Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

disguise vx 4 Servers Deliver Ambitious Eurovision Visuals

24/05/2019

disguise vx 4 Servers Deliver Ambitious Eurovision Visuals posted: 24/05/2019

The hotly-anticipated Eurovision 2019 spectacular landed in Tel Aviv in May with a bold Dare to Dream' tagline and world-class staging, upon which 26 countries battled to be crowned the winner. Video returned to the core of the show, powered by a chorus of disguise vx 4 and 4x4pro servers.

The 64th edition of the much-loved song contest, held at Expo Tel Aviv, featured a 250 sq.m. high-resolution LED, diamond-shaped stage, backed by a 36 x 12m high-resolution LED wall made up of 12 individual screens, all supplied by PRG. More than 16,998,976 pixels lit up the stage, making it the highest resolution LED set in Eurovision history.

Eurovision Production Manager Ola Melzig, and Head of Video and Stage Technology, Shay Bonder, approached disguise to deliver and manage a server system capable of processing the mammoth amount of data required for the vast scale of the project.

With more than 50 live acts performing in quick succession with various tech props including huge screen projectors and massive amounts of LED, we needed a powerful system that offered multi-station editing capabilities, says Shay.

A major challenge for us was making the pre-programming process as accurate as possible and then operating it in perfect sync, without issue. disguise's software allowed us to pre-programme with cameras and automation - the camera directors actually showed the camera operators the render from the Designer machines in order to give them instructions, and the ability to programme one track while another is playing, plus the power to easily feed content to DMX screens and quick calibration of projectors, he adds.

The disguise system became an integral part of the creative process as we could test video content automation and camera angles in the pre-programming process and change them accordingly to achieve our vision.

Peter Kirkup, disguise Technical Solutions Manager worked with Shay Bonder to support him in the system design process. The team specified six disguise vx 4 servers and two 4x4pro servers.

The pro range of disguise servers were designed to play huge video content across massive canvases, says Peter. Thanks to the VFC technology, the vx 4 and 4x4pro servers allow us to drive large shows like this with fewer machines, reducing space, time, setup, risk, and management overhead.

The vx 4 servers were used as Pure Master, output slaves and Backup servers. The 4x4pro servers were utilised for add-on elements and backup. The vx 4s were fully loaded with HDMI 2.0 VFC cards; the 4x4pros had on-board Quad-DVI VFC cards. disguise recently launched its vx 4 servers with more storage and a new NVMe RAID drive array.

This system design is all about making sure that the performance headroom is enough for the project, says Jamie Sunter, Support Specialist at disguise. With high resolution outputs, large number of props for all the different acts, as well as 400+ universes of Art-Net being output, the system coped fantastically with these requirements. A huge bonus was the larger storage space in the vx 4 meaning the team didn't have to clean up older file versions during rehearsals.

The disguise servers received LTC, ensuring the main cues were triggered at the correct time. Much of the programming was completed in the run up to the Tel Aviv events, using disguise's r15.3 software to pre-visualise the whole show and sequence all the content. The team used disguise's Visualiser Camera feature and then virtually mapped and sequenced each camera shot and path to the directors' requirements. From there, they transferred the project from the Designer machines to the actual hardware.

This was very powerful as this was the first time that the Camera Directors could see how all their shots would look for each song, and then send renders to the Delegates by simply recording the stage, Shay explains. We had a full 3D model of the stage, as well as seating banks, so that it was a true representation. We also had all the country-specific props and screen movements so it looked exactly how it would for real. From there, the guys then used the OSC module in disguise to send out the Camera positions to WYSIWYG. This meant that the Lighting Team also had these Camera pre-visualisations and could see how their design worked with all elements.

On disguise programming and operating duties was Gwilym Huws, workflow specialist at Bild Studios: disguise's feature-set made many elements of pre- and on-site production much simpler and more powerful. It was particularly useful for swapping out props when needed, as well as Screen Position Layer, for the mapping to be correct. Even generative things like radar and strobe were used for some animations in the show on the legs and catwalk.

Ola Melzig concludes: Video content, LED on a massive scale, and projection mapping is the backbone of the Eurovision spectacle and I was thrilled to bring it back in such an incredible way this year. This is the first time we've brought in disguise's vx 4 and 4x4pro servers and their support team, including Jamie Sunter, and we're hugely impressed. With so much to integrate, process and create, the machines and the people did a fantastic job.

From commission to delivery, disguise's support team were involved in all aspects of the video project, as Shay says: Their support was amazing throughout. Before the setup in the venue, disguise set us an online Slack account, on which they answered any questions we had from venue setup. On-site, Jamie checked system stability throughout the process and helped us with whatever we needed.

A hugely talented team worked on delivery of the incredible Eurovision visuals, including Yahav Tenne (Shay Bonder Ltd) - Programmer/Video and Stage Tec
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/products/disguise-vx-4-servers-del...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

03/06/2024

Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...

28/04/2024

Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2

Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...

28/03/2024

Blackmagic Design Used on 2024 Oscar Nominated Films

Blackmagic Design Used on 2024 Oscar Nominated Films Brie Clayton March 28, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design congratulates the many film professional...

28/03/2024

Arkona to Introduce BLADE//master Control and Orchestration Service at NAB 2024

Arkona to Introduce BLADE//master Control and Orchestration Service at NAB 2024 Brie Clayton March 28, 2024 0 Comments New option for BLADE//runner ke...

28/03/2024

Join Maxon for NAB 2024

Join Maxon for NAB 2024 Brie Clayton March 28, 2024 0 Comments Maxon returns to NAB with presentations by artists from around the world and demos of t...

28/03/2024

Boston Conservatory to Present Center Stage Production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Huntington

Boston Conservatory to Present Center Stage Production of A Midsummer Night'...

28/03/2024

The 4K cameras giving audiences an astronaut's view of Earth

TVBEurope meets Charles Black, founder and CEO of Sen, which has sent a payload of 4K cameras to the ISS to livestream images of Earth to audiences around the w...

28/03/2024

2024 Big Night In Raises $145k to Support Triangle Arts Councils

Capitol Broadcasting and WRAL-TV once again proudly supported our local arts community with the broadcast of Big Night in for the Arts Thursday, March 7, 2024. ...

28/03/2024

JIC, MRC Announce Accord On Roles In Judging Measurement Companies

With more companies offering different approaches to measuring television viewing and campaign effectiveness, two of the groups that evaluate potential media bu...

28/03/2024

Hulu Added to Disney Plus App for Bundle Subscribers

The Walt Disney Co. said that it launched Hulu on Disney Plus, which makes Hulu programming available via the Disney Plus app....

28/03/2024

GroupM To Double Ad Spending On Women's Sports Programming

Giant media buyer GroupM said it plans to double its media spending on women's sports....

28/03/2024

Scripps Renews State Farm As Sponsor of Friday Night WNBA on Ion

Scripps Sports said that State Farm has signed a new multi-year agreement to continue as the title sponsor of Ion's Friday night WNBA telecasts....

28/03/2024

Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington Sign On for Imperfect Women' on Apple TV Plus

Elisabeth Moss and Kerry Washington will star in, and executive produce, Imperfe...

28/03/2024

Telemundo Station Group Addresses Climate Change With Month-Long Initiative

Telemundo Station Group launches the month-long climate change initiative Our Planet Thursday, March 28. The multiplatform campaign ends on Earth Day, April 22,...

28/03/2024

Circle City Broadcasting Renews Nielsen Ratings Deal

Nielsen said that Circle City Broadcasting, owner of WISH-TV in Indianapolis, has renewed its local TV measurement deal....

28/03/2024

Lionsgate Extends Deal With Seth Rogen's Point Grey Pictures

Lionsgate Television said it extended its deal with Point Grey Pictures, the production company led by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver....

28/03/2024

Ariana DeBose Back as Tonys Host

Ariana DeBose returns as host of the Tony Awards Sunday, June 16, on CBS and Paramount Plus. It is her third consecutive time hosting, and it will be the 77th T...

28/03/2024

The Steve Wilkos Show' Renewed for Season 18

The Steve Wilkos Show has been renewed for its 18th season in national syndication, Tracie Wilson, executive VP, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios & E! News, sai...

28/03/2024

Sinclair Selects Embrace as Its Media Orchestration Engine

PARIS Embrace, a developer of advanced automation and orchestration software solutions, has announced that Sinclair Broadcast Group has selected Embrace's P...

28/03/2024

Nielsen and Circle City Broadcasting Renew Local TV Measurement Deal

NEW YORK Nielsen has a multi-year renewal with Circle City Broadcasting, Indianas only locally owned and operated broadcast and digital news media network, for ...

28/03/2024

JVC to Demo Its First Ever 40x Zoom PTZ Camera Series at 2024 NAB Show

LAS VEGAS JVC Professional Video has announced that it will debut its new KY-PZ540 Series PTZ Cameras with 40x zoom at 2024 NAB Show (Booth C4720)....

28/03/2024

Brightcove Launches Cloud Playout 2.0

BOSTON Brightcove has announced the launch of Cloud Playout 2.0, a platform that the company said will offer customers new ways to create linear channels, monet...

28/03/2024

NBC Sports Chicago to Air First-Ever Animated Real-Time Local Sports Telecast

The Chicago Blackhawks and NBC Sports Chicago have announced a collaboration with the NHL to bring fans the first-ever local animated real-time sports telecast....

28/03/2024

The Best News Coverage is Real, Live, Balanced, Professional

The Best News Coverage is Real, Live, Balanced, Professional Andy Marken March 28, 2024 0 Comments Hero image source News of the World, Perfect Wo...

28/03/2024

Generations: The Legacy - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

Generations: The Legacy - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The S...

28/03/2024

Prison Journalism: Witness the Cycle from the Streets

Prison Journalism: Witness the Cycle from the StreetsWesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore...

28/03/2024

Prison Journalism: Inmate pre-release and release processes

Prison Journalism: Inmate pre-release and release processesDean Mashimbwe, a Zimbabwean migrant residing in Cape Town, was incarcerated at Pollsmoor Correctiona...

28/03/2024

Streaming today: When You Finish Saving The World' on Netflix - 28 March 2024

Streaming today: When You Finish Saving The World' on Netflix - 28 March 20...

28/03/2024

Prison Journalism: The Story of Paulus

Prison Journalism: The Story of PaulusDavid van Nek was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison from 2013 until 2015 and participated in the restorative justice progra...

28/03/2024

Prison Journalism: Inside and Outside

Prison Journalism: Inside and OutsideFawaaz Adendorff was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Correctional Centre and participated in a Restorative Justice programme whil...

28/03/2024

Tonight on Muvhango: Imani escapes Khumo's hellhole

Tonight on Muvhango: Imani escapes Khumo's hellholeDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Muvhango on SABC 2 on DS...

28/03/2024

Tonight on Generations: Kea can sense her brother is hiding something

Tonight on Generations: Kea can sense her brother is hiding somethingDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Generation...

28/03/2024

Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Magolide and Tiny compete against each other

Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Magolide and Tiny compete against each otherDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke...

28/03/2024

Tonight on Champions: Washington's struggle takes an unexpected turn

Tonight on Champions: Washington's struggle takes an unexpected turnDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Champio...

28/03/2024

Tonight on Scandal: Tibi's meltdown softens a teacher

Tonight on Scandal: Tibi's meltdown softens a teacherDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! on e.tv on DS...

28/03/2024

Tonight on Gqeberha: Lulama tells Thulani that she's pregnant with his child

Tonight on Gqeberha: Lulama tells Thulani that she's pregnant with his childDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie...

28/03/2024

Tonight on My Brother's Keeper: Ndumiso has the wrong end of the stick

Tonight on My Brother's Keeper: Ndumiso has the wrong end of the stickDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie My Br...

28/03/2024

Tonight on Skeem Saam: Lehasa doubles down on his ill-treatment of Pretty

Tonight on Skeem Saam: Lehasa doubles down on his ill-treatment of PrettyDon't miss Thursday, 28 March's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem ...

28/03/2024

Thales speeds up its development of AI for defence

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Thales, Europe's leading high-tech company in the civil and defence fields, has announced the creation of cortAIx, which bri...

28/03/2024

Get Cozy With Palia' on GeForce NOW

Ease into spring with the warm, cozy vibes of Palia, coming to the cloud this GFN Thursday. It's part of six new titles joining the GeForce NOW library of ...

28/03/2024

Smoke and Mirrors: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

Smoke and Mirrors: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South Af...

28/03/2024

Muvhango: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

Muvhango: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African web...

28/03/2024

Gqeberha: The Empire - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

Gqeberha: The Empire - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The Sout...

28/03/2024

Skeem Saam: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

Skeem Saam: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African ...

28/03/2024

House of Zwide: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

House of Zwide: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episode of South African soapie House of Zwide on The South Africa...

28/03/2024

My Brother's Keeper: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

My Brother's Keeper: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The So...

28/03/2024

Uzalo: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [video]

Uzalo: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [video]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African websit...

28/03/2024

Scandal!: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

Scandal!: Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African web...

28/03/2024

Umkhokha: The Curse - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]

Umkhokha: The Curse - Wednesday's episode, 27 March 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South...

27/03/2024

UKTV sets up second series of Dream Car Fixers for Yesterday and UKTV Play

Wednesday 27 March 2024 - UKTV has commissioned a second series of Dream Car Fixers (6x60) for leading factual channel Yesterday and free streaming service UKTV...