Merry Christmas to you once again! And with Christmas just around the corner it means it’s time for our annual recap. 2025 has been yet another great year for Blackbox-av, jammed full of fun and exciting projects and even some new product launches. So just before we see in the new year, let’s take a look at some of our favourite things this year;

ICG Strategic Marketing Agency were given the massive task of creating Eco Town for Farington Waste Recovery Park. They came to us to supply and install all of the gadgets that would bring it to life…

“Blackbox-av helped us create an interactive experience in Eco Town, with a variety of hands-on activities across all three zones at the education centre. Games, touch screens, videos and audio were incorporated into every part of the walkway to create a memorable experience.”

– Sarah Huddy, Head of Design at ICG, Strategic Marketing Agency.

The Royal London Hospital is a place steeped in history while still remaining the UK’s busiest trauma centre and internationally renowned teaching hospital. In an effort to bring some of that history to the attention of patients, Lightbox 3 was utilised with our Free-Standing Kiosks by the Barts Health NHS Trust Archives team to present an archival history to visitors.

“Lightbox is one of the most intuitive pieces of software I have ever used… Since we launched the units at the hospital in February, the feedback on the look and feel of the units and their content has been brilliant, and we are delighted to have had the support of Blackbox-av in giving patients and visitors a new way of exploring the hospital’s history while they wait for appointments.”

– Kate Jarman, Trust Archivist at Barts Health NHS Trust

With a vast collection of items and national documents dating back over 1,000 years, The National Archives are not only tasked with preserving these documents but also utilising them to create ever changing immersive and informative displays in their dedicated exhibition space.

Blackbox-av’s hardware and software solutions power each temporary exhibition at the National Archives, including their latest; The MI5 showcase – featuring our Short Throw Projectors, Heavy Duty Handsets, and Android Tablets running our Lightbox Lite software.​

Wastesavers aim to educate future generations about recycling from a young age, both how it works and its importance. This is best shown in an array of new interactive recycling exhibits they had commissioned – created and designed by Think Orchard and made a reality using hardware from Blackbox-av.

There are 5 stations in total – at each visitors take a recyclable item and insert it through a glowing ‘scanner’, triggering a sequence of events that begins with a short video about how Wastesavers recycle that particular material, be it Plastic, Metal, Glass, Paper or food.

Petjades del Vi (Footprints of Wine) is an urban trail that introduces visitors to the history of wine in Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain. Along the kilometre-long route through and around the city visitors come across seven stations that highlight locations and histories that have played a prominent role in the economic and social development of the city, all of them linked to the world of wine.

One such station contains our wind-up powered Oversized U-Turn Round built into the unit via a unique weathering steel case, matching the interpretive aesthetic of the trail perfectly. Visitors need only select a number on the dial and turn the handle to power the device.

As part of the larger multimedia experience, Blackbox-av’s Autoplay Single Cup Headphones provide audio in the Paparoa Experience while keeping noise pollution to a minimum in what often becomes a very busy space.

Thanks to their unique magnetic hangers, the Autoplay Single Cup Headphones trigger content upon pickup and automatically stop once returned. This allows for a very clean installation without the need of additional activation buttons – which suits the contemporary aesthetic of the Punangairi Visitor Experience Centre perfectly.

The latest addition to our Lightbox 3 Multi-App Package, Feedback allows you to create easily customised visitor feedback forms. With multiple choice options, text fields and contact information capture. Built with the easy to use Lightbox 3 CMS, completed forms are stored locally or can be exported and emailed on a schedule.

The VideoClip 4K offers amazing 4K quality video playback via HDMI. Loop or trigger content with up to 6 illuminated / 12 standard buttons – All in a compact and easy to program unit.

At Blackbox-av we also provide the creation of dynamic content for your interpretive projects. Our showreel offers a glimpse into some of our best work, old and new, used for a range of clients and hardware setups.

That about concludes our 2025 round up! We hope you’ve had as fruitful a year as us – it’s now time to enjoy the Christmas and New Year break so we’ll be closed from Dec 23rd – Jan 5th. We look forward to seeing you next year and finding out what 2026 has to offer in the world of interpretation!

We once again find ourselves over halfway through the ‘new’ year when Christmas was just last week right? Now seems as good a time as any to share some of the projects we’re quite proud of so far this year… so here we go!

The Royal London Hospital is a place steeped in history while remaining the UK’s busiest trauma centre and internationally renowned teaching hospital. In an effort to bring some of that history to life for patients, Lightbox 3 was utilised with our Free-Standing Kiosks by the Barts Health NHS Trust Archives team to present an archival history to visitors.

“Lightbox is one of the most intuitive pieces of software I have ever used… Since we launched the units at the hospital in February, the feedback on the look and feel of the units and their content has been brilliant, and we are delighted to have had the support of Blackbox-av in giving patients and visitors a new way of exploring the hospital’s history while they wait for appointments.”

– Kate Jarman, Trust Archivist at Barts Health NHS Trust

Petjades del Vi (Footprints of Wine) is an urban trail that introduces visitors to the history of wine in Vilafranca del Penedès, Spain. Along the kilometer-long route through and around the city visitors come across seven stations that highlight locations and histories that have played a prominent role in the economic and social development of the city, all of them linked to the world of wine.

As part of the larger multimedia experience, Blackbox-av’s Autoplay Single Cup Headphones provides audio in the Paparoa Experience while keeping noise pollution to a minimum in what often becomes a very busy space.

Thanks to their unique magnetic hangers, the Autoplay Single Cup Headphones trigger content upon pickup and automatically stop once returned. This allows for a very clean installation without the need of additional activation buttons – which suits the contemporary aesthetic of the Punangairi Visitor Experience Centre perfectly.

The latest addition to our Lightbox 3 Multi-App Package, Feedback allows you to create easily customised visitor feedback forms. With multiple choice options, text fields and contact information capture. Built with the easy to use Lightbox 3 CMS, completed forms are stored locally or can be exported and emailed on a schedule.

The VideoClip 4K offers amazing 4K quality video playback via HDMI. Loop or trigger content with up to 6 illuminated / 12 standard buttons – All in a compact and easy to program unit.

With Christmas just days away and the New Year jaround the corner we thought it must be time for our annual yearly recap! 2024 has been another exciting year for Blackbox-av as we continue to launch new products and complete projects big and small all over the world. Here’s some of our favourites;

Built with our software package ‘Lightbox 3 – Hotspot’ and presented on 3 x 43″ touchscreens, this bespoke interactive unit is truly a showpiece. With a timeline of The Battle of Britain spread across 3 screens multiple users are able to interact at once while audio is shared via our Heavy Duty Handset Recoilers, avoiding audio bleed and ensuring cables are automatically retracted for tidy storage when not in use.

A recent project at Rhondda Heritage Park has seen Blackbox-av collaborate closely with the in-house heritage team to provide and install a wide range of AV solutions throughout the site. This includes a Video Wall made of 4 x 65″ Screens, a projector powered by our VideoClip HD8 device, and multiple touchscreens running our Lightbox 3 software package.

‘The team at Blackbox were very helpful when it came to installing the equipment and uploading and creating the content.” says Rhian Hall, Heritage Collections Manager at Rhondda Heritage Park. “They always took the time to carefully explain the processes and provide their advice on what would work best for our exhibition and engaging visitors.”

Field Studio, in collaboration with The National Archives designed the exhibition while we were commissioned to supply and install many of the elements that brought it to life.

“We’re so pleased to have worked with Blackbox AV, in transforming our Conservation Centre into a wonderful interactive and immersive space.” Says Lisa Wardell, Park and Education Manager at Trentham Monkey Forest. “We had a couple of bespoke ideas which Blackbox were able to turn into a reality – and now our visitors have an amazing space where they can both see and hear all about our endangered Barbary macaques. “

This project is a great example of our off-the-shelf software ‘Lightbox 3’ in action. Interactives are developed and updated on-site by the staff and students using the simple to navigate content management system.

Coupled with our free-standing kiosks the museum and Durham University are able to display a myriad of historical multi-media through richly designed touchscreen interactives that are easily revised as and when required.

“In each room there’s at least one “MiiaMillaMallika nupp“ a small hidden media player inside of a box, connected with 2 x Single Cup Headphones from Blackbox-av. In each room the “MiiaMillaMallika nupp“ plays a different story in connection with the room. All voice overs are done by children and available to listen to in English, Estonian and Russian.”

– Sandra Aleksius, Project Manager at Motor OÜ

“The headphones were a perfect fit for our needs at the Formula 1 Exhibition. They provided comfort and excellent audio quality, enhancing the overall immersive experience and the rugged design met our exact requirements. The included knuckle mounting plate added durability and security, making them an ideal choice for the exhibition simulators.”

– Alex Keay, Project Engineer, Sysco Productions

The River Reflections Listening Bench is a part of the Ebbsfleet Citizen Archive project. It features audio memories of people working on the river by Tony Farnham, Jacqueline Byrne and Barry Dowe, and can be found at Chimney View Park in Northfleet, North Kent.

Our Traditional Solar Audio Bench was put to good use for this project, providing audio without concerns for weather or the need for mains power. The engravings on the metal plating provide instructions alongside additional information, company logos and a scannable QR code for more information.

Our Single Cup and MKII Headphones can be found installed in multiple locations across the exhibition whether paired with video screens, fun interactives such as a silent disco DJ table, or providing multi-lingual audio for visitors in both Dutch and English at the many audio points dotted throughout the museum.

With a history spanning three centuries, the Atkinson is Southport’s home for music, theatre, art, literature and history. It’s now also the home to one of our Audio Frames…

“Our exhibition celebrates the contribution of the Windrush generation in the Sefton area. We wanted to present first-hand accounts of peoples experiences and memories in as direct and engaging a way as possible. The Audio Frame from Blackbox-av allowed us to do that very effectively. It’s very easy to upload audio clips and simple to use. Importantly in a busy gallery space its robust and easy to clean.”

“The staff at Blackbox AV guided us through the design and set up process and the result is an attractive addition to the exhibition and the Audio Frame will have a variety of uses in future projects.”

– Stephen Whittle, Principal Manager at The Atkinson.

For a new listening booth installed in the Australian town of Lismore, Armsign used our Solar Audio Post electronics modified to work from mains power. Within the booth you’ll find a graphics panel with 2 buttons, USB charging points for phones and a QR code that links to additional information.

Pressing each button will activate a story about Lismore as told by local members of the community – with the plan to update these stories from time to time encouraging repeat visits to the booth.

The resulting phone booth is a colourful example of community interpretation that really stands out in this urban setting.

We’ve also launched a new product range this year – our new MediaScreens! These are displays that boast internal media players, HDMI connectivity and elegant thin bezels to allow the sharing of video content in a quick and easy way. They are available in various sizes ranging from 32″ to 55″ with the smaller format being HD and the larger 4K quality.

That about concludes our 2024 round up! We can’t wait to get stuck in to the many projects we already have in the pipeline for 2025 and are excited to discover those we’re yet to know about.

Have a very Merry Christmas and we’ll see you all in the New Year!

It’s almost halfway through 2024 already? Time flies when you’re busy and we’ve certainly been that, from projects big and small to new product launches. We thought now was a good time to take a look at what we’ve been up to!

With fascinating archival materials presented on an impressive unit that draws the attention of visitors, this bespoke build is a great addition to the visitor experience at Bentley Priory Museum and a wonderful example of the flexibility of our software.

Built with our software package ‘Lightbox 3 – Hotspot’ and presented on 3 x 43″ touchscreens, this bespoke interactive unit is truly a showpiece. With a timeline of The Battle of Britain spread across 3 screens multiple users are able to interact at once while audio is shared via our Heavy Duty Handset Recoilers, avoiding audio bleed and ensuring cables are automatically retracted for tidy storage when not in use.

An important part of the AV experience in The National Archives’ new exhibition Great Escapes is a ‘projection event’ which harnesses every projector (provided and installed by us)  in the exhibition simultaneously. The event highlights the millions of people who were in captivity during the Second World War. 

Field Studio, in collaboration with The National Archives designed the exhibition while we  were commissioned to supply and install many of the elements that brought it to life.

Within the Conservation Centre at Trentham Monkey Forest, you’ll find three walls of interpretation representing the Past, Present and Future of the Barbary macaques’ 300,000 year history (and beyond) as well as Monkey Forests previous and continued conservation efforts.

“We’re so pleased to have worked with Blackbox AV, in transforming our Conservation Centre into a wonderful interactive and immersive space.” Says Lisa Wardell, Park and Education Manager at Trentham Monkey Forest.“We had a couple of bespoke ideas which Blackbox were able to turn into a reality – and now our visitors have an amazing space where they can both see and hear all about our endangered Barbary macaques. “

Children’s Museum Miiamilla’s new permanent exhibition “Children’s World Spaces” fosters child development through playful exploration. 

“In each room there’s at least one “MiiaMillaMallika nupp“ a small hidden media player inside of a box, connected with 2 x Single Cup Headphones from Blackbox-av. In each room the “MiiaMillaMallika nupp“ plays a different story in connection with the room. All voice overs are done by children and available to listen to in English, Estonian and Russian.”

– Sandra Aleksius, Project Manager at Motor OÜ

For the new listening booth installed in the town of Lismore, Armsign used our Solar Audio Post electronics modified to work from mains power. Within the booth you’ll find a graphics panel with 2 buttons, USB charging points for phones and a QR code that links to additional information.

Pressing each button will activate a story about Lismore as told by local members of the community – with the plan to update these stories from time to time encouraging repeat visits to the booth.

The resulting phone booth is a colourful example of community interpretation that really stands out in this urban setting.

An award winning Sustrans project (a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network) in Bo’ness has utilised both our wind up and solar powered outdoor interpretive solutions (The U-Turn Round and Solar Audio Post). Seeking to make information about the local area available to the public outdoors, no matter the weather, no matter the time. As Suzanne Gilbert, Art Director at Make Things Happen explains;

“The AV integrations helped to bring the area to life through the voice of the community and connecting the visiting public to the area’s natural and industrial heritage. This project was awarded first prize in the exemplary initiatives category for a renowned European award presented to greenways project that stand out for their excellence and demonstration for best practice.”

The Battery Audio Player is designed for installations where a permanent mains supply is not available. It’s powered by an external rechargeable battery, can be used with speakers or headphones and triggered using a variety of buttons and sensors.

And just like that 2023 is coming to a close! Before we shut up shop for Christmas (between 21st Dec – 2nd Jan) we thought you’d like a look back at some of BBAV’s highlights from 2023…

A relatively local project which we really enjoyed working on with the awesome Menter Dinefwr team over at Hengwrt in Llandeilo – designing and installing a new heritage centre: 

“We wanted to create a vibrant and welcoming heritage centre in Hengwrt and Blackbox-av helped turn our vision into reality! The combination of traditional methods of interpretation and digital interactives provide visitors with a multi-media experience, bringing the area’s history to life… The end result is a vivid, enticing, and multifaceted display that reflects the local area’s rich heritage.”

– Elen Jones, Menter Dinefwr’s Heritage Officer

We often work with The National Archives in their ever changing exhibition space. One of the latest of which was – ‘Treason: People, Power & Plot’ – taking a look at England’s history of treason and the involvement of figures such as Guy Fawkes, Anne Boleyn and Charles I.

Amongst a plethora of AV items, we installed and programmed an impressive 3-projector system that surrounds a case containing the original Treason Act of 1352.

Another of our contributions to The National Archives this year was for the Spirit of Invention exhibition, featuring our (already on site) short-throw projectors alongside a selection of new hardware – such as our Android Tablets, and other commercial or bespoke AV elements, helping bring a layer of memorable interpretation to this exciting space.

‘Monkey Valley’ is one of London Zoos latest attractions for 2023 – an impressive area that towers 80ft high allowing visitors to walk amongst a newly built Monkey habitat.

As part of the space is ‘Colobus Corner’ an area that lets visitors learn all about the Colobus Monkeys. Here you’ll find an audio sign we supplied complete with outdoor headphones that ensure audio doesn’t disturb the new residents.

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History is always shifting and adapting to offer fresh experiences, with the most recent Life, As We Know It project showcasing some off-the-shelf hardware from us, blackbox-av. 

Two 55″ Screens form a closely stitched video wall, framed to make one giant circular presentation about the world’s natural networks. While a single 55″ Mediascreen is cleverly installed behind a panel that breaks it into seven individual displays with a focus on animal diversity.

The Broads National Park is Britain’s largest protected wetland. It also boasts the smallest National Park Information Centre in the world! (don’t fact check that, it’s self proclaimed!). 

Bought for just £1, a 50 year old telephone box was fully restored and outfitted with signage that included our outdoor audio point the oversized U-Turn Round – providing information and audio any time of year without the need for mains power! This was a fun little project to be a part of.

Warkworth Castle has been a popular visitor attraction since opening to the public way back in the 18th Century. New additions to an ancient heritage monument such as this require a very special approach… enter Studio Wignall & Moore, an award winning design firm that includes architects and makers.

New interpretive installations have seen a series of information panels detailing a different characters journey’s dotted around the castle. Each journey begins with a bespoke audio pillar created with our Solar Audio Post Electronics, these allow visitors to ‘meet’ each character and hear their words, written by award-winning author and poet Eley Williams. Pictured above is a bespoke audio installation that can also be found at the castle which involves the turning of a huge key to activate audio.

In a project at Tolvaddon Fire Station that saw a great use for our unique Audio Solar Bench, award-winning sound artist Justin Wiggan installed one programmed with meditative audio designed to help staff de-stress during what can be a very difficult job.

“It might look like a bench, but to the crew here at Tolvaddon Fire Station near Camborne, it’s a super sonic stress-buster.”

– Andrea Ormsby, BBC Spotlight

The Danish Welfare Museum utilised our MKII Double Cup Headphones telling the history of the poor, sick and homeless who were once exiled to poorhouses.

One exhibit comprises of peepholes and video screens that create a sort of voyeuristic experience representative of the way the poor were treated at the time. These video units create a very personal viewing experience while the headphones ensure audio bleed is kept to a minimum.

Leicester Museums and Galleries utilised bespoke Audio Frame units across two of their locations as well as an Audio Post. We particularly like this project because it’s a great showcase of how flexible the Audio Frame is when the full colour graphic face is utilised well.

The Audio Frames were used to give visitors a selection audio clips at Leicester’s flagship museum, while a solar powered audio post was installed in the Dementia Friendly sensory garden at Abbey Pumping Station – Leicester’s Industrial Museum.

Funded by the UK Government and designed in collaboration with Neath Port Talbot Council and Dramatic Heart of Wales, the Heart of Steel has been developed to reflect the diverse beauty of Margam Country Park as well as the surrounding area of the valleys, steelworks and beach.

Our involvement with this mighty heart would go from resolving some technical issues, to adding finishing touches with the creation of a full base with an embedded SoundClip-2 and subwoofer, bringing the beating heart to life.

Alongside nearly completing our refreshed series of Lightbox 3 videos, we decided to assemble a multi-app bundle for our Lightbox 3 Software package, fittingly titled Games.

Puzzle lets you take any image and turn it into a jigsaw. Memory takes a selection of images and turns them into a find-the-pair game. And Match, a brand new addition, asks you to figure out which images should be paired together. All with optional information pop-ups upon the successful completion of a puzzle, discovery of a pair, or matching of images.

This year, we also released Analytics as a new bolt-on addition to our Lightbox 3 Software package.

Analytics is able to generate statistics for you that detail the number of views, length of interaction and various other stats displayed with easy to digest graphs. These are viewable in various timescales, from days to years, and can be easily exported into PDFs for reference. A great way to track how visitors are engaging with your touchscreen interactive.

2023 also saw the release of the improved SoundClips. Our range of compact, stand-alone, high quality stereo audio players. Designed to be easy to install and program the SCV2 supports up to 2 button inputs while the SC12 supports up to 12.

Although launched in October 2022 we’d like to point your direction once again towards our sleek new(ish) showreel, demonstrating some of the largest and most standout projects we’ve completed.

So that’s about it for 2023… Check out our portfolio for a more in-depth look at some of the projects we completed this year, we can’t wait to work on plenty more in 2024. Happy Holidays everyone and we’ll see you in the new year!