HIGH-CALIBRE AV COLLABORATION AT BMW / MINI SHOWROOM – READING, UK

COMMERCIAL CASE STUDY

HIGH-CALIBRE AV COLLABORATION AT BMW / MINI SHOWROOM

Commercial InstallationLocation: Reading, UKThe expression “A customer doesn’t walk onto the lot unless they want to buy” might still have been true not that long ago when a car dealership consisted of a fairly plain building containing a few motors and a lot of pushy salespeople. But today’s car showrooms are designed to be as aesthetically pleasing and technologically advanced as the cars themselves to appeal to ever-savvier customers that demand a far more sophisticated buying experience.

Dealership Experience ReimaginedThe modern car showroom is packed to the rafters with audio/video and IT delights requiring unique integration strategies for the dealership to leverage its ability to inform, serve, tantalize, entertain and persuade customers into making their purchase. The Cooper BMW and MINI retail center in Reading, UK is one such venue, and it does its job very well.

Set across three floors, incorporating two car showrooms (BMW and MINI) with very different design aesthetics, plus large maintenance areas, Cooper of Reading was always destined to be an exciting and challenging building project – one that deserved an AV installation to suit its scale and retail gravitas.But meeting a delivery timeline of just six weeks prior to

completion required a unique integration strategy – one that leveraged strong working relationships as well as the enriched customer experience through AV that BMW Group is renowned for.

The project “ran like clockwork”, says Marc Hatton, founder and managing director of preferred BMW Group integrator MCS. Such smooth sailing is largely due to the uniquely collaborative working relationship MCS has with BMW Group and its franchised retailer group Inchcape, a relationship that has borne fruit on several previous dealership projects.

The Cooper retail center itself resembles a huge shopping mall-sized motoring equivalent of an Apple Store in crisp modern white and glass, with the BMW section home to 16 cars plus two handover bays on the ground floor, a further 14 new BMW models on the first floor and 35 used cars on the second floor.The MINI area is located within the second section of the retail

center and boasts a completely different in look and feel with a funky black and orange décor befitting the fun-loving character of the brand, with seven cars and one handover bay on the ground floor, another four MINI models on the first floor and a further 10 on the second.

Centralized Audio ControlThe Cooper retail center AV system is designed to work within several different distinct areas – BMW, MINI, and the workshop/handover departments. The audio is controlled centrally, allowing different music to be played in the workshop to that in the showroom, usually piped via DAB radio, and utilizing a WyreStorm Enado control solution to control what is playing where and how loud. Multiple Penton in-ceiling speakers (RCS6/TCOAX; RCS8/TCOAX; Cell20 Sound Projector) are used.

Chosen for ease of cable management and impedance matching, the front-of-house showroom area speaker system utilizes a 100 Volt line system to maintain even impendence across, and is managed by an iPad control system running a proprietary web browser with Enado, as well as global switch on/off, which, according to Hatton, affords the client enhanced audio transmission capabilities.

“We use the Enado controller, in the case of audio, to interface to a DCM1 Cloud audio processor, basically as a pre-amplifier with digital control. This connects to Cloud power amps which route sound to all the speakers.”

For the workshop/handover departments, the audio is limited to a pre-selected number of radio channels, and also has PA announcements using a single microphone to access all of the available Penton loudspeakers. Each bay in the workshop also includes an LG display connected to a PC for diagnostics, whilst

the LG displays in the handover bays are optimized to run LG SuperSign digital signage software to provide customers with a unique welcome message.

Networked AV DistributionThe main distribution system comprises a WyreStorm NetworkHD JPEG2000 AV over IP solution distributing centrally located sources to 17 display zones around the dealership. The NetworkHD system is integrated with WyreStorm’s Enado control solution to provide the same seamless interface for both audio and for video, and is utilized to transmit multiple source inputs to the multiple LG displays around the retail center. Hatton sees NetworkHD and Enado as instrumental in the success of the not only this, but a number of MCS dealerships projects across the UK.

“We have installed WyreStorm in several of our other Inchcape dealerships, including our InAVate award-winning BMW dealership project in Durham, which also featured NetworkHD and Enado. Reliability and compatibility with other equipment installed are key considerations for commercial projects and we always have confidence WyreStorm products will deliver on both those fronts. This in turn reassures Inchcape that we can continue to deliver consistently high quality solutions no matter the size or complexity of their dealerships.“

The display system is zoned for the different areas in the handover areas (for the on-screen maintenance diagnostics), and in the two different showrooms. A total of 46 displays run through every part of the retail center, from maintenance bays to private consultation areas, as well as a zoned audio system ready for the BMW developing media player system.

Hatton feels that although the increased availability of IP solutions for commercial AV distribution benefits installers by offering greater choice, with that choice comes risk - will the equipment specified do what the project requires?

“The are a number of AV over IP solutions on the market but even though they use similar distribution technologies, they are certainly not equal. We have encountered issues of compatibility and reliability is the past, and complex configuration that requires longer installation periods or returns to site to rectify problems - all of which adds cost, eats into profit and complicates the project.

We find that NetworkHD is unmatched in terms of speed and ease of install, reliability and compatibility with other specified equipment and gives us a great deal of flexibility in terms of expanding the project if the clients decide they want more sources or displays.”

The MCS WayA total of forty-five commercial pro displays and consumer TVs, all from LG, were used throughout the dealership, ranging in size from 32in all the way up to 80in, with a combination of 32in and 47in displays used for BMW and MINI consultation areas. Hatton feels the the quality of screens is an important factor in MCS projects:

“We always recommend commercial pro displays or monitors if required by the application and where the client would feel the added value of that quality. The only time we feel comfortable installing a consumer TV is either in a canteen or on occasion where there’s a very large format required for a meeting room (such as the 80in Sharp utilized within the Cooper main meeting room). To go large format on a pro monitor costs significantly more, so it’s a budgetary consideration for our clients.”

Consumer TV models don’t have RS-232 and pro screens offer much longer life - both in terms of durability and continued availability of model are far more reliable. it’s not unusual for consumer TV models to be obsolete in five months following launch. This isn’t great on a build this long in the planning. And let’s not forget the level of support we get from the pro screen manufacturers – essential.”

In default operation, the displays run specially branded content for each section of the retail center distributed via centrally located sources and the WyreStorm NetworkHD system. Additionally some of the displays are also required to work in a local mode wirelessly from iPads to incorporate the retail center’s special private customization experience.

All displays throughout the dealership are controlled by Enado, with NetworkHD providing AV content to each BMW consultation desk, as well as enabling access for staff to technical specification and options to use when with customers. When sales staff begin a customer consultation session, the sales staff use a scaled down version of the dealership Enado control to select which consultation bay they are using and then switch from the main dealership signage content to AppleTV. They are then able to use AirPlay to mirror their iPads and use the BMW consultation application to engage the customer during the session.

Eleven customer consultation bays screen rolling branded content at all times, until required to be used for client purposes, which, as Hatton notes, is easily accessed controlled by a BMW or MINI representative with Enado on an iPad.

“The staff use an iPad with the Enado drop-down menu showing all the bays named one-to-eleven. Once they’ve selected the correct bay, their iPad goes into mirror mode and steps in front of the default ‘broadcast’” at the specified bay. This enables customers to directly interact with the content before them and work with the sales personnel to specify their car purchase requirements.”

An Intuitive Project ProcessHatton feels that even for a project of this size, the installation process was extremely smooth, thanks in large part to the work done before the actual installation began:

“While we’re always ready to react to unforeseen circumstances, we didn’t anticipate any problems with this project – due to our pre-planning and the excellent, long-term working relationship we have with Inchcape and BMW.”

This relationship determined a simple process from the beginning that all parties were able to adhere to and benefit from, honed through multiple successful car retail centers MCS and Inchcape have worked together to deliver. MCS was recently confirmed as ‘Preferred Integration Partner’ for BMW Group and the company works closely with Inchcape on most UK retail centers, being the latter’s preferred AV partner.

The project process is intuitive: the architect on a given project sends plans to Inchcape, who forwards to MCS. MCS work-up a first draft of project requirements before going back to Inchcape with the specifics of the project. This allows the company to work with the client to establish a model from the very beginning and identify any potential points of complexity far in advance, as Hatton explains:

“Even on a large project like this which took six weeks to implement, including snagging, a normal presence would be three to four installers, and at peak six installers. Having at least two installers on site at all times provides genuine continuity across the project.”

Experience Counts This smooth implementation is largely due to MCS’s extensive background in data cabling, which meant that company could complete both data and AV cabling to ensure continuity of overlapped services. It also meant that the MCS team was perfectly placed and highly experienced to handle any cabling issues encountered, which is advantageous according to Hatton:

Clearly a number of AV plates needed to be kept spinning on such a display-heavy installation to ensure the build was ready on time, but not one of these was dropped – testament to both MCS and Inchcape, and also to the manufacturers involved.

“Building on past experience gained across multiple projects allows us to implement a continual process of refinement, thus ensuring that the delivery runs smoothly. We’re particularly conscious that support issues can slow the process, so we look to find solutions for any issues that come up in each build; allowing us to be prepared for almost any eventuality.

Our excellent working relationship with WyreStorm is essential for us and our client, both in terms of the quality of their products and the fast support they provide if ever we need it - important factors in us continuing to specify WyreStorm as part of our dynamic and contemporary approach to integrated solutions for Inchcape.”

www.cooperbmw.co.uk/Reading

Equipment List

45x LG Screens - 11x 32in - 19x 42in - 12x 47in - 1x 60in - 1x 70in - 1x 80in1x WyreStorm NHD-IP-CTL NetworkHD Controller4x WyreStorm NHD-IP-TX NetworkHD IP Encoder (Comms Room)17x WyreStorm NHD-IP-RX NetworkHD IP Decoder (10 Consultation Bays, 2x Handover Bays, 3x Showroom, 2x Customer Lounge)1x WyreStorm ENA-001-010 Enado Controller1x Cloud DCM12x Cloud CXA6 Amplifier2x DAB Tuners2x Freeview Players1x AppleTV2x BrightSign HD222 Digital Signage Players

About the installer

MCS Ltd. provides communication infrastructure tailored to suit the particular business needs of the client, bringing together data, voice and audio-visual content delivery over reliable connectivity platform.

With more than 15 years in the electronics integration industry, MCS specializes in the design and installation of commercial solutions from data cabling or simple audio systems for small offices to large-scale, multiple video source distribution, capable of switching numerous video source content to a number of displays, with multi-channel audio systems.

Based in West Sussex, UK, MCS has earned an excellent reputation as a leading Pro AV solutions provider for high profile commercial clients, with over 35 projects for Inchcape Retail brands alone.

Since the Cooper Reading project, MCS has completed a stunning four-floor flagship Volkswagon dealership in Brentford, West London comprising of a pair of 3x3 video walls, four way finder totems and four interactive totems with AV distribution and control provided by WyreStorm NetworkHD and Enado. Another new build BMW dealership has also since been completed for Syter Group in Tamworth, featuring 8 consultation zones, multiple showroom screens, two hand-over bays and a 12-screen Service Drive Through system - a project that represents the largest WyreStorm NetworkHD installation carried out by MCS to date.

Thanks to Marc Hatton and Simon Gilbert at MCS

MCS Ltd. Tel: 0845 1667 248Web: http://mcsuk.com/

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