At a trade fair in Rimini, Italy, DEXON Systems’ DIMAX intelligent matrix devices had to adapt to the specifications of a particularly technical and complex layout. The success of the technological setup, coupled with the beauty of the location, served to make this a trade fair to remember.
Every trade fair represents the cradle of a market, bringing representatives from all areas and statuses together in one building. They are some of the most important events of the year for people working in all sectors, offering unparalleled opportunity for networking and new insights. They are places of business, where incredible numbers of companies and professionals gather in one exciting place. As such, there will inevitably be a buzz about just about any trade fair.
But, as stimulating as trade fairs are by their very nature, they can always be made more so by having just the right tech setup. From understanding the layout of the rooms in which each event is hosted to the technological installations that make those events run smoothly, there is a lot that needs to be done correctly.
Matrix Switchers at a Trade Fair in the Fiera Di Rimini
The conference spaces of Rimini, Italy world class, particularly in Emilia Romagna, which is one of the most important trade fair districts in the city. It is home to the Fiera di Rimini dedicated conference and fair space opened in 2001 by Studio GMP of Hamburg, Germany.
The space is nothing short of spectacular, sprawling and striking as it is. Divided into 16 pavilions, the Fiera di Rimini covers a total area of 460,000m2, with 168,000m2 of total useful area and 109,000m2 of gross exhibition area. 59,000m2 of the space is also dedicated entirely to services.
Walk into the Fiera di Rimini through one of three different entrances and you will find three large modular rooms. The Sala Neri Room is the largest among them, capable of hosting up to 700 participants. It is here that matrix switchers were put to such good use.
Adjoining the Sala Neri Room are the Diotavelli Room and the Ravezzi Room, both of which can host 300 people. So, for large trade events hosted in the Fiera di Rimini, the spread of the layout over three different rooms and additional common areas requires top-of-the-range products and expert knowledge, to ensure that video is available to all guests throughout the venue.
According to Paolo Marcuzzi of Sound D-Light, we at DEXON were able to, “set up a room with over 700 seats, modular in two rooms with 300 seats each, proposing a flexible solution in line with the most advanced technical-visual standards of the moment. It was the result of an articulated and well-designed operation.”
The Inspiration for the Fiera Di Rimini
Before assessing exactly how the DEXON System’s DIMAX matrix switchers were able to meet and even surpass the expected digital signage requirements of the trade fair hosted at Fiera Di Rimini, it is worth taking a look at the space that inspired it.
The Palacongressi di Rimini is a separate, larger conference space – in fact, it is the largest conference center in Italy! And the building really is very impressive. With a useable area of 189,000m2, the congress center’s architecture incorporates 24 modular conference rooms, a press room, business center, restaurants and various other corners and networking spots.
Every part of the space is impressive, from the meeting and conference rooms to the pavilions, stands, and passageways. As such, great numbers of events are hosted here every year by the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG).
Due to the popularity of the Palacongressi di Rimini for conferences and trade fairs, a project for the construction of a new site in Emilia Romagna was given the green light in the second half of the 1990s. From there, building what was to become the Fiera di Rimini began in earnest in June 1999.
Completed in record time, the new exhibition center was open to receive visitors and exhibition-goers by 2001. Since then, it has hosted up to 200 conferences and 50 other events every single year.
But, with such an imposing structure to contend with, efficient technological systems that can properly coordinate audio-visual output across all areas of the Fiera di Rimini are an absolute necessity. With all the experience DEXON Systems has in setting up the video-technical solutions at the Palacongress di Rimini, the company knew exactly what was needed.
The Technological Setup
Developing the setup for a trade fair complex is often challenging. But, for a space as complicated as the Fiera di Rimini, technical design skills of the highest caliber were required, as were commitment and a dedication to precision.
“There are three large conference spaces on which the intervention was made, all modular,” explains Project Manager for DEXON Srdjan Simeunovic. “These are the Neri Room, the Diotavelli Room and the Ravezzi Room, all equipped to support high-level meetings and conferences.”
Like the rooms, the halls connecting them were also fully equipped with integrated audio and video technologies, as required by a fair complex of this caliber. However, while DEXON’s solutions were used throughout the space, to avoid redundancies and repetitions in the description of the setup, DEXON focused on the one room: the 700-person capacity Sala Neri Room. This was the hub of operations.
DEXON knew that the choice of device must be accurate, and that it was imperative that a suitable system integrator be chosen for the task. As such, DEXON 4K matrices were selected.
DEXON 4K matrices, such as the DMX200 matrix switchers, were the heart of all of the signals coming in and going out of the Sala Neri Room. Able to offer all-in-one matrix services, they routed the signals from HD cameras, handled the multi-format connections coming from the speakers’ table and podiums, and returned signals to the stage for the preview monitors. They handled all external signals, too, including the signals from the Ravezzi and Diotavelli Rooms, and external video direction, Over IP, and network streams.
At the trade fair in question, DEXON also used the matrices’ recording systems composed of AV Epiphan Pearl 2 4K. This allowed the creation and control various different layouts, choosing of the video format of any given recording, and generation of the data streams for streaming, all at the same time.
And, with the DEXON 4K matrices, it was easy to switch between inputs and outputs and control multiple sources. Or, as Srdjan explains, “DEXON’s matrix switchers allowed local streaming within the same network viewable via web browser, Smart TV and VLC.”
