- WorldStage launched its Sx3 AV platform, dubbed the Self-Contained Show System, that is designed to significantly reduce set up time, deliver superior reliability and transform the look and feel of presentation rooms with 50 to 500 people.
Pre-configured prior to delivery to each show, the streamlined, compact Sx3 rolls in and sets up quickly, providing an increase in seating capacity due to its space-saving form-factor and cleaning up the clutter of equipment usually found at the rear of presentation rooms.
“Several clients approached us asking if we could bring the innovation we’re known for in supporting many of the industry’s most complex General Session projects and upgrade the experience in rooms with seating for under 500 people – without increasing the overall cost per room,” said Richard Steinau, Vice President of Business Development at WorldStage. “Sx3 is the result of an extensive engineering and design effort at WorldStage, involving producers and technical directors as well as our system engineers, project managers, account managers and operations leadership. We collected data from our clients as well as our own staff and then built a system that not only sets up in half the time but also nearly disappears in the room. True collaboration brought this innovation to life.”
WorldStage developed Sx3 after research confirmed that, while conference general sessions seek to deploy the latest AV technology to impress and inform audiences, AV management of smaller presentation rooms had changed little in the last decade. These rooms typically have large 6 foot tables in the back packed with equipment and cable as well as projectors positioned in the center of the audience, all of which degrade the look of the room and take up valuable space. In this traditional setup, local tech staff spend several hours per room tracking down and assembling components from 12-15 individual cases containing equipment, accessories and cables in the hope of building a system in each room that will actually work.
By contrast, Sx3 replaces the six-foot foot table with a 30x30-inch case containing a fully integrated technical rack with pre-installed audio and video components. To further reduce setup time and labor, support gear for each room is contained in three additional customized cases containing speakers, laser projectors, ultra short-throw lenses as well as all accessories and cables. By reducing the typical 15 cases per room to 4, trucking and set/strike labor are dramatically reduced as Sx3 rolls in more quickly and sets up in significantly less time than traditional solutions.
Focusing on client feedback that increasing seating capacity in each room was a “Holy Grail,” WorldStage designed Sx3 to include laser projectors with ultra short-throw lenses in every presentation room. These projectors and lenses need only a few feet of depth which allows them to be placed behind the screens, freeing up additional space for more seats in each room where the projector used to sit.
Sx3 made its debut in February at an industry conference for leaders in the IT industry. WorldStage provided 23 Sx3 systems to the San Jose Convention Center and adjacent San Jose Marriot for the event. More than 2,800 attendees participated in 150 sessions over three days where Sx3 performance received accolades from the client’s event team as well as local crew members.
