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Ajax football fans enjoy AV from Electrosonic

One of the world's most popular football clubs has opened a new visitors' centre in its home city - featuring a large amount of interactive AV technology from integrator Electrosonic.

Fans of the Dutch football team Ajax are getting a kick out of the new Ajax Experience visitors’ centre in Amsterdam. The site features a multimedia attraction designed and produced by Montreal’s multimedia content creators gsmprjctº with audio-visual systems integration by Electrosonic. Visitors enter the exhibition via the ‘Hall of History’, which is furnished with club memorabilia, where they are faced with a large graphic montage augmented by four NEC 46in LCD panels configured in a 2×2 videowall. The highlights of the Ajax Experience are the interactive exhibits that play on the key features of what it’s like to be an Ajax player. Named “T.I.P.S” – Technique, Insight, Personality, Speed – the four different virtual exhibits are among the multimedia features that allow visitors to take the place of the players in the locker room, player’s tunnel and stadium. Visitors to the T.I.P.S. Technique section test kicking abilities on a football inside a protective glass box. Data from the ball is collected from the (IR) laser beams to collate stats and information that is then displayed on a Electrosonic screen. Graphic panels fitted outside the glass box display data for spectators, and a sound system also provides appropriate crowd sound effects. Interactive multi-touch tabletop displays, based on 46in NEC LCD panels, make up part of the T.I.P.S. Insight Zone. These show participants how to understand what options are available when players are in different positions on the pitch, and also what Ajax strategies are used in various opportunities on the virtual pitch. T.I.P.S. Personality is represented by a graphic panel, on which visitors can read about the kind of personality an Ajax player needs to have to be a good fit with the Ajax philosophy. The T.I.P.S. Speed area incorporates two Panasonic projectors that display markers on the floor that are used by participants to dribble a football over. An interactive display then shows the players’ results and lists the top scores for the day. As the experience draws to a close, the participants find themselves in the ‘Locker Room’, where a mirror acts as a rear-projection screen for four Optoma short-throw projectors. These produce the image of a manager giving a halftime pep talk, all blended from the tight space behind the mirror, which comes to life once the lights dim. Visitors then enter ‘The Stadium’ where four projector screens are installed – the largest of these displays uses two Panasonic 6710 projectors to produce a panaoramic edge-blended image depicting historic Ajax matches accompanied by multi-channel soundtrack. Syncronised multi-screen playback for the both rooms is handled by Medialon MIP players, while Anyplace units provide image warping in the stadium. ‘The Giant Academy’ attracts fans to an area where three screens, recessed high into the walls, display films about the development and training of Ajax players. Each screen has its own five-way listening station with five pairs of headphones, each with its own volume control, so visitors can hear the audio track. Wotbox Warping video servers are used for the “The Giant Academy” content. Standard single-image video playback throughout is by Roku Brightsign HD210 players. Audio processing is by Symetrix Jupiter DSP with amplifiers from T&M. Overall show control is through a Medialon Showmaster Pro system with a Medialon Rugboard touchscreen acting as the user interface at the ticket desk.

www.electrosonic.co.uk