Tales from Iceland are retold with AV Stumpfl UHD players

Though a small country, Iceland’s stature in design tradition is mighty. Drawing upon that strong heritage, local AV specialist Luxor delivered an impressive audio-visual experience in UHD to the Tales from

Iceland museum, in which everything from video to lighting is controlled using Avio, AV Stumpfl’s sophisticated, decentralised show control system.

The exhibition on Icelandic history, nature and society uses a total of 21 UHD Player systems, AV Stumpfl’s professional solid state media players, which seamlessly integrate into the Avio network, to create a truly immersive experience for visitors to discover the dramatic landscapes and daily life of this beautiful Nordic country.

All the high-resolution content on display gives visitors an eye-opening insight into Iceland, showcasing the country’s diversity and beauty. It provides a sensory experience which marries design, technology and the land around them.

AV Stumpfl’s UHD Player systems proved to be the perfect solution for this highly visual visitor attraction, as they are designed for 24/7 operation and are capable of displaying video with a resolution of up to 4096 x 2160 at 60fps to produce vibrant images. The vivid brilliance of the content enables visitors to explore Iceland through the eyes of tourist videos and discover more about the country from news reports which bring the past to life.

All AV Stumpfl’s UHD Players in the museum play short synchronised videos across 14 UHD exhibition screens, measuring up to 2.5 metres (100 inches) in diagonal. Frame synchronisation via a dedicated protocol is inbuilt and can be established via an IP network.

The 4K UHD screens are connected to speakers mounted in the ceiling which form a soundcloud underneath. Potential audio syncing issues at the exhibition are avoided thanks to the freerun-sync mode embedded in the UHD player firmware, which enables videos to begin simultaneously and then operate in freerun mode.

Rafn Rafnsson, technical director at Tales from Iceland, who worked closely with Luxor, said: “We chose AV Stumpfl’s UHD Player because we wanted a single, solid system to control the whole museum centrally (audio, video, lights and human control) and also have a simultaneous sync between the players. Avio is equally useful in this application allowing us a really good and flexible overview of all of our equipment in a cost-efficient way.”

Avio is a decentralised solution developed for audio-visual installations, which connects devices via an easy to use drag-and-drop mechanism. Avio is designed so if one device on the network goes down, only the affected connections are interrupted, meaning there is no impact on the system as a whole.

All UHD Player systems and content are easily managed across the museum using AV Stumpfl’s Avio; an ioBox Relais turns the power on and off across the building as a night mode option, while a remote control can be used to activate parts of the installation. LED strips in the ceiling, reminiscent of the Northern Lights, are controlled by ioBox DMX controls. Avio enables building automation, scheduling via a calendar, audio management and the integration of third-party devices.

Rafnsson concluded: “Iceland has a strong design tradition, and this inspired our approach to deliver an impressive exhibition which uses technology to highlight the world around us. By using UHD Player systems and other AV Stumpfl products we have been able to showcase to visitors the diversity and beauty of Iceland. We have connected this technology via Avio to bring Iceland to life and we have used lighting technology to resemble the Northern Lights. Visitor feedback has been very positive and as a clever and simple solution, Avio has been an integral part of making the exhibition so well-received and in keeping with Iceland’s design heritage.”