Crown Audio Powers China’s “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium For Beijing Olympic Games

With the official opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games, Crown Audio today announced it had provided China’s National Stadium with 400 Crown I-Tech amplifiers to power the sound system during the next 16 days of events at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games being held in Beijing, China.

Affectionately known as the Bird’s Nest, the stadium was created by elite design and architectural teams from all over the world. With capacity for 100,000, the stadium will host track and field events as well today’s opening ceremony and closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics to be held on August 24th.

“As 100,000 spectators cheer for their respective countrymen in the opening ceremony, clear and present audio will be important, no matter what language is being spoken,” said Marc Kellom, Vice President of Marketing for Crown Audio. “With over 400 of our I-Tech amplifiers powering the system, we’re confident that everyone in attendance including the athletes will be able to hear their country’s introduction.”

Audio alone takes up two full rooms in the spacious stadium and Crown’s 400 I-Tech amplifiers are housed in 30 racks. The audio system, which is fiber based, was designed by China Broadcast Bureau, a state-run agency. All the processing in the system is being done by the digital console and the robust internal DSP of the Crown I-Tech amplifiers.

The integrated processing in the I-Tech amplifiers reduces DSP noise associated with external systems for quieter overall operation. With this level of advanced technology, simple system operation is available via the front panel LCD, which provides easy access to diagnostics and preset selection, ensuring fast and easy system setup.

For an event as important as the Olympics, front panel lockout on the I-Tech ensures that tunings and presets are safely stored and protected from unauthorized users. Remote monitoring and control allow for complete system control from anywhere in the Olympic Stadium. “Our ability to provide world-class network control and monitoring via HiQnet technology was instrumental in the decision to use I-Tech amplifiers in this job,” notes Kellom.

Harman HiQnet™ is the world's first connectivity and control protocol that integrates all product categories in the signal chain for professional audio systems of all types, size, and applications. Harman HiQnet no longer requires the user to manage multiple disparate operating systems or be responsible for programming individual signal processors, speaker controllers, wireless microphone systems, and mixing consoles. HiQnet was developed by engineers from across the Harman Pro Group and is coordinated by the System Development and Integration Group (SDIG), a team of dedicated systems specialists based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Crown is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com).
Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”