- BERLIN-Germany outdid itself for the World Cup this year, but there was just no way everyone who wanted to attend the various matches of the World Cup could possibly be accommodated.
The solution: placing large-format, outdoor LED TV screens in prominent public spaces throughout German cities, then adding a good-quality PA system. Except that it was not quite the same experience. Yes, viewers saw it all-arguably better than those actually watching the match in the stadium, and had the atmosphere of possibly being amongst a large crowd who all share in the excitement.
All the sounds from the televised games from Adidas Arena in Berlin during the World Cup were reproduced by d&b audiotechnik's J-Series line-array loudspeaker system.
Adidas found a solution; Berlin's Adidas Arena was a scaffold and arena-seating structure with a difference. Modeled in a scale rendition of the Berlin Stadium, the exterior even had the same scenic panels to complete the illusion. That way 10,000 fans enjoyed the true stadium experience. And with the modeler's eye for detail, to complete the Teutonic stadium feeling, all sounds from the televised games were reproduced in full Vorsprung Durch Technik, by a German-built d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system.
The system was comprised of d&b's line array J-Series, using J8, J12, and J subwoofers with some Q1s used for fills, all driven by d&b D12 amplifiers and provided by audio experts, Eggs and Bulbs. Uniquely-it was a temporary installation-the PA was used to provide an emergency evacuation system.
"We had two presets in an SPS unit to switch the d&b D12 amplifiers to the 'B'-input to reconfigure the system to a setup without J-Subs for the evacuation system," explained Martin Stoll from Eggs and Bulbs. "We had a Bosch Plena system with 32 100V loudspeakers with a battery power supply in case of power loss. But with power on, one could speak over the PA and stop the normal signal to talk over it. We believe this was the first mobile stadium emergency evacuation system ever." The system was designed by Stoll, with additional setup from Bernd Dimbek.
