Creative Technology Middle East (CTME) was the sole technical supplier for G42 Supercharged, G42’s flagship event, held in the ADNEC ICC Halls in Abu Dhabi. The event brought together the very latest in technology from across the entire brand and delivered an inspiring a day of debate on an AI enabled future.
With such pioneering technology being discussed and displayed, nothing less than DirectOut’s PRODIGY.MP could offer CTME the stability and reliability required to keep the event on track.
G42 SuperCharged hosted over 2,400 guests and benefitted from over 150 meters of LED screens, plus the largest d&b Soundscape system ever deployed in the region. G42 is an artificial intelligence cloud computing company, committed to investing in ways to harness the power of AI across many difference areas of human life.
In preparation, CTME built a scale version of the installation and ran four days of rehearsals in their warehouse for all stakeholders. The setup had a huge channel count with audio and visuals synchronized with smooth audio transitions that enveloped the audience. The audio network was powered by PRODIGY.MP and this rehearsal not only proved the viability of the system, it also reduced the entire installation time to just 48 hours on site.
Tim Cook was system engineer for the event, working alongside spatial and playback engineer George Abi Aad. The pair were responsible for the programming and management of the two PRODIGY.MPs and, given the profile of the summit, they opted for three layers of redundancy, with one PRODIGY.MP handling full redundancy of playback utilizing EARS and console feeds through Input Manager, while the second managed complete redundancy for d&b’s DS100 amplifier feeds.
As Cook explains, this option delivered fail-safe security and the all-important confidence required to deliver cutting edge shows to a hall full of discerning technology experts.
“Input Managers handled both DS100 processor feeds, so that if one channel dropped, it would automatically and seamlessly fail-over to the backup,” he said. “To go one step further, we implemented another fail-over layer, using the Summing Busses within the PRODIGY.MP to feed a standard stereo system as a final backup. That gave us total peace of mind and a solid safety net. The PRODIGY.MP tied everything together beautifully and made the entire workflow smoother and more efficient.”
CTME purchased its first PRODIGY.MP in 2022, alongside a range of cards to complement the existing inventory, including Dante, Ravenna, MILAN, and MADI. As Cook continues, the modular design allows the company to adapt the same unit for different systems and applications with ease, ensuring that their choice to invest in DirectOut is fully justified by the constant use the PRODIGY.MPs enjoy.
“The flexibility is on another level,” Cook expanded. “No other device gives us this kind of adaptability. The interchangeable I/O cards let us build for any workflow, while the routing matrix and onboard DSP cut down on the need for multiple outboard units. It’s quickly become the backbone of our shows and, if I had one tip, it would be to stop thinking of PRODIGY as just a processor. Think of it as a flexible audio hub that can sit at the heart of any system design.”
For CT Middle East, Dante is their network protocol of choice, so the Dante SRC card is in constant demand. As with any supplier, MILAN is also being used more, especially for the new connected amplifiers that many loudspeaker manufactures are developing.
“The Dante SRC card gets a lot of use,” he continued. “The MADI cards are also essential, integrating seamlessly with our DiGiCo consoles and legacy systems.
We’re also embracing MILAN, so the MILAN SRC card is being used more and more, especially with our new d&b amplifiers and DiGiCo MILAN DMI cards now in play. It’s great to see everything tying together across protocols.”
For quick and easy control, the team at CT utilise the globcon software. The third-party connectivity and reliability that DirectOut products offer is another key factor in the choice to continue investing in the audio solutions.
“We use globcon for remote management and control. It’s intuitive, responsive, and makes setup and monitoring quick and painless. We also integrate the PRODIGY with third-party controllers and consoles for more streamlined workflows. Everything fits neatly within our ecosystem, the compatibility is excellent.”
The PRODIGY.MP has become an essential part of the toolkit at CT. Its flexibility, reliability and expansive feature-set allows the team to tackle complex audio scenarios with confidence. As Cook concludes, it is not just the hardware, the relationship with DirectOut and 7Hertz is valued, too, as both companies are quick to offer support and expertise when needed.
“7Hertz have supported us in integrating our DirectOut solutions into our workflow and ensuring that we maximize the capabilities of the PRODIGY.MP,” he concluded. “Because it’s such a powerful and versatile unit, we tend to use the PRODIGY.MP in almost every situation, from system tuning and playback redundancy to matrix routing,” he says. “As a rental company, we work across a huge variety of productions with different requirements and the PRODIGY.MP provides a consistent, reliable backbone our engineers can confidently depend on for every show.”
