Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Creative Conversations: Jorge Toro

26/06/2020

Creative Conversations: Jorge Toro posted: 25/06/2020

Jorge Toro of JMT Show Concepts.

Meet the Hippotizer power-users of Green Hippo's Key User Support Group (KUSP) From an early age, Jorge Toro, owner of Florida-based JMT Show Concepts, has had a knack for technology and a head for business. In his 25 years in entertainment production, he has constantly moved forward, letting nothing slow him down. In recent years, however, a fruitful partnership with Green Hippo has certainly contributed to that forward momentum.

Jorge's links with entertainment began in his teenage years, when he started helping out a DJ friend with his audio equipment in their native Puerto Rico. I started working with him, carrying equipment, setting up, he recalls. He taught me how to do everything - and I was good at it.

Hippotizer Boreal Media Servers at the Premios Tu M sica Urbano awards show, broadcast live from Puerto Rico to an estimated 80 million people on March 5, 2020.

He progressed to mixing sound for bands in Puerto Rico, and after buying his own PA system, spent several years both renting and mixing. It was good time, he says. I grew up a lot as a person, as a technician and as a company, until I decided to sell up and move to the States.

To cement his audio knowledge, Jorge headed to Florida's renowned Full Sail University to study a degree in Recording Arts, before returning to wider freelance opportunities in Puerto Rico. But Jorge is also good at recognising opportunity - and a change of direction was on the horizon. A friend had bought a lot of LED screen, and asked me to be production manager, and look after all their gigs. I didn't know anything about video, but I said yes.

He learned fast, and successfully oversaw screen and content requirements for tours and festivals throughout Latin America. We did a lot of shows - David Guetta, Rihanna, the Festival Presidente in the Dominican Republic, which is really big over there - a lot of things.

Hippotizer Boreal Media Servers at the Premios Tu M sica Urbano awards show, broadcast live from Puerto Rico to an estimated 80 million people on March 5, 2020.

This success led to a call from the production manager for Wisin & Yandel, the hugely popular Reggaeton duo, who wanted Jorge to manage the supply and setup of the video elements for a show in the Dominican Republic. He agreed, but it was a tough gig. We put all the gear on a ferry from Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic, but the ferry broke down, so 80% of my gear arrived the night before show day. We had to set everything up and test it. But at the end of the day, we did a great gig for 60,000 people.

Hippotizer Boreal Media Servers at the Premios Tu M sica Urbano awards show, broadcast live from Puerto Rico to an estimated 80 million people on March 5, 2020.

Next, Jorge left the rental company to join Wisin & Yandel's touring crew. Before long, he also became video director for Enriqu Iglesias - a role he continues to fill to this day - and various other artists. Finding his services much in demand, he founded JMT Show Concepts in 2015.

Hippotizer Boreal Media Servers at the Premios Tu M sica Urbano awards show, broadcast live from Puerto Rico to an estimated 80 million people on March 5, 2020.

By this time, Jorge had a freelancer's broad experience of media servers, but was increasingly intrigued by Hippotizer. I met Kate Leahy, who taught me a lot about Hippotizer. I really liked the platform because everything was there. And once it was set up, everything ran smoothly. I asked a lot of questions: What about this? Why that way? How does that work?

He encountered Hippotizer again on a Bruno Mars tour, and finally decided to invest after Enriqu Iglesias's co-headline tour with Pitbull, when Pitbull's crew were using Hippotizer. It's a brand, like Mercedes or BMW, says Jorge. I researched different products, but decided on Green Hippo because the brand was so strong and the product so good. We knew we would always get work with those systems.

He invested initially in two Hippotizer Karst Media Servers, in May 2018. He recalls, I opened them up and started playing with them, and on the same day I was like, OK, I'm ready to do a show here!' The user interface was so good.

Hippotizer Boreal Media Servers at the Premios Tu M sica Urbano awards show, broadcast live from Puerto Rico to an estimated 80 million people on March 5, 2020.

Hippotizer's ease of setup and integration also impressed. Sometimes I programme in ChamSys, but often the worst thing about media servers is that it's such a pain to hook up to the console. So I plugged it in, moved a fader and it was there! I just fell in love with it. A week later I was doing shows with them.

Discussing the software, he says, Hippotizer is the easiest software to use. You have so many ways to manage your session, from the console, from ZooKeeper, from the Timeline into the ZooKeeper, from cues - it's so easy. Sometimes, producers or creative people come to me and say, We want to do this . . .' - and from the way they explain it, you know they think it will be really difficult. And I'm like, OK, give me five minutes!'.

He adds, Green Hippo has the most powerful computers on the market to handle the big stuff. You have everything in one box, and all the support you need. With some systems, you have the software, and maybe a computer you bought someplace, and it's very easy for a company to say, No, it's the computer's fault'. But if I have any issues with Hippo, I will always resolve everything in one call.

Among the powerful features that Jorge singles out for praise is PixelMapper. We did the Premios Tu M sica Urbano, the big Latin Music Awards show, in March. We used PixelMapper to map everything, tile by
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/products/creative-conversations-jo...
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 ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

30/09/2026

Schibsted Media Chooses DHD RX2 and TX2 Mixers for Remote...

Schibsted Media, one of Norways largest and most influential digital media publishers and content producers, has invested in mixers and digital signal processor...

30/09/2026

Big Blue Marble adds live multiview channels to its video...

Big Blue Marble announces the addition of live multiview channels to Cloud Video Kit, its broadcast-grade video processing platform. The feature is powered by A...

30/09/2026

Telekom Slovenije brings local advertising to internation...

Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that Telekom Slovenije, Slovenia's largest provider of telecommunications and TV services, is open...

30/09/2026

PODCAST EXPO 2026 Recorded Using Blackmagic Design Workflow

PODCAST EXPO 2026 Recorded Using Blackmagic Design Workflow Brie Clayton September 29, 2026 0 Comments Conference featuring 24 sessions over two days ...

30/09/2026

IBC2026 Show Report

IBC2026 Show Report David Kirk September 29, 2026 0 Comments The International Broadcasting Convention has long been Europe's equivalent of the US...

30/09/2026

SGO Unveils Workflows Slate To Enable Automated Burn-ins, Slates

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/09/2026

Public Advocacy Group Urges Broadcasters to Stop Airing Trump Taxpayer Funded Ad

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/09/2026

Qvest Promotes Katlyn Alexander to CEO, North America

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/09/2026

Mavis Camera 8-2 adds iPhone 18 Pro Support with Variable...

Mavis has launched Mavis Camera 8.2, the latest release of its professional camera app for the iPhone and iPad. This update brings support for iPhone 18 Pro and...

29/09/2026

Oak View Group Names Cisco as Official Technology Partner

Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...

29/09/2026

SportsNet Pittsburgh Wins Three Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards

SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards. Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...

29/09/2026

CBC, PWHL Revive Hockey Night in Canada' on Saturdays

The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...

29/09/2026

Manifold Technologies Recognized as MXL Contributor Following IBC Innovation Award

Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...

29/09/2026

Fubo Launches My Local Sports RSN Add-On Package

FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...

29/09/2026

ANI Deploys Grass Valley AMPP and Framelight X for News Operations

Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...

29/09/2026

SABC Deploys Ikegami UHK-X600 Cameras for IP-Based Production

South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...

29/09/2026

Busy in Bristol: ESPN Headquarters Come Alive With New Studio W, Remote-Production Workflows

REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...

29/09/2026

NASCAR Productions' Keith D'Alessandro on the Continued Evolution of Its Centralized Production Hub

Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...

29/09/2026

NBC Sports Brings Robust Sunday Night Baseball Production Playbook to MLB Wild Card Round

NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...

29/09/2026

Sundance Institute Announces 2026 Doc Fund Grantees

19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary LOS ...

29/09/2026

Zynaptiq introduce Loud & Wide

Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...

29/09/2026

Wes Audio unveil the ngOmniBox

All-in-one bus processor revealed Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...

29/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Drastically Upgrades Production Communications with...

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

29/09/2026

Fubo TV Launches My Local Sports'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

ARRI Targets Content Creators with New HONOR Smartphone

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Asian News International Enhances Workflow with Grass Valley AMPP, FramelightX

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

SABC Chooses Ikegami UHK-X600 Cameras to Support IP Studio Transition

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

SABC Upgrades to IP-Based Production with Ikegami UHK-X60...

Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...

29/09/2026

Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone

Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone Brie Clayton September 29, 2026 0 Comments Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...

29/09/2026

Ease Live Reports over 75 Million Interactive Sessions Du...

Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...

29/09/2026

Ease Live to monetise key moments in live sports

Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...

29/09/2026

Rise AV launches awards celebrating the women advocates a...

Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...

29/09/2026

Netflix Deploys Advanced Sony PTZ Cameras For Wonka's The Golden Ticket' Production

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Names Gene Lavanchy 2026 Broadcaster of the Year

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

ESPN Reports Its Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Scripps Taps Digital News Veteran Sean McGarvy to Lead News Strategy

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Gray Raises Political Ad Revenue Estimates

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Edward Czarnecki Uses Game Theory to Assess ATSC 3.0 Transition Policies

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Drastically Upgrades Production C...

Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...

29/09/2026

Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch

Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch Brie Clayton September 28, 2026 0 Comments Camera's portable design and dynamic range...

29/09/2026

Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Color Across In-venue Displays at Live Events

Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...

29/09/2026

Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards

Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...

29/09/2026

Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop

Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...

29/09/2026

SES Successfully Prices 500 million Eurobond

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, OR AT ANY ADDRESS IN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITO...

29/09/2026

The energy transition will only succeed if it lasts

We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...