Welcome to Wrexham – QUESTRA manages Audio, Video and Lighting at Tŷ Pawb

The Disney+ series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’, documenting the miraculous rise of Wrexham AFC, has made this small Welsh town world-famous. However, Wrexham has far more to offer than just football and some famous supporters from Hollywood. In 2018, Tŷ Pawb opened as a modern, multi-purpose and multi-award-winning venue that brings together galleries, concerts, dining and local retailers in an open, vibrant setting. To meet the complex AV technical requirements for Tŷ Pawb’s wide range of uses, the AV integrator responsible, ORB Sound & Lighting, opted for an integrated audio, video and lighting control system based on the LD Systems QUESTRA platform.

“The end customer required a flexible, easy-to-use system that could manage audio, video, and lighting across a multi-use public space”, says Oliver Bentley of ORB Sound & Lighting. Therefore, all system components and features are centrally controlled via the QUESTRA design and management software – from source selection and scene control to signal routing. At the same time, customized user interfaces ensure that both simple everyday applications and more complex setups remain intuitive to use.

“QUESTRA allows us to combine audio, lighting and video into a single platform, whilst creating user interfaces that can be adapted to different users and applications.”
Oliver Bentley, ORB Sound & Lighting

Flexible system design

The system at Tŷ Pawb is based on a combination of LD Systems IPA 412 T DSP installation amplifiers with X-EDAI Dante expansion cards, DIO 44 Dante interfaces and the new MXAV 44 HDMI matrix switcher. All audio and video signals are distributed across the network and flexibly routed via QUESTRA. At the same time, QUESTRA provides control of the projector and selection of AV sources.

Active ICOA 12 A coaxial loudspeakers are used for sound reinforcement in the main area, whilst the existing passive loudspeakers are powered via the IPA 412 T amplifier. The open community space includes food vendors, craft and retail stalls as well as a multifunctional performance space that is regularly used for live music, talks and community events, requiring a flexible audio setup. The DIO 44 Dante interface adds extra inputs and outputs to the system, making it easy for external artists and bands to input signals and providing monitor feeds for temporary stage setups. The LD Systems MSMP is used for everyday background music playback across the market area during normal opening hours.

Central control is handled via the QTP 8 touch panel, which clearly brings together all relevant functions. The 8-inch display, powered via PoE (Power over Ethernet), allows staff to control background music, overall volume, the projector as well as HDMI feeds, enabling quick and easy switching between different types of usage (day-to-day operations, live events, presentations, etc.).

“The support provided by Adam Hall Integrated Systems was invaluable throughout the entire project – from the initial planning stage right through to the project sign-off.“
Oliver Bentley, ORB Sound & Lighting

Extensive project support

In addition to the technical implementation, the collaboration with the project support team at Adam Hall Integrated Systems played a crucial role in the overall success of the project. ORB Sound & Lighting has been working with the Adam Hall Group for several years and was able to draw on their comprehensive support for this project as well – from system planning right through to final handover.

The installation at Tŷ Pawb demonstrates how a complex, multifunctional venue can be operated efficiently and user-friendly through an integrated systems solution – with QUESTRA as the central control element for audio, lighting and video.