Studiotec Integrates HARMAN’s Martin Professional LED Video Components With Hockey Rink At Finland’s Hartwall Arena

HELSINKI, Finland — In a unique approach to indoor arena lighting, Finland’s Hartwall Arena features an innovative LED video system integrated with its ice hockey rink. The arena, which is home to the Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and Finland’s National Men’s Hockey Team, was recently modernized to enhance the fan experience with significant upgrades to its lighting, video displays and digital signage. As part of the arena’s modernization ice hockey rink equipment designer, manufacturer and supplier, ICEPRO OY, created a concept to integrate lighting within the stanchions supporting the rink’s glass safety dividers. To realize their vision ICEPRO OY worked with Finnish A/V Integration firm, Studiotec, to develop a lighting design that included more than 940 of HARMAN’s Martin Professional VC-Strip LED video fixtures.

The system is built into the stanchions between the glass dividers of the rink as an extension of the arena’s banner and 360-display screens and can run the same content as all the other displays. To accomplish this, Studiotec needed to overcome several challenges that included space and resolution limitations. In addition, the project, which began in March 2014 had to be completed in time for the opening game of the KHL season on September 4, 2014.

“The stanchions provided only 27x27 millimeters of space, which is quite a small area to install a video façade,” said Tapio Järvinen, Product Manager, Studiotec. Järvinen has worked with Martin since joining Studiotec in 2011. “We needed a solution that was able to fit within the space while also providing enough resolution to run the same content as the other displays throughout the arena. Martin’s VC-Strip was the natural choice, not only from a logistical standpoint but also because their support is incredible. You know you can rely on the Martin team to work with you whenever you need support.”

Integrated in all 118 stanchions around the rink, Järvinen’s design consisted of 944 (eight per stanchion) VC-Strip fixtures with 25 mm pixel pitch totaling more than 14,000 pixels. Each stanchion features a two-sided installation with four VC-Strips facing the arena’s seating and another four fixtures facing the ice.

To control the design, Järvinen relied on Martin’s P3 System Controller and P3 PowerPort 1500 due to the high-quality image processing capabilities and extremely easy setup/configuration. According to Järvinen, if they had used DMX-signal to control the system, they would have needed 83 separate DMX universes. With the Martin P3 System Controller, there are about 40 lines from the PowerPort to the rink, with one cable for every three stanchions. “The Martin P3 System Controller is quite unique in its simplicity to install and configure,” said Järvinen. “It would have been an extremely complicated system had we used other options. From the processing to the power/data distribution to the video  façade, Martin’s P3 systems are easy to configure and fast to install.”

Overall, Järvinen considers Martin his top choice. “We’ve been a distributor of Martin equipment for about four years and the level of support we’ve received on our projects has been outstanding,” he said. “I would choose Martin over any other solution out there.”

Martin Equipment

VC-Strip, 944 pcs.

P3 PowerPort 1500, 10 pcs.

P3-100 System Controller, 1 pcs.

To see the Hartwall Arena installation in action, please visit: https://youtu.be/QaodF2ThxpY

For more information on Studiotec, please visit: www.studiotec.fi

For more information on ICEPRO OY, please visit: www.icepro.fi

For more information on Martin architectural lighting solutions, please visit: www.martin.com

As a world leader in the creation of dynamic lighting solutions for the entertainment, architectural, and commercial sectors, Martin lighting and video systems are renowned the world over. Martin also offers a range of advanced lighting controllers and media servers, as well as a complete line of smoke machines as a complement to intelligent lighting. Martin operates the industry’s most complete and capable distributor network with local partners in nearly 100 countries. Founded in 1987 and based in Aarhus, Denmark, Martin is the lighting division of global infotainment and audio company HARMAN International Industries. For more information please visit: http://www.martin.com

HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for consumers, automakers, and enterprises worldwide, including audio, visual and infotainment systems; enterprise automation solutions; and software services. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson ® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. HARMAN also is a technology and integration services leader for the Automotive, Mobile, Telecommunications and Enterprise markets. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. The Company’s software solutions power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated, personalized, adaptive and secure across all platforms, from the work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 25,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $5.9 billion during the last 12 months ended March 31, 2015.

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