Avolites Ai S8 one box solution Media Server on Above & Beyond world tour posted: 09/07/2016
A single media server - the powerful Ai S8 from British manufacturer Avolites - drove the entirety of the video and graphic element on trance legends Above & Beyonds recent international tour.
The band, who have been voted into DJ Magazines Top 100 DJs six times, started their Acoustic ll tour on the 5th of May at Londons Royal Albert Hall and finished on the 6th of June at the Sydney Opera House. The tour visited some of the worlds most iconic venues, including two sell-out dates at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles. Its spectacular visuals, designed by Neil Marsh, featured a mix of video, graphics and live camera footage from six on-stage robotic cameras.
David Kyle, video operator for the tour, made excellent use of the compact Ai S8 to run Marshs multi-sourced design.
Kyle explains: My role was to look after all video elements of the show and make sure we delivered what was required in terms of Neils design. Ai provided us with a one box solution that could control the cameras, mix them, provide a preview, receive timecode, playback content and take care of mapping without the need for additional equipment. This kept set up time down, gave us a more reliable system and reduced latency, which was important when using cameras.
The Above & Beyond show design was based around three large semi-circular trusses, on which double-layered deco linen was hung. This provided a projection surface on one side and a red voile on the other as some shows were sold in the round.
The video itself was not intended to be traditional IMAG style display, but more of an older, rough, film effect look, says Kyle. Depending on the venue the rig would change between the three semi circles or a single large screen that wrapped around the drape. For the Hollywood Bowl we also sent an unmapped signal to the in-house IMAG screens to ensure the full crowd of 18,000 could see the show. Another feed also went to the recording crew meaning we pushed the server to six outputs and six inputs.
The impressive capacity of the Ai S8 makes for an extremely reliable and smooth-running system. In addition, it features a timecode takeover function, which allows the operator to make live changes during the gig. Once any live adjustments are made, the timecode returns smoothly back to where it should be.
The timecode function is very well thought out and really makes it easy to create a timecode show quickly, continues Kyle. Being able to disable it quickly on the live page has been essential when having to override the camera switching.
Further valuable features of the Ai S8 Media Server include: Map and Warp onto any 3D surface, smooth play back of up to 8k Media using the AiM Codec and Auto Blend. The Auto Blend feature means aligning and blending projectors manually is a thing of the past. Kyle explains how integral this feature was on the tour, especially for the outdoor gigs: The Auto Blend has been a very useful tool. In some venues the projector placement was far from ideal, but as long as we could cover the screen, the Auto Blend took care of everything else. It saved a lot of time and effort. Some of the venues were outdoors and not dark until 20 minutes before show time. Setting up manually in this time would have been impossible.
Kyle decided to investigate Avolites Ai after he noticed Ai Media becoming more common as the house server at video-heavy electronic shows and festivals. It was on the back of this that he visited London-based Avolites to find out more.
Straight away I was really impressed with what the Ai S8 could do and I am really pleased I decided to go with it for this tour. The support from Annalisa, Arran and Prads has been outstanding - this is my first tour with Ai and theyve been really helpful from start to finish.
The Avolites Ai S8 media server was supplied to David Kyle and Neil Marsh through Mirrad LTD - a British visual arts and design house.
The tour was in support of Above & Beyonds latest album Acoustic II, which is out now.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
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...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Avolites Ai S8 one box solution Media Server on Above & Beyond world tour posted: 09/07/2016 
