirely new and more professional aura. Combined with the backlit panels, the entire set presents a very state-of-the-art appearance. The trove of kudos we have received from the staff at Temple University reinforces our decision to deploy Vanguard’s equipment. Their service and reliability go a long way toward why we specify and recommend their products. Whenever there was a deadline on this project, Vanguard made every effort to ensure the deadline was met and the client was happy.”
Vanguard’s View
PLSN reached out to Michael Wiener, Vanguard’s CEO, to talk about the TUTV project. He was extremely proud of the project, but as an aggressive businessman, he knows that he can’t rest on Vanguard’s past achievements and also wanted to talk about what Vanguard was working on right now and what is coming out in the very near future.
“The thing about Vanguard is we are a leader in the LED display industry,” says Wiener. “We are driven by the needs of integrators, consultants, etc., and we are fortunate to work with many great ones. If Vanguard has the product the integrators want, they have the leverage of spec’ing our products for a particular project. Josh is a great guy, a very special person, and an excellent example of the type of partner we really appreciate working with,” Weiner says.
“For instance,” he adds, “Horizon AVL has an installation right on the heels of TUTV for Atlantic City High School that will utilize the Axion P1.8 again. The school district is making a push to get their students involved in television production, and turned to Josh for a solution.”
A relatively new buzzword in the LED display industry is COB (chip on board) technology. As opposed to the current practice of using Surface Mounted Devices (SMD’s), where three chips are encapsulated into a bulb, in COB the chips are attached directly to the PCB board, and then encapsulated using a clear epoxy resin. This forms a protective surface that is highly impact resistant. This protective surface is a safeguard against the intrusion of humidity, and is also anti-static, anti-dust, oxidation resistant, and waterproof on the front of the display. Compounded by fine pixel pitch LED’s, this covering can cause heat buildup, but as is usually the case, Vanguard has come up with a solution that is unique to the industry.
“We are going to combine COB technology with Common Cathode technology,” says Wiener. Common Cathode reduces the heat generated from an LED display by up to 40 percent. It is very impact resistant, prevents the intrusion of moisture, which is the number one killer of LEDs and is overall a much simpler production process.
“We really have quite a few arrows in our quiver these days. One which we just introduced is the Cesium cabinet. By joining 16 cabinets together, a complete 360-degree circle with an eight-foot diameter can be created,” Weiner says.
“And hot off the press is our Tungsten Rental Cabinet, which is very stout. It goes together exceptionally well with protective corners and modules and is getting a very good reaction,” he adds.
“We understand we have to give the customer a reason to buy. And each of our products has its own special application. We deliberately planned a line of products that do not overlap. Our product lines are the best with the best prices to match. By backing our products with impeccable service, it is easy to realize we make a good partner. That is how we want to sell the Vanguard brand,” Wiener continues.
To better service their rental market Vanguard has hired industry veteran, Steve LaManna, to oversee the newly formed division. Additionally, Chip Hoynes will head up the military division and Jesse Walsh, based in Los Angeles, is the new West Coast Sales Manager.
For more information, please visit www.horizonavl.com and www.vanguardled.com.
