Beckhoff Automation, an innovator in PC-based control technology and automation software for the entertainment and leisure industries, has collaborated with Salzgeber GmbH, an expert in planning and implementing cutting-edge audio and video systems, to upgrade the sound system at Vienna State Opera in Austria.
Vienna State Opera is regarded as one of the world’s finest opera houses. Every season features approximately 300 performances, including over 60 different operas and ballets. This rigorous programme is a significant consideration for the team and the stage technology, which has to operate smoothly.
To provide guests with an optimal listening experience, the sound system has been upgraded with cutting-edge audio technology and a completely refurbished audio control system.
Complex specification
The specifications for the sound technology system were extensive. Not only did it need to have excellent acoustics, but the system also required energy metering and optimised diagnostics choices with the capacity to visualise the entire system, particularly the amplifiers.
Athanasios Rovakis, head sound engineer, explains: “The sound system that had been in continuous use at the Vienna State Opera for over 20 years could no longer keep up with the sound standards set by modern systems. Our situation involves typical audio signals such as opera vocals, acoustic instruments, a choir, an organ and incidental music.”
The selection of speakers was primarily driven by creative requirements, such as organically incorporating vocal and instrumental soloists or a choir depending on the performance. The speakers also needed to create a sense of direction and distance for the sounds, as well as a distinct sound character.
“Today’s systems, with their modellable coverage, can be used and tuned very differently than they were just a few years ago. This is particularly important in situations involving a lot of room acoustics, as is the case in this theater,” says Rovakis. “Due to its unique architecture, the Vienna State Opera house has very lively acoustics and there are sometimes long distances and different types of directivity to deal with.”
Unique TwinCAT 3.1 software
After years of careful preparation, the entire audio system was rebuilt in November 2020. Its monitored power supply, amplifier monitoring, and the connection between the amplifiers and additional signals were designed by Tino Pfeifer, senior project engineer at Salzgeber.
Rovakis comments: “I decided to go with an L-Acoustics speaker system – specifically, the ARCS W/F series sounded particularly good for the applications in this space. All the other integration steps then had to be based on the selected system, or be compatible with it.”
“This is a function that we had previously found to be very time-consuming to implement in analog form, and which we definitely wanted to see brought up to date. With the variety of audio channels we have to manage here, it’s important that we can clearly see if a signal is actually getting to where it was intended for.
“We also have remote control abilities – for example, muting via physical pushbuttons, which are also integrated into the automation of the audio mixing console.”
Next, the team needed to integrate these features with the chosen audio system. L-Acoustics devices communicate with the control system via an SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol V1.0) interface, and so Christian Henke from Beckhoff Austria worked closely with Salzgeber to develop a matching communication function block for TwinCAT 3.1 software.
Michel Matuschke, industry manager for the entertainment industry at Beckhoff, says: “Our TCP/IP server (TF6310) makes it possible to control an unlimited number of devices and functions. This is a unique selling point in the industry. And the response times that we offer are even faster than was required.”
In addition, the old, congested control room was reimagined. Rovakis explains: “With the help of Tino Pfeifer from Salzgeber, we completely redesigned the sound control room in a highly modular way, which hopefully means that we won’t have to make any more fundamental changes to it in the next 25 years.”
There are now just three types of cables used for the network, incoming circuits, and outgoing circuits in the control room. Pfeifer says: “The Beckhoff C6015 ultra-compact Industrial PC with an EK1100 EtherCAT Coupler and matching bus terminals is used for power distribution; it switches the power supply on and off as needed, and performs diagnostics on the protective switches.”
In addition, a flexible system has been developed to switch interrelated units together and replace hard-wired devices. The system uses individual 19-inch rack elements, which all include a BK9100 Ethernet Bus Coupler with two KL3403 3-phase power measurement terminals, six current transformers, two KM2614 4-channel relay terminals with 16 A wired to break contacts, and a KL1809 for monitoring the ground fault circuit interrupter switches.
Visualisation software
The TwinCAT HMI server (TF2000), which is operated on an Industrial PC C6515 control cabinet, served as the foundation for the implementation of the visualisation software. Approximately 1000 PLC variables are displayed on a single HMI page, to show the status of all audio devices. The variables are updated every 50 ms. In addition, windows display audio signals, status monitoring, and power distribution.
Rovakis shares: “The development of the visualization or field of view was one of the most important aspects as far as we were concerned, and one of the main reasons for choosing to work with Beckhoff. Now we can use the monitor to track where things are happening. When you play an audio signal in a case where the speakers are far away, you receive a diffuse noise whose origin you can’t exactly determine when working at the mixer. This is where the 3D arrangement of speaker VU meters in the HMI comes in handy.”
The audio outputs can be muted individually or all at once using physical buttons in the control room, audio consoles, or the HMI. The amplifiers’ current operational condition is also displayed in the control room.
Rovakis adds: “One major reason for choosing the Beckhoff control system was its openness and the long-term availability of the components. The bus terminals enable us to cover every function and we have even added value by implementing functions that we had not even considered before.”
Beckhoff Automation recently revealed details of how its products and technologies have been utilised at Classic Car House in Copenhagen. The museum’s new installation of a Citroën 2CV is controlled by Beckhoff drive technology and TwinCAT.
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