PROJECT

MADRIX Ultimate installation at Baiyoke Tower II

What is the tallest skyscraper in Thailand? Raise your hand if you know. That's right, some of you said Baioyoke Tower is the owner of that distinction. But did you know that Enttec's a major part of what lights the top of that tower up for all in Bangkok to see?

Here are some statistics about the installation:
• 12,080 RGB pixels
• 32,240 DMX channels
• 80 DMX Universes
• 10 ENTTEC DATAGATE DE
• MADRIX Ultimate

According to MADRIX's website, Lighting and Equipment Public Company Limited from Bangkok have installed a first class LED installation on building facade at the top of the Baiyoke Tower II. The Baiyoke Tower II, located on 222 Rajprarop Road in the Ratchathewi district of Bangkok, Thailand, is the country's tallest building. It contains the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia and the third-tallest all-hotel structure in the world, with 673 guest rooms.

The building is 304 m (997 ft) tall, or 328 m (1,076 ft) tall if its antenna is included. It has 85 floors, with a public observatory on the 77th floor, a bar called "Roof Top Bar and Music Lounge" on the 83rd floor, and a 360-degree revolving roof deck on the 84th floor.

We asked Christian Hertel from MADRIX to talk to us a little bit about the project:

Enttec: What did the client come to you and say they wanted to do for this project? In other words, what was the mission?

Christian Hertel: "They have searched for a[n] easy solution to control RGB LED 80DMX universes. They have tried other software solutions -- I can tell you the name if you want -- and they had big problems with other solutions. Therefore the first question was IS THAT POSSIBLE? With other words, this project [could only] happen because of MADRIX and ENTTEC ... The customer wants realtime information at his tower. He wants stock index, temperature information and more".

Enttec: Are there plans to expand this idea into more floors of the building, or to add any other kinds of content to what is being shown in the future?

CH: "NO not actually, the owner wants to sell ads at the top at this LED installation. therefore a time control (playlist with real time clock) inside madrix is actually important."

Enttec: Is that available yet?

CH: "You can check a[n] AWESOME video at [www.youtube.com] from a BMW ad at this tower. BMW has paid 100K€ / month. Yes, realtime clock with a duration means you can say at 10pm starts this ad for 2 min's. After that for 3 min's the next ad ... and at 2 am the tower is black (off) ... and so on."

Enttec: OK, shall we move on? The scope of the LED display at the top of the tower is unusually large for a DMX-based control system. Did you have to do anything special for it to work?

CH: "Yes and No." (He smiles.)

Enttec: What do you mean?

CH: "MADRIX professional supports 64 DMX universes. After this request of 80 DMX universes we have built a MADRIX ultimate version. That means the ultimate version is because of THIS project. Nothing else additionally, but because of the request we have developed a MASTER / SLAVE function for MADRIX. This means if one MADRIX fails, the MADRIX slave is automatically present and controls the LED's. This feature is awesome for setting up a backup solution with two computers."

Enttec: That's a great feature. Did this get installed in Bangkok?

CH: "Unfortunately there is no backup system at this tower... the customer [has not yet invested in a second system ] But MADRIX is running stable since June 2008."

Enttec: Between your being based in Germany, Enttec in Australia, and the project taking place in Thailand, this was truly an international project. What was that like, and how did it affect the process of planning and implementing the install?

CH: "[The] process of planning and implementing the install is the work of L&E ... we have the software that makes this possible and you have the hardware. We [primarily just] trained the Thailand guys and have supported with help for the patch and help for the hardware recommendation for ENTTEC. [And we assisted] with setting up the ENTTEC [gear with MADRIX.]"

Enttec: We're very glad you specified Enttec products for the Baoyoke Tower. Will you tell us how they worked out?

CH: "We recommend Enttec products for our MADRIX customers for a number of reasons. The ArtNet devices like the ENTTEC Datagate runs very stable using the Broadcast option or with a direct IP mode. The new *Video Mode* option inside the Datagate firmware is awesome and allows you to have a synchronous light show also if you have a huge installation. The Enttec support is outstanding. And all Enttec products are well priced!"