Even Keel: Summer 2004 - Associate Member Spotlight -
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Published on: 7/1/2004
Last Visited: 1/12/2007
An interview with Brian Paiva, vice president, business development
Thomas Gregor Associates (TGA) is a full-service, entertainment technology design firm that transforms the latest entertainment technology into the designs, drawings and specifications required by architects, general contractors, shipyards and amusement parks worldwide.
ICCL: For Princess Cruises, what was its project goal?
Paiva: The company's mandate for this job was not simply to enable movie playback outside the controlled conditions of a theater, but to do so at a Princess-level standard of quality."Movies Under the Stars" audiences find themselves surrounded not only by sea and sky, but also by state-of-the-art sound and picture.Utilizing top-notch components and an intelligent design, we were successful at addressing the challenges of the outdoor setting.
ICCL: How did TGA solve the issue of the equipment's exposure to sun, wind, saltwater, heat and humidity experienced in an outdoor marine environment?
Paiva: TGA designed the LED display system to be enclosed in an insulated aluminum housing that utilizes a closed ventilation system for filtration and air conditioning.This keeps the system cool and dry and operating at optimal efficiency, important in the hot, humid weather of the Caribbean.This approach also satisfies the critical Ingress Protection (IP) ratings, which specify the environmental protection of electrical equipment, required by marine regulatory agencies.It also gives the ship owner the option of redeploying the ship to another climate zone such as Alaska.
ICCL: To provide passengers with a day or night viewing experience, what were the major considerations?
Paiva: From the standpoint of visuals, one crucial consideration was ensuring that the outdoor screen be sufficiently bright and vivid even in direct sunlight.
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Paiva: Because of the wind, the most important issue in selecting the PA system was maintaining intelligibility, particularly for dialog.
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