LiveHear: interaction at large live events

A few days ago we came across a truly innovative Start Up conceived by the well-known Italian Lighting Designer Emiliano Morgia, this time in a different guise where the protagonist is sound in the service of special effects.

For a few years now, Emiliano Morgia has been living in Dubai and, together with his founding partner Gianni Bruzzese, has created the platform, LiveHear, which allows the public to enjoy large-scale events such as pyrotechnics or drone shows, visible from a great distance but not audible.

This is a challenge that has been tackled in various ways in the history of entertainment, just think of George Frideric Handel, who in 1749 composed a suite dedicated to a fireworks display performed by an orchestra positioned close to the firework launching platforms, so as to synchronise music and effects in the best possible way. And even a hundred years ago, what we now call Silent Movies were accompanied by an orchestra inside cinemas that followed the rhythm of the film.

Today, large firework or drone shows are seen by thousands of people often spread out over large spaces, but who do not have the opportunity to hear the sound of the show unless major investments are made, such as the placement of loudspeakers distributed along the entire length of the event with delay management.

One example above all is the famous New Year’s Eve show at the Burj Khalifa, visible from all over Dubai, but only able to be heard in the immediate vicinity, in a square that can hold a maximum of 15,000 people. The remaining half million people can see the show but cannot hear it and are forced to watch it on television or YouTube, with a delay of about 40 seconds. The same problem for the display on the Las Vegas Sphere, visible from miles away, but without sound.

LiveHear is a platform that enables the transmission of high quality streaming audio, even in multilingual (up to 32 languages), over large distances and with a latency of at most 100 milliseconds. FoH goers know that this is more or less a delay at a distance of about 40 metres from the stage, and therefore practically in real time.

To do this, LiveHear, exploits some of Google ‘s self-scalable Firebase servers , which enable a geographical distribution of the audio signal by exploiting servers in the vicinity of the venue that receive the signal and send it to connected smartphones within a radius of 10, 20, 50 km of the venue.

With 4G it is possible to handle around 20,000 people in a single cell, even 100,000 with 5G. Consequently, by distributing the signal over several cells, the value can reach up to one million, the only limit being the server capacity. Furthermore, 100 milliseconds are calculated over the entire journey the signal makes from when it is transmitted to when it reaches the phones.

It is a solution that significantly lowers the costs for audio systems and differs from, for example, silent discs, where one is forced to use certain hardware and software. In contrast, LiveHear, is fully branded according to customer specifications and thus allows the creation of mini-sites where participants can interact with reaction emoji and a Call to Action button, which allows the organiser to direct the flow of interest towards the event content. It is enough, for example, to frame a QR code on a poster or read NFCs placed around the city to connect to a web page where the portal is configured and branded for a given event. So no vans with transmission systems, delay towers, speakers and headphones, no permits, no cables.

In addition, the system gives you the possibility to collect data and retain listeners, so that you can know who has seen and listened to your show, and get your own statistical and contact return.

Dwelling on the pure marketing aspects and considering what is the average cost per click or per visit applied on the web by sites and socials, on average we are talking about an expenditure of 1 euro for every 1,000 people who see your advertisement. On the other hand, if one person clicks on the advertisement we are talking about 1 euro of expenditure per click, with an investment that is often dispersed and with little control. With LiveHear,, on the other hand, we are talking about clicks that have already taken place, since the moment the user enters the fully branded mini-site, he is automatically ‘hooked’ by the sponsor or principal. LiveHear, is designed to allow event organisers to directly collect the profit generated through the use of the mobile phone, which would otherwise end up in the hands of more popular social media and sites. In this way, full control is gained over the use of the mobile phone and the sponsorship of the event.

We were able to attend a demo organised while Emiliano was in Dubai and we were in Italy, and indeed what we saw was in perfect sync with the audio coming from our mobile phone. In addition, we experienced that Livehear is able to provide event organisers with a tool to coordinate and optimise the use of mobile phones by the audience. Through its dedicated and controlled platform, it allows organisers to integrate mobile interaction into the event experience, generating added value and retaining advertising revenues within the event chain itself. In this way, the mobile phone becomes not only a means of active participation for the audience, but also a strategic resource for the organisers, contributing to the success and economic sustainability of the event.

A demo with an audio explanation of the system is available on the livehear.it website. A detailed presentation is also available here .

Contact:
Emiliano Morgia
+971504771575
[email protected]

Info: livehear.it

Walter Lutzu
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