THE PROJECT

Located in the 2nd Street district of downtown Austin, the Austin City Limits Stage at theMoody Theater is part of a mixed-use, 31-story tower that includes office space, condos,restaurants, retail space & the W Austin Hotel.

The entertainment Mecca, recentlynamed “Best New Major Concert Venue”by Pollstar Magazine, is the new hometo KLRU-TV’s production, Austin CityLimits. The Moody Theater is a state-of-the-art venue that hosts 60 – 100 concerts per year as well as private events.

Boasting 2 balconies, its flexible space can just as easily accommodate an intimate event for 400 or a large event for 2,700. Complete with a digital HD broadcast production studio, the facility’s goals included delivering exceptional lighting, staging, audio and video experiences.

THE CHALLENGE

In order to make it all work behind the scenes, ACL brought in Theatre Consultants Collaborative’s Curtis Kasefang, an industry veteran for designing and specifying performance lighting, staging, rigging and seating systems. His unique background in theatrical lighting, sound system engineering, IT & process modeling enabled him tomarry experience with technology throughout the design process. In researching theprotection and control needs for the theatre, Curtis turned to LynTec.

Considering the costs involved and invested in the lighting and AV equipment, it was critical to the success of the project to ensure power reliability for the protection of the equipment and for the functional performance of the theater. Technical equipment onsite that needed to be considered included theater lighting, rigging systems, LED’s, digital signage, broadcast cameras, mixing consoles, amplifiers and other audio and video equipment necessary to ensure the venue could reliably deliver a powerful experience.

THE SOLUTION

Traditional relay systems were unable to provide the best solution for the demanding project with regard to maintainability, reliability and scalability, so Kasefang designed the power requirements to include LynTec’s motorized circuit breaker panels and their RPC (Remote Power Control) to enable individual control through either of the three lighting control consoles.

All equipment was installed on location in a dedicated electrical service room – accessible on site, but with the added flexibility for web based viewing, access and control. This provided the designer and subsequently ACL’s in-house engineers and electricians with multiple ways to work with the systems. In addition to the equipment, LynTec provided design and installation support as well as configuration and programming support.

THE RESULT

In total 7 panels and over 120 motorized breakers were installed for the project to provide power reliability, protection and performance to keep the lighting and control equipment on line and working at optimum levels.

THE VALUE ADD

The ability to address individual 208v circuits from DMX gave the light board operators the ability to turn off or reset a faulty moving light in the middle of a performance. This function is not available from non-dim modules in dimmer racks. The LynTec panel’s ability to truly shut off circuits provided additional avenues for energy and cost savings that continue to be passed on to the client. This shut down feature also protects electronics from power surges.

Finally, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When you consider the damage that can result – not only monetarily – but to the ACL’s reputation if the stage equipment doesn’t work properly because of a power issue – the cost’s impact grows. Having a system that can help identify and address potential problems up front goes a long way towards providing peace of mind and a better experience overall.

ABOUT LYNTEC

LynTec brings to market electrical protection and circuit switching capabilities in the same enclosures. In doing so, the company has always found ways to save space, lower system installation costs and build trusted relationships with audio system and lighting designers. Its expansion into electrical and lighting controls, and now its growth into expanded lighting control, energy monitoring, built in power conditioning, and mobile applications continues to position the company as a leading resource for the AV and lighting industries and an integral partner for sustainable energy practices. For more information on LynTec visit www.lyntec.com.