AIDAprima sails with Sennheiser MobileConnect
- Details
Alongside Sennheiser’s reliable wireless technology, AIDAprima uses the innovative MobileConnect streaming solution, which has been recently updated to allow for seamless integration into existing networks.
One of the most technologically advanced ships on the planet, AIDAprima has its own excellently equipped TV-production environment, the Broadcast Centre, which channels all picture signals and distributes them to the numerous clients on board. To monitor sound, this facility uses four Neumann KH 120 A active speakers. The newest addition to the Broadcast Centre is a Sennheiser ConnectStation CS1-M, which lies at the heart of the MobileConnect solution and which Martin Zniva, Entertainment Technical Manager on board AIDAprima describes as providing “a great benefit for people with hearing impediments.”
In the past, entertainment areas on cruise ships had been equipped with special seating areas for guests with hearing impediments; audio signals were transmitted via induction loops installed underneath the floor. On modern cruise ships such as AIDAprima, guests can ask for a pocket receiver which picks up the signals and enables the guest to choose their own seating space.
With the innovative Sennheiser MobileConnect system, inclusion on board is set to go full speed ahead: After the test stage, passengers will be able to pick up the sounds of four different areas with their own smartphones by using the free Sennheiser MobileConnect app (Android and iOS). The signal is broadcast via the ships own WiFi. Following the completion of an ongoing testing phase on AIDAprima, the new service will help to make the prospect of a voyage on board the newest ship of the AIDA fleet even more universally appealing by also fully including those customers with individual hearing needs.
The media technology used on AIDAprima was installed on her wharf in Nagasaki, Japan, before the ship was transferred to Europe. The general contractor for the extensive light- and sound technology was ASC Amptoun System Company GmbH. The broadcast-, video- and LED-technology was provided by Wärtsilä FUNA International GmbH. The stage was designed by Waagner-Biro AG.
(Jim Evans)
