The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Fife company powers new European musical icon
Systems developed by Dalgety Bay tech firm Exterity adopted by Elbphilharmonie
Fife technology firm Exterity is playing a key role in enhancing the experience of music lovers at one of the world’s most advanced concert halls.
The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany opened its doors in January after a 10-year build costing more than three-quarters of a billion euros.
The venue is one of the largest and most technologically and acoustically advanced in the world and features three concert venues.
Dalgety Bay-based IP video and digital signage specialist Exterity was contracted by the venue to ensure it provided a world-class live and digital experience to music lovers.
Installed by Perfect Media Solutions GmbH (PMS), Exterity’s IP video system manages the delivery of live stage performances, CCTV camera streams and the placement of digital advertisements around the venue.
It is also used to help performers manager their schedules and powers 30 TV channels to more than 120 displays throughout the concert hall, backstage areas, ticketing counters and foyer.
The Exterity systems allow content to be tailored to different areas of the venue, meaning ticketing information can be shown on displays during the intermission while other screens can live-stream a performance in the foyer for latecomers waiting to be seated.
“Exterity was chosen because it offers one of the most reliable IPTV solutions on the market and the company’s open standards technology enables easy integration with other systems, including PerfectShow, PMS’s digital signage software”, said Stefan Pagenkemper, CEO at PMS.
“The unique challenge in this project was the set-up of dynamic rights management to allow operators to set viewing permissions for every user and display throughout the day.
“The combination of the Exterity IP video system and PerfectShow made this possible.”
Exterity chief executive Colin Farquhar said the Elbphilharmonie system allowed greater flexibility for staff behind the scenes.
“Stage managers have a difficult role to play in the smooth running of live performances, and we are proud to be helping them use technology to manage all areas on performance day,” he said.
“Using our IP video solution, they can easily switch channels to ensure that artists are coming on stage at the right time, that there are no technical or design issues and that the security cameras work effectively and conform to health and safety legislation.
“We are very impressed that the Elbphilharmonie has become a worldclass venue that caters to a wide range of performances, and we are proud that our technology – integrated with the solution from our partner PMS – is supporting this state-of-the-art venue.”