In the past decade, shopping malls across the United States have struggled to stay afloat. A report by Credit Suisse predicts that 20 to 25 percent of US shopping malls will close by 2022. (For details, visit www.sndcom.us/bi-retail-apocalypse.) To combat the decline of the shopping mall, many management companies seek to create “destinations” for families by offering multiple entertainment venues. The trend extends far beyond multiplex cinemas and a few high-end restaurants, too. A premier example is All-Star Bowling & Entertainment, located in the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley UT. West Valley, the second-largest city in Utah and a suburb of Salt Lake City UT, is the site of the fifth All-Star Bowling & Entertainment venue in the region.
“Malls are desperately seeking entertainment to fill some of these empty big boxes, so building a complex in the mall is a new one for us,” All-Star Bowling’s Owner, Brad Shepherd, a second-generation hospitality-venue owner, said.
The Newest Location
The 70,000-square-foot bowling-and-entertainment complex boasts an arcade that features classics like “Space Invaders” as well as the latest virtual reality (VR) video games, axe throwing, bumper cars, laser tag and 32 lanes of bowling; plus, it offers a slightly more upscale food selection than you’d expect to find at a bowling alley. Shepherd confirmed it, saying, “We’ve been trending toward higher-end food than you’d find in a bowling-alley snack bar.” The space also contains five meeting rooms designed for birthday parties, corporate events and business conferences.
“Brad is a visionary,” Dan Austin, AV Sales and Design, who designed and quoted the project for TVS Pro (formerly TV Specialists), located in Salt Lake City, remarked. “He wanted to create more than just a bowling alley. He wanted to create an entertainment venue where somebody could come on a date, or with their whole family, and experience many different forms of entertainment in one venue.”
Austin said that, to provide a truly next-level experience, superior to what mall visitors could achieve with their own video-game systems or flatscreen TVs, “It became very important for Brad to offer an immersive audiovisual experience.”
‘A Good Long-Term Relationship’
The West Valley Mall location is Shepherd’s largest, and it’s the first situated in a shopping mall. TVS Pro has designed and installed the AV systems in all Shepherd’s locations since 2009, amounting to four or five projects a year in the past decade. “Sometimes, it’s just adding a TV,” Austin said. “But, over the years, we’ve done all his displays at all his bowling sites, as well as at his restaurant, Bonneville Brewery. It’s worked out to be a good long-term relationship.”
Most recently, the team integrated AV-over-IP systems in the West Jordan UT location, an experience that drove many of the decisions and equipment choices in the West Valley location.
“They understand the business,” Shepherd said of the TVS Pro team. “They understand that, for all intents and purposes, Friday is the beginning of the week and Sunday is the end of the week. If an integrator says they can’t make it in on Thursday [and] they’ll see us on Monday, that might as well be a week-and-a-half,” he added.
Hospitality venues also present different challenges than other spaces do when it comes to integrating audiovisual systems, training staff and even working around the venue’s schedule. Shepherd said that he appreciates the fact that TVS Pro also understands the nuances of the bowling business, such as how integrators have to be cautious around the freshly oiled lanes.
The TVS Pro team included not only Austin but also Dalton Parker, Chief Technology Officer, who implemented, benched and programmed the job; Lonnie Martinez, Design Engineer, who completed the scope of work and line drawings; and Dave Begay, Lead Installer on the project.
Working Within Budget Constraints
The West Valley location was built in an existing space within the shopping mall—specifically, a former multiplex cinema that had been torn down to its bare walls. That meant the TVS Pro team had the luxury of working in what was essentially a new construction, rather than a retrofit.
Austin revealed that the key challenge in the project involved working within a strict budget of $500,000. That wasn’t easy, given that so many systems—audio, video and control—had to be integrated throughout the venue. Another challenge involved multiple change orders throughout the project, caused by Shepherd’s desire to improve the technology experience for customers even after the TVS Pro team had completed systems designs. Shepherd wanted to add larger screens and more speakers even after the integrators had started to hang components. Naturally, the integration team gladly accommodated those requests.
& Entertainment from inside the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley UT.
“The customer is great to work with,” Austin enthused, “but the scope of work changed a lot.” He added, “We felt like it was a moving target.”
Another technical challenge that TVS Pro overcame was installing all the video systems using a video-over-IP interface, rather than an HDMI matrix solution. The addition of Dante for the audio systems created a fully integrated media-over-IP, or AV-over-IP, environment.
“It’s a newer technology,” Austin stated, “but with the merge of AV and IT products, it’s becoming very common, especially when you have this many endpoints.” He also underscored the cost savings and reliability of an IP-based solution.
All-Star Bowling & Entertainment boasts dozens of flatscreens that range in size from 55 to 85 inches, at least 16 projection systems, and dozens of speakers across multiple video and audio zones. All are controlled via an iPad or two 10-inch touchscreens over an Extron control system. TVS Pro relied on both Cisco and Araknis networking equipment, a mix of
Episode speakers from Snap AV and AtlasIED commercial speakers, JBL subs and Sony display screens.
Pins-And-Ales
The venue’s main entrance sits within the West Valley Mall. Stepping through the doors, visitors first see the video arcade, laser tag and bumper cars, all of which are open to families. Walk further through the arcade to the corner of the L and you’ll encounter the Pins-and-Ales section: an area with bowling lanes, a full bar and axe throwing that is open to patrons aged 21 years and up. There is also an outdoor deck area with a gas heater, making the space useable throughout the year. On the outdoor deck, there are currently six 75-inch TVs and five speakers.
The bowling lanes have projection screens behind the pins so that bowlers can view music videos and other content as they bowl. The systems include Sony VPL-FHZ90 laser projectors with VPL-LZ4111 zoom lenses, hung using Chief mounts, which illuminate Da-Lite 228-inch-diagonal fixed-frame screens.
The Sony laser projectors vastly reduced maintenance costs and concerns for the client, Parker said. He explained that lamp-based projectors require filters to be cleaned and lamps replaced every 3,000 hours or so. “If you have eight projectors down one set of lanes and four projectors down another, that [would be] a lot of maintenance,” he observed. “These projectors run all day!”
The laser projectors, by contrast, can run 10,000 to 20,000 hours maintenance-free. “They also stay brighter [for] longer, which was really critical to the customer,” Parker noted.
Axe Throwing In The Digital Age
Axe throwing has gained mainstream appeal recently as an alternative to darts or billiards in bar settings. In line with today’s trends, All-Star Bowling & Entertainment features several axe-throwing stations in the Pins-and-Ales section.
In other locations, Shepherd had used targets printed on wood boards. As the axes chipped away the wood, employees would have to repaint the targets every few days. In West Valley, the technically adept TVS Pro team sought a high-tech solution for this low-tech game.
Instead of painting the targets on the wood, TVS Pro came up with the idea to project targets onto the wooden boards. “The trick was mounting the projector in a location where it couldn’t get hit with an axe,” Austin chuckled.
Mounting the projector at a standard height would put it in line to be hit. So, instead, the team chose Epson PowerLite 1771W projectors with extreme keystone projection. The projectors could be angled in such a way that they would be safe from axes while still projecting a clean, crisp target every time. TVS Pro designed a standard target and uploaded the slideshow file onto a USB flash drive, which remains in the projector’s USB input. “The client could actually get creative and put other types of targets or images on the flash drive,” Parker said. “But, for now, it’s just a regular target.”
The solution saves three to four hours a week that employees previously had to spend painting targets. Parker said it didn’t cost a lot to implement because the projectors are standalone components, unconnected to the control system.
The Pins-and-Ales section also includes a DJ booth that has two 85-inch Sony LED TVs. Multiple Sony displays, ranging from 65 inches to 85 inches, also hang above the bar. “A visitor can look at virtually any wall or any quarter section of space and see what’s going on in sports or watch the music videos,” Parker said. He added that one of the biggest challenges was the amount of real estate available for screens.
“The client wanted the largest possible media-viewing areas we could get,” Parker continued. Original designs included a 2×4 videowall with 55-inch screens over the bar, but, as pipes and drainage systems were added, that was reduced to four 85-inch Sony LED TVs. In other areas, 55-inch screens were upgraded to 65 inches, 65 inches to 75 inches and 75 inches to 85 inches. “The size and number of displays changed quite often,” Austin said, “even after the product had been ordered.”
Seamless Transitions
The team from TVS Pro did its best to keep the transitions seamless for the customer by shifting inventory to new spots in the venue whenever they could, rather than just ordering new product. Because TVS Pro designed, conceptualized and benched the entire project in-house, the integrator had the creative control and ability to shift its designs on the fly. “It was a challenge to maintain the scope of work but alter it to the customer’s liking,” Austin admitted. “And, of course, to make it all happen within a tight budget and a tight timeline.”
Family Area
Like the Pins-and-Ales section, the family area also boasts bowling lanes that have projection screens behind them, plus distributed audio and Sony LED TVs that display sports, music videos and digital-signage programming.
Content in both sections includes feeds from DirecTV and Comcast boxes, enabling the venue to show virtually any sporting event or show at any time. The venue also uses Roku boxes for internet streaming and an app called CHIVE TV, which Parker said he believes all corporate and digital-signage installations should include. “It plays funny viral videos and holiday content—all fun stuff,” he said.
The venue gets its music-video programming from a service called the Bowling Music Network. The service offers both family-friendly and 21-plus programming, so All-Star Bowling uses two PCs to route the appropriate content to the screens in each section of the venue.
Audio Challenges Throughout
With so many video sources, the venue required distributed audio to allow customers to listen to the games or music without the sound bleeding over into other areas of the venue, where it would be intrusive or annoying. “The overarching theme was the budget,” Parker observed. “We needed high-quality audio, versatility and flexibility—[but] within the budget.”
TVS Pro found the solution in a Dante network, which provides audio-over-IP through an Extron digital signal processor (DSP). “Dante was a priority for us,” Austin said. He noted that the client wasn’t familiar with the technology but that, now that he has experienced it, the TVS Pro team is hoping he’ll upgrade his other venues, too. “It requires fewer cable pulls, less maintenance on the equipment and fewer points of failure,” he explained.
The loudspeaker mix incorporates AtlasIED pendant speakers and Episode ceiling speakers, which are commercial models produced by Snap AV. The team also specified AtlasIED audio amplifiers with Dante cards.
“We gave the client a good/better/best solution as far as what fidelity of audio we would specify,” Parker said. “He went with the ‘better’ solution, which included a mix of AtlasIED and Episode speakers and JBL subwoofers.”
Parker described both the Pins-and-Ales section and the family-friendly section of the venue as having high, open ceilings. “The most difficult part was getting the system tuned with a lot of open area and no acoustic treatment,” he explained. “It sounds great when you’re out there and listening to music, but that was definitely the most difficult part.”
Divisible Conference & Party Rooms
All-Star Bowling & Entertainment is more than just a place to play; accordingly, its ancillary spaces and their AV systems reflect that. The venue includes four meeting rooms that can be combined in any configuration to hold up to 300 guests. Also, a separate All-Star Room can be used for parties or meetings of approximately 40 people.
Meeting room number one includes a Sony laser projector and a 133-inch Da-Lite Cosmopolitan Electrol motorized screen, as well as a Sony 85-inch LED TV. Four Episode ceiling speakers provide audio. Meetings rooms two and three are identical to each other, each featuring a Sony 85-inch LED TV, local HDMI inputs and four Episode ceiling speakers. Meeting room four uses a Panasonic PT-VMZ60U projector and a 189-inch Da-Lite motorized screen, as well as a Sony 85-inch LED TV and four Episode ceiling speakers.
The meeting rooms have inputs for local presentations, but, thanks to the AV-over-IP functionality, any content available throughout the venue can also be routed to the meeting rooms. The LED TVs and projectors can display the same content or different content.
EQUIPMENT
Exterior
4 Episode ECS-500-AW70V-6-BLK all-weather Commercial Series surface-mount
70V speakers (black)
Mall Entry
1 Araknis Networks AN-110-SW-C-8P 110 Series unmanaged+ gigabit compact
switch (8 side ports)
1 Araknis Networks AN-700-AP-I-AC 700 Series indoor wireless access point
4 Episode ECS-500-AW70V-6-WHT all-weather Commercial Series surface-mount
70V speakers (white)
4 Episode ECS-800-PND6-BLK 800 Commercial Series 70V pendant speakers w/
woofers and gripple kits (black)
4 Sony XBR-55X800G 55″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TVs w/HDR
4 Strong SM-T-L tilt mounts
Arcade
2 Araknis Networks AN-700-AP-I-AC 700 Series indoor wireless access points
2 AtlasIED FAP62T 6″ coaxial in-ceiling speakers w/32W 70/100V transformers
and ported enclosures
8 AtlasIED FAPSUB-1 8″ tuned ported in-ceiling subs w/60W 70V/100V transformers
30 Episode ECS-800-PND6-BLK 800 Commercial Series 70V pendant speakers
w/woofers and gripple kits (black)
1 Sony XBR-65X800G 65″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TV w/HDR
1 Strong SM-T-L tilt mount
Laser Tag
1 Binary B-560-EXT-444-70 560 Series 4K HDR HDBaseT long-range extender
w/IR, RS232 and Ethernet
1 Sony XBR-65X800G 65″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TV w/HDR
1 Sony XBR-75X800G 75″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TV w/HDR
2 Strong SM-T-L tilt mounts
Pins-And-Ales
2 Araknis Networks AN-700-AP-I-AC 700 Series indoor wireless access points
10 AtlasIED FAPSUB-1 8″ tuned ported in-ceiling subs w/60W 70V/100V transformers
1 Binary B-560-EXT-444-70 560 Series 4K HDR HDBaseT long-range extender
w/IR, RS232 and Ethernet
4 Chief RPAU RPA Series universal and custom ceiling projector mounts
4 Chief VCMU VCM Series heavy-duty universal projector mounts
4 Da-Lite 228″-diagonal fixed-frame screens
5 Episode ECS-500-AW70V-6-BLK all-weather Commercial Series surface-mount
70V speakers (black)
60 Episode ECS-800-PND6-BLK 800 Commercial Series 70V pendant speakers
w/woofers and gripple kits (black)
4 Epson PowerLite 1771W WXGA 3LCD projectors
1 Extron AXI 22 AT D 2-input, 2-output Dante audio interface
(decorator-style wallplate)
1 Extron TLP Pro 1025T 10″ tabletop TouchLink Pro touchpanel
3 JBL Control SB2210 dual 10″ compact subs
1 Liberty AV AVO-USB-C full-speed USB extender dongle (client side)
2 Liberty AV PC-G1790-E-P-C Panelcrafters precision-manufactured HDMI
female pass-throughs
1 Sceptre E248W-1920 24″ LED 1080p monitor w/speakers
4 Sony VPL-FHZ90L high-brightness 3LCD laser projectors w/9,000-lumen
brightness
5 Sony XBR-49X800G 49″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TVs w/HDR
15 Sony XBR-65X800G 65″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TVs w/HDR
6 Sony XBR-75X800G 75″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TVs w/HDR
6 Sony XBR-85X850G 85″ X850G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TVs w/HDR
6 Strong SM-CEILING-T-L ceiling mounts w/1½” NPT
9 Strong SM-T-L tilt mounts
6 Strong SM-T-XL tilt mounts
Family Lanes
1 Araknis Networks AN-700-AP-I-AC 700 Series indoor wireless access point
1 Binary B-560-EXT-444-70 560 Series 4K HDR HDBaseT long-range extender
w/IR, RS232 and Ethernet
8 Da-Lite 35168LC Contour 178″-diagonal electric motorized screens
24 Episode ECS-500-AW70V-8-BLK all-weather Commercial Series surface-mount
70V speakers (black)
1 Extron AXI 22 AT D 2-input, 2-output Dante audio interface
(decorator-style wallplate)
1 Extron TLP Pro 1025T 10″ tabletop TouchLink Pro touchpanel
6 JBL Control SB2210 dual 10″ compact subs
1 Liberty AV AVO-USB-C full-speed USB extender dongle (client side)
1 Liberty AV PC-G1790-E-P-C Panelcrafters precision-manufactured HDMI
female pass-through
1 Sceptre E248W-1920 24″ LED 1080p monitor w/speakers
8 Sony VPL-PHZ10 3LCD laser projectors w/5,000-lumen brightness
9 Sony XBR-49X800G 49″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TVs w/HDR
3 Sony XBR-65X800G 65″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TVs w/HDR
4 Sony XBR-75X800G 75″ X800G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TVs w/HDR
2 Strong SM-T-L tilt mounts
Meeting Room 1
1 Da-Lite 79014L Cosmopolitan Electrol 133″ motorized projection screen
1 Liberty AV PC-G1790-E-P-C Panelcrafters precision-manufactured HDMI
female pass-through
1 Sony VPL-PHZ10 3LCD laser projector w/5,000-lumen brightness
1 Sony XBR-85X850G 85″ X850G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TV w/HDR
1 Strong SM-T-XL tilt mount
Meeting Rooms 2, 3
1 Liberty AV PC-G1790-E-P-C Panelcrafters precision-manufactured HDMI female
pass-through
1 Sony XBR-85X850G 85″ X850G smart LED 4K ultra-HD TV w/HDR
1 Strong SM-T-XL tilt mount
Meeting Room 4
1 Da-Lite 70140L Advantage Electrol 189″
motorized screen
1 Liberty AV PC-G1790-E-P-C Panelcrafters
precision-manufactured HDMI female
pass-through
1 Panasonic PT-VMZ60U WUXGA 3LCD laser
projector w/6,000-lumen brightness
1 Sony XBR-85X850G 85″ X850G smart LED
4K ultra-HD TV w/HDR
1 Strong SM-T-XL tilt mount
All-Star Room
1 Sony XBR-75X800G 75″ X800G smart LED
4K ultra-HD TV w/HDR
Rack Equipment
1 Apple 9.7″ iPad
2 Araknis Networks AN-110-SW-R-24 110 Series
unmanaged+ gigabit switches w/rear ports
1 Araknis Networks AN-210-SW-R-16-POE 210
Series websmart gigabit switch w/partial
PoE+ and rear ports
1 Araknis Networks AN-310-RT-4L2W 310
Series gigabit VPN router
3 AtlasIED DPA602 600W networkable multi-
channel power amps w/3 DPADAC4
Dante cards
3 AtlasIED DPA804 800W networkable 4-channel
power amps w/3 DPADAC4 Dante cards
1 AtlasIED HPA1302 dual-channel, 1,300W
commercial amp w/1 HPADAC2 Dante card
3 AtlasIED HPA2604 4-channel, 2,600W
commercial amps w/3 HPADAC4 Dante cards
66 Binary B-900-MoIP-4K-RX 900 Series
4K media-over-IP receivers
22 Binary B-900-MoIP-4K-TX 900 Series
4K media-over-IP transmitters
2 Cisco SG550X-48MP 48-port gigabit PoE
stackable managed switches
3 Extron DMP 128 Plus 12×8 ProDSP digital
matrix processors
1 Extron IPCP Pro 550 IP Link Pro control
processor
2 Extron IPL Pro CR88 IP Link Pro control
processors
1 Extron IPL Pro IRS8 IP Link Pro control
processor
2 HP Compaq Elite 8300 small-form-factor PCs
1 Shure BLX1-J10 BLX Series wireless bodypack
transmitter, J10 band (584MHz to 608MHz)
2 Shure BLX24R/SM58-J10 BLX Series single-
channel rackmount wireless mic systems
w/SM58 handheld, J10 band (584MHz to
608MHz)
8 Shure UA8 1/2-wave dipole antennas
4 Shure UA834 in-line antenna amps
2 Shure UABIAST in-line power adapters
Abridged list is edited from information supplied by TVS Pro.
A Centrally Managed System
After completing AV and control-system integrations for the client in four other venues, TVS Pro learned from its experiences and found a way to improve the West Valley location in terms of its flexibility, capabilities and convenience.
By integrating a centrally managed system in which sources, amplifiers, networking gear, control-system components and processing equipment are all housed in an AV closet that’s separate and apart from the bar and other customer-accessible areas, TVS Pro provided a streamlined system. (By contrast, in a prior venue, the team had installed the AV equipment behind the bar. That had exposed it to an environment in which drinks could be spilled or customers or employees could tamper with the equipment.)
Neat & Streamlined
Keeping the DirecTV, Xfinity by Comcast and Roku boxes in the equipment closet keeps the video systems looking neat and streamlined. It also makes troubleshooting and maintenance easier. “We can just go to one location if we need to service something,” Parker said.
Additionally, the components are all plugged into SMART outlets that reside on the network, giving the TVS Pro team capabilities for remote monitoring and management. If a component, such as a Roku box, has to be reset, it can be done without a service call. “From my desk, I can access all the outlets in the rack and remotely reset any individual outlet,” Parker affirmed. “It saves time and money because we’re not sending out a truck for a service call.”
TVS Pro can also be proactive about keeping its client’s systems running. The integrator might notice that a component is down before the client realizes it; then, TVS Pro can troubleshoot and fix the problem remotely, keeping the systems running smoothly.
Benefits Of AV-Over-IP
Remote monitoring and remote management are just two of many benefits of AV-over-IP. Using a standard HDMI matrix would have limited the range of the systems and cost far more than the network switching system that TVS Pro deployed at the West Valley location. With distances of more than 500 feet from rack to endpoint, an HDMI matrix system would have been neither cost-effective nor practical.
“We’re still limited to 330 feet on copper, but we can expand a network switch over fiber to get the distance we need,” Parker explained. “Because we’re using a standard IP configuration, we can put a network switch mid-span and extend over the network switch, rather than using an HDMI extender to a receiver and a repeater to another extender. Thus, we can minimize those connection points and minimize points of failure.”
Realizing Cost Savings
TVS Pro chooses SnapAV’s Araknis network components when possible due to the cost savings provided by that brand. “Araknis is a professional line, and Araknis has worked well with us for years,” Austin remarked. Araknis switches are used in this project for standard IP communications, the control system, DSPs and the Dante network for audio.
The team also installed a more robust Cisco switch as the core of the video-over-IP system because it could accommodate the number of transmitters required. “We used Araknis for the less-bandwidth-intensive applications. All the video-over-IP goes through the Cisco switches,” Parker noted.
The AV-over-IP-based system also provides room for future expansion. “With a full IP-based solution for both video and audio, it’s easy to run network cables to whatever inputs we need,” Austin said. “In designing the systems, we knew the [expandability] and flexibility needed to be there. We [couldn’t] install a system that was maxed out in its potential from day one.”
Control System Offers Ease Of Use
Just as the AV-over-IP system offers flexibility and cost savings, an Extron control system provided all the functionality and customization that the client sought, while staying within budget. The system includes an Extron IPCP Pro 550 control processor with Ethernet monitoring and control, an IPL Pro IRS8 processor and two CR88 processors, controlled via an iPad or two 10-inch touchscreens.
“The client wanted a very user-friendly experience for his staff to be able to easily control the setup,” Austin recalled. “He wanted a simple touchscreen interface on each side, where any employee could set whatever content they wanted, on any display, with just a touch. They can choose any audio in a particular zone and set the audio levels. With just a few clicks, they’ve got a seamless control environment.”
In addition, the Extron control system offers touchscreen-interface-customization capability, including adding the All-Star logo. “It worked out as a win-win,” Austin said.
Overall, the client is very pleased with how the systems turned out, as well as the service that the TVS Pro team provided after the sale. “I was calling them seven days a week for the first month with questions, and now it’s all working very well,” Shepherd said.
In fact, Shepherd is already contemplating upgrades to the Draper UT location, which was completed six years ago. “Now, I have this state-of-the-art facility in West Valley, so we have to segue into the future at our other locations,” he observed. “Things change so fast, and we have to keep up.”
Austin, too, is looking forward to advancing the already-strong relationship between TVS Pro and All-Star Bowling & Entertainment. “Our hope is that he’s had such a great experience and such a great turnout with this bowling alley that we’ll be able to go back and integrate similar systems in the remaining three locations that don’t have these types of systems yet,” he concluded hopefully.