Blackmagic Design today announced that its ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher was used as part of an Ultra HD 12G-SDI and fiber live production workflow at WE Fest, the largest country music festival in the United States and the longest running in the world.
Now in its 37th year, the three day festival took place in Detroit Lakes, MN, in August 2019 with performances from stars such as Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Brooks and Dunn, LeAnn Rimes and more.
The ATEM Constellation 8K is the heart of a new flypack from Pennsylvania based full service video production company Upstage Video, which also includes Blackmagic Design's Smart Videohub 12G 40x40 router, ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel and more. Built specifically for the concert touring and music festival industry, the Ultra HD 12G-SDI and fiber flypack was responsible for switching and video distribution for WE Fest's two 17' x 27' on stage screens and 12' x 21' front of house screen, as well as for closed circuit distribution and simulcasts in the VIP campsites and vendor areas.
What's unique about this flypack is that its modular design allows it to break into three racks with the director's rack sitting front of house, explained Upstage Video's Project Manager Greg Brown. In the U.S., most directors are typically set up backstage, while U.K. directors typically sit front of house so they can see lighting, etc. However, in the U.S., we've been seeing a trend where more and more directors prefer front of house because they want to have the energy from the show and the audience, which is hard to get backstage. It was important for us to develop a flypack that could easily provide a front of house director position with engineering backstage.
The director's rack houses the ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel, SmartView 4K and SmartScope Duo 4K monitors and Teranex Mini SDI to Audio 12G converters, and it's linked to the CCU rack, which houses the ATEM Constellation 8K, Smart Videohub 12G 40x40 with Videohub Smart Control, Audio Monitor 12G, Mini Converters Optical Fiber 12G and GPI and Tally Interface. The third rack is the engineering rack and has additional Mini Converters Optical Fiber 12G and a media server.
When it came time to design the flypack, Upstage Video needed a switcher that could handle a substantial workflow, but at the right price point. When we saw the ATEM Constellation 8K, we knew we had to go with it, said Brown. The 24 assignable 12G-SDI outputs are huge for us as they help cut back on the amount of routing that we need. We also love the built in Fairlight audio mixer, which was a big help at WE Fest with embedding the analog audio feed from the stage mix into our video feeds for recording, as well as the closed circuit TV feed.
Additionally, the ATEM Constellation 8K's ability to receive any resolution or frame rate and convert it is not only fantastic in its own regard, but also helps keep latency to a minimum, he added. Being in live entertainment, having the least amount of latency, ideally less than seven lines of processing delay, is critical, even in the multiviews.
With four to six acts performing daily across the three day festival, coupled with each act having different video needs and setups, preparedness and peace of mind were key. Brown explained, We do our best to connect with acts weeks before an event, but with folks on their own tours this can be difficult to accomplish. At WE Fest, the ability to have an act's video director walk in the morning of their show and quickly fulfill their needs helped the director relax and concentrate on switching the show. In this vein, the ATEM Constellation 8K's ability to receive different resolutions and frame rates and convert them with no outboard gear is ideal. Similarly, with 40 12G-SDI inputs, we were able to patch in every act's needs in the morning, which eliminated the need to hard patch cables in between acts.
Another deciding factor was the switcher's flexibility between HD, Ultra HD and 8K capabilities. To have 8K service, even if we don t use it just yet, coupled with the fact that in Ultra HD it's a completely maxed out switcher, all at that price point, made the ATEM Constellation 8K a no brainer, concluded Brown.
North America Stories
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Catgut Sound Owner and Production Sound Mixer Chris Welcker, CAS, has built a career at the intersection of music and film. A former musician and composer, Welc...
07/04/2026
SDVI Corporation today announced the next generation of its Rally media supply chain management platform, introducing a redesigned orchestration engine that rep...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's leading streaming television channels, at NAB 2026 will be launching new Studio services to help content ow...
07/04/2026
Ikegami USA has chosen NAB 2026 in Las Vegas as the launch platform for new additions to its range of broadcast-quality television production equipment. These w...
07/04/2026
April 19, 2026, Las Vegas Kiloview, an innovative provider of AV-over-IP technologies, will showcase its latest broadcast IP solutions at NAB 2026, presenting...
07/04/2026
Bitmovin has announced support for Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) across its playback products using HLS interstitials, enabling more advanced ad-supported s...
07/04/2026
Synamedia is unveiling AI by Quortex at The NAB show, a just-in-time AI plugin framework that applies intelligence only when needed across video processing, dis...
07/04/2026
Cuez will showcase four additions to its cloud-based newsroom, rundown and automation platform at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas, Booth N1867):
Cuez ...
07/04/2026
CueScript to Showcase Innovations at NAB that Add Mobility Options, Ease Editing...
07/04/2026
Barix Extends Transport Options for Multi-Engine IP Encoder
Brie Clayton April 7, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB, Barix adds SRT and RIST support to Mult...
07/04/2026
Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON File-Based QC Soluti...
07/04/2026
Tightrope Media Systems to Debut Cablecast LiveBridge for Simultaneous Streaming...
07/04/2026
Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026: From Story-Centric Newsroom to Ope...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...
07/04/2026
Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores The orchestra, led by associate professor Xander Rovang, will perform several work...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Blackmagic Design today announced that its ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher was used as part of an Ultra HD 12G-SDI and fiber live production workflow at WE Fest, the largest country music festival in the United States and the longest running in the world.
