At 123 stories and 554.5 meters (1,819 feet) high, the Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in South Korea and the fifth tallest in the world. Serving more functions than most tall buildings, it houses retail spaces; offices; a seven-star, 260-room luxury hotel; small residential apartments, and ten floors for public use. Perched on the top seven floors, Seoul Sky is the biggest public attraction in this sleek, tapered tower of wonders. From the entry on the 117th floor, one advances to the 118th floor sky deck, with a floor whose transparency can be remotely changed from opaque to clear. The Sky Friendly Cafe and Photozone dominate the 119th floor, while the outdoor Sky Terrace on the 120th floor provides yet more fabulous views, weather permitting. The 121st and 122nd floors offer the world’s third highest observatory. You can enjoy the Seoul Sky Cafe on the 122nd floor and imbibe in the 123 Lounge, a premium lounge bar on the 123rd floor.

Throughout its venues and media displays, Seoul Sky showcases advanced AV technology built around media servers and Symetrix Edge DSPs. A total of eight Symetrix Edge processors serve the supertall skyscraper. Lotte Data Communication Co., Ltd, designed and installed the AV systems for this prestigious new building, which opened in April 2017. Sound Solution Co., Ltd, was in charge of product provision and technical support. Both companies are based in Seoul.

Far below Seoul Sky, in the second of the building’s six basements, lurks the main media control room, where separate media servers deliver to each of the exhibition spaces. Here, the eight Symetrix Edge DSPs, equipped with three Symetrix xOut 12 analog output expanders, connect and control the audio and video hardware of each media server and exhibition space. Single-mode fiber optic cable carries AV to the upper floors. For safety, the Aon fire protection system’s fire alarm and the emergency announcement system also link through the Symetrix network.

 A powerful DSP with a flexible I/O configuration, the Symetrix Edge supplies 128 (64×64) redundant Dante channels. Option cards support a variety of analog and digital I/O, as well as special-purpose interfaces. Built-in 10/100 and gigabit switches lower system cost and reduce or eliminate the need for peripheral switches, as well as increasing system reliability. Edge is programmed using Symetrix’ award-winning Composer open-architecture CAD software and works with multiple control options, including Symetrix ARC-series wall panels. An embedded web server provides status information and hosts the ARC-WEB browser based control interface for smartphones, tablets, and computers.

“Symetrix DSPs are reliable audio transmission products, and we have had experience using them for many projects,” remarks Sound Solution president Lee Hong. “Symetrix DSPs integrate Dante extremely well, which made them an excellent choice for the Lotte World Tower system. From the basement to the Seoul Sky observatory, Symetrix Edge DSPS provide integrated control of all floors at once. The Dante network, managed with Symetrix DSPs, has convenience and speed, so it is the optimum choice for us.”