News

Brown Innovations Solves Savannah's Trolley Noise Problem with Directional Speaker Technology

SAVANNAH, GA – Brown Innovations, a leader in directional audio technology, has successfully implemented its advanced directional speaker system to resolve noise pollution concerns in Savannah's historic district. This innovative solution helps tour operators comply with the city's new 2024 sound legislation, which limits amplified sound from open-air trolley tours.

Savannah's Downtown Historic District, known for its charm and tranquillity, faced mounting complaints from residents about excessive noise caused by trolley tour amplification systems. The Savannah City Council responded by passing an ordinance aiming to lower the noise level while still maintaining tourism with quality of life. Trolley tours were at risk of being cancelled without a solution.

Old Town Trolley Tours of Savannah, a premier tour operator, sought an audio solution to preserve passengers' immersive tour experience while minimizing disruption to the community. They turned to Brown Innovations, whose directional speakers deliver sound directly to passengers, dramatically reducing spillover noise.

"Our directional speaker technology transforms how tour operators manage sound," said Jeremy Brown, CEO of Brown Innovations. "Directing audio only to those on the trolley eliminates disruptive noise while ensuring visitors enjoy Savannah's rich history."

Brown Innovations' technology directs sound in a narrow beam, minimizing noise pollution and complying with the city's new regulations. Since installing directional speakers on Old Town Trolley vehicles, feedback from city officials and residents has been highly positive. Savannah’s Special Events, Film, and Tourism department has approved the solution as an effective noise control measure.

The commitment of Brown Innovations to creating audio solutions that integrate community needs with advances in technology is demonstrated by this project. Innovative, eco-friendly sound systems for museums, digital signage, and stores are still being developed by the group. 

For more information about Brown Innovations and its directional speaker technology or to schedule an interview, please email info@browninnovations.com or call (773) 477-7500.

About Brown Innovations

Brown Innovations pioneers directional audio technology that enhances sound quality while reducing environmental impact. Based in Boston, MA, the company serves clients worldwide, delivering solutions that harmonise tradition and technology.

About Old Town Trolley

Tourists have been given an interesting and informative approach to discover the city's interesting history by Old Town Trolley Tours of Savannah, which has been providing a unique and immersive perspective on Savannah's renowned past for over 30 years.

Brown Innovations NAB 2019

Brown Innovations introduces directional audio technology for the broadcast industry.

Our EJ-22 and SB-1RU can be used in master control bays, editing stations and production consoles eliminating the need for isolating and uncomfortable headphones.

NAB 2019 - Brown Innovations shows directional technology in broadcast consoles.

Brown Innovations SB-1RU 1 Rack Unit speaker

Brown Innovations EJ-22 into consoles eliminates need for headphones

Brown Innovations unveils CT-24 with T-coil technology at National 9/11 Memorial & Museum

In June, the 9/11 Memorial Museum opened a special new exhibition highlighting how sports helped unite the nation in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack.

Over 10 stations guide the visitor through a different emotional state from the roar of a stadium crowd to an emotional rendition of the National Anthem. Audio was a critical consideration for the exhibit as sound bleed or echoes from one exhibit to the next dilute the experience. For this reason, CG Partners and Electrosonic turned to Brown Innovations for their directional audio needs

The exhibit required a visually low profile directional speaker for a challenging museum space. The speaker needed to be smaller than the listening region.  Brown Innovations developed the CT24 Wide Dispersion, a color customized flat panel speaker designed to create an isolated zone of audio for small groups of people in front of each display. This groundbreaking new product, which is the size of a standard 2’ x 2’ ceiling tile is not only capable of creating a  4’ x 4’ audio zone, but also incorporates t-coil technology allowing hearing impaired guests with compatible devices to fully experience the exhibition.

Our directional speakers incorporating t-coil technology eliminates the need for separate systems.

Beyond museums, hearing loops also serve houses of worship, theaters, courts, auditoriums, drive through stations, ticket windows, kiosks, way finding stations, transportation centers, offices, and education facilities.

“Comeback Season: Sports After 9/11” will be open to the public until summer 2019.

Brown Innovations Directional Speakers Serve To Tell 9/11 Sports Stories at Museum

Brown Innovations is proud to announce our directional speakers are part of the “Comeback Season: Sports After 9/11” exhibit at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.   According to a press release, the exhibit “explores how sports and athletes helped to unite the country, console a grieving nation and give us a reason to cheer again following the 2001 attacks.”

Directional speakers, including CT-24 directional audio models from Brown Innovations, are designed to deliver crystal clear focused audio to museum visitors. The directional speakers are compatible with t-coil hearing aid technology. In addition, the exhibition will display artifacts and tell stories related to sports during the summer and autumn of 2001, as well as sports and events in the following months. From baseball to football to hockey to the New York City Marathon and the 2002 Olympics, the exhibit dives deep into the world of sports.  

The exhibit is in collaboration with NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier. Messier, a former New York Rangers captain, said, “For us as a Rangers team we really felt the responsibility to represent the city, to represent the first responders, to represent the people who had lost their lives, and to represent the Downey family. It was an honor and we quickly realized we’re standing shoulder to shoulder with the first responders who had been so brave.”

The exhibit Wednesday, June 27.

Brown Innovations Directional Audio Technology in Miami: Demonstration at Shore Club South Beach May 10th-11th

Brown Innovations is a 20 year old company that makes directional audio products capable of creating isolated audio zones. Our speakers are in every commercial environment indoors and outdoors such as hospitals, universities, outdoor kiosks, digital signage, museums, trade shows, lobbies and … hospitality. Our patented technology allows you to create a zone of  high fidelity audio and focus it to just one person or a large group without disturbing surround areas and neighbors.

The Shore Club Hotel has been forced to turn off audio by the outdoor pool areas due to complaints, and they have asked us to solve their problem.

We have a solution. Our engineers have developed a high powered directional speaker and subwoofer (https://youtu.be/8nyUpub1ugY ) and we will be demonstrating our technology  May 10th and 11th in the outdoor pool area of the Shore Club Hotel South Beach.

Our directional speakers are for every location in Miami that has been struggling to comply with city ordinances.  Business owners can stop worrying about fines for noise violations, and complaints from angry and frustrated residents.

Please let me know a time you can stop by and I will make myself available to introduce you to directional audio.   maria@browninnovations.comn

NAB 2018: New Directional Speakers and Partnership with TBC Consoles

Brown Innovations has partnered with TBC Consoles to create a variety of unique directional audio listening experiences for the 2018 NAB show. As part of the trade show, we will showcase a variety of directional speakers, including our EJ-22, SB-47 and CT24-24 ceiling directional speakers.  

We can be found at booth C9012. The show runs from April 9 through April 12 in Las Vegas. We hope to see you there. 

How To Buy Directional Speakers

When it comes to directional speakers, there's no single model that works for every application. That's because there are situations where you want to focus sound to a broad zone,  others where you want to direct audio to just two or three people in front of a display, and sometimes provide a directional sound experience to just one person. Each application is unique.

We engineer directional speakers to meet this demand. Each directional speaker we make is specifically designed to cover a specific sized area with sound. If you need to focus sound to just one person,  you can choose from our wide selection of SonicBeam directional speakers or a sound domes. Need directional sound for a broad area? The same family of directional speakers meet your demands. 

Our directional sound consultants work with you to determine the best model for your application. By getting to know your needs, understanding the environment, and any restrictions, we can identify the best directional sound solution that meets your needs. 

Washington Museum Installs Directional Speakers For Touchscreens

At the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington, a new exhibit offers a directional audio experience unlike anything you've ever heard.  Why War: The Causes of Conflict offers a highly interactive experience that includes numerous directional speakers. These directional speakers  focus sound to targeted listening areas, primarily in front of large-scale touchscreens mounted side-by-side.  Directional speakers for museums are essential to preventing audio spill between displays. Thanks to our SonicBeam directional speaker technology, visitors experience unique audio presentations at each touchscreen. 

Directional Speakers in Europe: Brown Innovations Partners with Spinetix for ISE 2018 Show

In February, Brown Innovations will exhibit new directional speakers with Spinetix at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Amsterdam, NL. The show runs from February 6 - 9. 

ISE is the world´s largest AV systems integration show which takes place in Amsterdam.

Join us at our booth 8-E270 in Hall 8 of the RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre where we'll display an array of directional speakers, directional subwoofers and and directional speaker amplifiers.

We look forward to meeting you! 

10 Applications for Directional Speakers

1. Retail

It's no secret that blaring sound will get your display unplugged. That's why directional sound is so important for retail applications. High quality directional speakers will deliver your message and prevent audio from spilling into unintended listening areas. Our directional speakers have even been used for outdoor retail applications.

2. Airport 

Directional sound is the perfect solution for airport applications. Between screens running news, kiosks and interactive displays, directional speakers prevent airports from becoming cacophonous spaces. 

3. Museum 

Directional speakers are essential to museum environments, especially when multiple displays are installed in close proximity to one another. We are all too familiar with applications like these. But what about broader zones? Directional speakers for larger zones where sound must be contained are the perfect solution. 

4. Restaurant

The possibilities are limitless in restaurant applications. From beaming sound to people seated across a bar to focusing audio to entire tables, directional speakers are the perfect solution for showing multiple games with audio in a single space. Or in multiple spaces! 

5. Videoconferencing

Directional speakers are a game-changer for videoconferencing applications. Especially when they're paired with highly directional microphones where the videoconferencing takes place in a public environment. 

6. Education

Schools, colleges and universities have created incredible collaborative learning environments using directional speakers. 

7. Control Room 

For control room operators, wearing bulky headphones for hours at a time can be cumbersome and uncomfortable. Thanks to sound domes and other directional speakers, operators can work for hours without the annoyance of troublesome headphones. 

8. Dance Floor

Believe it or not, directional speakers can be used to focus sound to large zones like dance floors. Gone are the days when outdoor clubs worried about noise ordinances and disturbing nearby neighbors or residences. With directional subwoofers, it's easier than ever to focus high quality sound. 

9. Kiosks

Flush-mountable directional speakers discreetly deliver sound to kiosk users, in indoor and outdoor applications. 

10. Banking 

In a banking application, our directional speakers are perfect for videoconferencing with bank tellers. A directional microphone allows the user to keep their voice at a low level, while a directional speaker above keeps sound focused to the user's ears. 

New York Showcase Wrap-Up: Directional Speakers and NEC

During this year's Digital Signage week,  NEC partnered with Brown Innovations for the annual New York Showcase. Check out these shots of our directional speakers mounted overhead the NEC displays. 

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3 Reasons You Need Directional Speakers in Your Next Project

1. To Keep Your Audio Under Control

Imagine you're an employee at a retail chain. An AV company recently installed a nearby interactive display, but they outfitted it with traditional speakers. Sound blaring, you have not choice but to save your sanity and unplug the display. 

This is a scenario we are all too familiar with. Most have learned the lesson to not use traditional speakers in public environments - they send sound everywhere. A great directional speaker keeps sound focused to targeted listening zones - and sounds good too.    

2. To Always Keep Your Audio at the Perfect Volume

But what happens in your store over the course of a day? In the morning, it is quiet. But when the doors open,  the ambient noise can fluctuate greatly over the course of the day. 

The solution? SmartVolume, an integrated microphone that continuously samples the ambient noise. Based on these samples, the volume raises or lowers to keep your audio at an appropriate level above the ambient noise at all times. 

3. To Cover an Area With Sound That Fits Your Needs 

Most directional speakers focus sound to one person only. And that's great if you want to focus sound to just one listener. But what if you want to focus sound to 5 people, or 10 people, or a broad zone? 

We make directional speakers that cover any size area with sound. Our SB-47s can be used with  directional subwoofers to deliver full-sounding audio inside the listening zone, and not disturb others. No matter what your application calls for, a directional audio solution exists that fits your needs and budget. 

Crackling Sounds of Antarctica Heard Through Directional Speakers at Zaria Forman Exhibition

Zaria Forman, a Brooklyn-based artist, recently collaborated with Brown Innovations for her solo exhibition “Antarctica.” The body of work was inspired by a month long stay aboard the National Geographic Explorer. During that time, Forman recorded the crackling sound of melting glaciers.

At the exhibition, the melting sound is heard through a directional speaker mounted in front of an original pastel drawing of Antarctica. As visitors approach the pastel, they step into a listening zone and hear the recording. The exhibition runs Mondays - Saturdays through November 4th at the Winston Wächter Gallery in Seattle, WA. 

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NEC, Brown Innovations Teaming Up Again for New York Showcase

After a successful InfoComm partnership, Brown Innovations and NEC are at it again for New York Digital Signage Week. NEC's New York Showcase is "your chance to experience, firsthand, the latest display technologies and solutions in the industry." The show takes place October 30 – November 3, 2017.  

Watch a directional speaker demonstration from InfoComm 2017 below. 

UCLA Creates Extraordinary Collaborative Learning Environment with New Directional Speaker Technology

UCLA has created an exceptional collaborative learning environment at the David Geffen School of Medicine. At the center of the installation is the Brown Innovations EJ-22, a water resistant directional speaker that lets students listen to a lecture and simultaneously share relevant content, such as videos and related websites, with others in their respective group. The directional speakers are fully integrated into collaborative work stations, and provide discreet and convenient audio delivery for up to 186 students.

The directional speakers replace a configuration that previously required headphones. "The additional headroom available through the speakers was definitely noticeable and appreciated by the students and faculty alike. The updates have definitely improved the overall experience of the room quite a bit."

The EJ-22 directional speakers are designed for the wear and tear that comes with classroom territory. 

Each table accommodates a group of seven students and is outfitted with two screens. The directional speakers are located at the edge of the table in front of the student.  During a lecture, any member of each group can play a video for others in their group. The directional speakers deliver a mix of audio from the lecturer and sound from the shared video, and allow each group of students to play unique audio content without interference. 

The installation is the latest in the series of education applications. For more information, shoot us an email at info@browninnovations.com. 

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NEC Captivates Infocomm Visitors with Directional Speakers

At Infocomm 2017, NEC Display Solutions teamed up with Brown Innovations to create a unique virtual reality experience for visitors. As people approached the display, they encountered a series of virtual reality experiences, including a swim in the ocean scene,a trip to Mount Everest, and a mission to Mars.

During the design phase, NEC Display Solutions realized the importance of pairing directional speakers with their curved  LCD video. 

From the Digital Signage Today blog: 

"Rich Ventura, vice president of business development and solutions at NEC Display Solutions, believes that the future of virtual reality is not so much a one to one relationship but a one to many relationship. For example, if a customer is wearing a headset, they are the only ones who is experiencing the VR, but an immersive environment can affect many customers.

'If I walked into a Nordstorm, and someone said to me put this headset on, odds are pretty good I'm not gonna to do it,' Ventura said in an interview. However, if he walked into a Nordstorm and was instantly met with an immersive experience with 3D audio and immersive visuals, he would be more drawn in." 

The 2017 Infocomm show marks another successful partnership between NEC and Brown Innovations. Check out the video below to take a tour of the NEC booth. 

SpinetiX and Brown Innovations Partner for Successful InfoComm 2017 Show

What a successful InfoComm 2017 show! We partnered with our friends at SpinetiX to showcase our directional speakers with their digital signage hardware and software offerings. Click the image above to watch a video demonstration of our newest directional speakers in action. 

Brown Innovations Partners with NEC and Spinetix for Infocomm 2017

Brown Innovations has partnered with NEC and Spinetix to showcase new technology at Infocomm, North America's largest, most exciting AV industry event. Our team will be at Spinetix booth #533 from June 14th - June 16th demonstrating the latest directional sound technology.

In addition, our directional speakers can be heard at the Cave, an immersive, 3D virtual experience where directional subwoofers have been implemented. The Cave is located in NEC booth #1600  just inside the main entrance.

Peek Inside Chicago's 1871, A Startup Incubator Utilizing Directional Speakers

Take a Google virtual tour of 1871, a digital startup incubator inside Chicago's Merchandise Mart. The facility is outfitted with numerous sound dome directional speakers to keep audio focused to specified zones. Techvibes describes the application: 

“Four screens along the wall invite passers-by to stop and experience each unique installation: Soundscapes emit from overhead domes paired with images on the screen, immersing the viewer in a different reality. A surprisingly quiet collaboration space overlooks the stairwell where teams breakout to enjoy the natural night.”

In addition to the tour, you can view more installation photos here: 

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