Eurovision trusts again in MA control: 88,466 total parameters count

06/06/2017

Eurovision trusts again in MA control: 88,466 total parameters count posted: 06/06/2017

All the glamour, glitz and fun, all the elaborate costumes, extravagant performances, excitement and high-pressure of one of the world's biggest live telecasts, the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest was staged at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine with 42 countries competing.

As always, production for the two live semi-finals and final were world class. The shows were enjoyed by 7,500 people packing in to the venue and around 200 million on TV, all appreciating the amazing production design by Florian Wieder working closely with lighting designer and DoP Jerry Appelt plus a massive technical team managed on site by head of production, Ola Melzig.

MA Lighting was once again chosen to provide a powerful, flexible and stable networked control solution for 1,816 lighting and LED pixel' fixtures plus playback video elements for the upstage video wall, centre stage video floor and a large, elegant scenic arch. An impressive total of 12 x grandMA2 consoles were installed into the venue: 8 x grandMA2 full-size, 4 x grandMA2 light and 1 x dot2 core.

Five desks were active during the show session operated by Raphael Demonthy (main showlight operator), Raphael Grebenstein (audience lights), Markus Ruhnke (TV lights), Thorsten Icke' Berger (follow spot caller) and Sebastian Huwi' Huwig (playback video).

One console was run by Jack Collins, freelance lighting and systems tech working for PRG Germany and brought on-board as a network and lighting data specialist. He used Paessler PRTG software to monitor the entire lighting and video data / hardware control network.

Another grandMA2 desk was used by the Swedish delegation during their show to control moving treadmills and their associated LED specials and one grandMA2 was on standby in case of emergencies. The dot2 core was used side stage to fire all the pyro cues which were designed by Markku Aalto.

These were joined by 25 x MA NPU (Network Processing Unit), 17 for lighting, three for video, two active but not in the session plus three spare. There were a total of 30 x MA 8Port Nodes, 5 x MA 3D visualisation systems, 4 x grandMA2 fader wing and 16 x video servers all in the control network.

These grandMA2 control elements were specified by gaffer and lighting technical manager Matthias Rau, from Jerry Appelt's team, and they reached the maximum amount of 31 x MA class 1 network devices (desks and MA NPU) plus the MA 8Port Nodes and MA 3D on top!

The total parameter count being controlled across the MA network was 88,466 and the fixtures being controlled including all their respective individual LED pixels amounted to 9,857. A massive 18,536 cues were in the final showfile, activated across 164 console executors (Playbacks) and 226 patched universes!

Five Data Cities (DCs) were established, two in the arena - one at FOH split left and right - one house left and one house right and one behind the stage/video wall with three fibre rings running around the arena connecting these to FOH via switches - 34 in total, plus four 8port truss mounts - for the whole control network, running in RLinkX mode for full redundancy.

Ring 1 was dedicated only to MA-Net2 protocol, Ring 2 was a mix of MA-Net2 and Funny Net' and Ring 3 was Funny Net' - which consisted of assorted VLANS, Art-Net, Schnick Schnack Net, Internet and any other extraneous VLAN that was needed!

DCs 1 and 2 were identical, located left and right of the stage, dealing with data and power feeds for the whole stage area, split equally stage left and right. LX1 - 1 of 40 lighting trusses - nicknamed The Beehive dealt with the centrepiece which comprised 56 MagicPanel FX units and 40 hybrid moving lights, which also ran over DC 3 positioned upstage of the video wall. All the floor fixtures and a 39 x 9 matrix of 24-pixel LED strobes also ran over DC 3. The audience trusses - complete with around 595 fixtures - all had their data and power supplied via DCs 4 and 5 under the FOH area.

Another 24 x Magic Panel FXs were integrated into the front of the stage all running on Art-Net to simplify the DMX cabling due to the high amount of DMX channels per unit. There were also around 2,500 x LED strips integrated into the large scenic arch / set portal and the stage steps and flooring. The attractive LED circles around the delegation seating areas in the green room at the back of the arena consumed around 600 metres of LED tube and all of these components were routed via the Funny Net.

PRTG played a fundamental role in monitoring both the network and all the system hardware. It allowed Collins to see any irregularities immediately on one screen and identify and deal with any issues across the entire system quickly and efficiently.

No matter what you need from the grandMA2 system, there is always a way to do it and often there are several approaches to achieve what you need , stated Jack, adding, For me as a control systems engineer, it was not just the ability to see what everyone is doing and how stable the system was running, but to also go back and look at the history of who or what has caused issues which was absolutely essential in a setup this size with five operators.

The 2017 Eurovision Song contest telecast was directed by Ladislaus Kiraly for host broadcaster National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) and is produced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

It was won by Portugal's Salvador Sobral with the song Amar pelos dois (Loving for the Both of Us), who returned home a national hero, marking Portugal's first ever victory or placing in 53 years of Eurovision participation!

PRG Germany was the event's main lighting and video equipment contractor. On the lighting side, they agreed a collaboration with production r

LINK:	http://www.live-production.tv/news/shows/eurovision-trusts-again-ma-co...
	See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

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

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026