Mega Systems Inc. Provides Screens and Control for Outdoor Performance Space at 2018 Event
At the 2018 NAMM Show, held at the Anaheim Convention Center Jan. 25-28, one of the main attractions for the 115,085 attendees was the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage, featuring performers ranging from Andy Grammer, OK Go and Michael McDonald to Lindsey Stirling, Butch Walker and Sam Moore. Mega Systems Inc. was a key sponsor and production partner, providing screen panels and processing units that helped optimize the imagery appearing on video walls measuring 27.9 by 16.4 feet and 18 by 9.8 feet in size (WxH). The video processing units included Mega Systems’ RGBlink Venus X3 and MSP 200PRO units. (For more detail on why these were chosen, see below.)
Multiple Displays, Strategic Views
Along with the Venus X3 and MSP 200PRO, Mega Systems Inc. provided Mega View Phantom Panels 5.9 were also used that made the entire stage come together. The bigger wall — 27.9 by 16.4 feet (WxH) — was placed on the actual stage where artists would have different visuals played behind them. The smaller wall — 18 by 9.8 feet (WxH) — positioned to separate the section of the food trucks and concert audience, provided I-Mag for those farther back from the stage, waiting in line for the food trucks, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to see the artists on the stage, even though the music was still loud in the area.
Mega Systems Inc.’s Phantom Panel 5.9, as its name suggests, is a vivid display with a 5.9mm pitch, and it is designed for outdoor production. The panels’ black face LEDs create a high contrast display, allowing for a vivid picture. Equipped with an aluminum casting located at the bottom of the panel, this Phantom has the protection and capability to support outdoor weather or indoor production.
Running at only 30 percent of intensity, both video walls displayed clear images of the artists and other visuals, even during daylight hours. Being ETL listed, this IP65 panel proved ideal for use at the main stage because it was able to withstand strong winds experienced during the event. Aside from the wind, the weather was spectacular in Anaheim in late January. But had there been any precipitation, the panels would have been keep the show rolling, rain or shine.
The installation process ran smoothly and no major challenges were faced. With the rapid speed at which these walls can be erected, the load-in time was minimal and required little labor. After installing the video panels, it did take some time for the Venus X3 to get set up and able to process the perfectly sized images onto the video wall. After several tests that were monitored through the MSP 200PRO, the video was up and ready for the concerts scheduled for the following day.
On the last day of the NAMM show, the strongest winds swept through the grounds, causing the video walls to sway too much for comfort. This was easily fixed by simply tying down the bottom of both video walls, which kept their swinging to a minimum and ensured safety. This also presented no imminent danger to the stage structure itself.
With its record-setting 2018 attendance, this year’s NAMM show secured its status as one of the biggest trade shows within the production industry. Aside from sponsoring the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage, Mega Systems Inc. also sponsored the Arena Stage and hosted a booth which displayed several other RGBlink products. Besides their video wares, the side stages and their musicians were kept illuminated by a wide assortment of moving and conventional light fixtures that Mega offers, also controlled by one of their proprietary consoles, the Lumen8.
With two other installations to work through, the Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage still managed to receive several great reviews from the artists and the audience. Every night hundreds of people gathered in front of the stage and the smaller wall to witness great artists. The two video walls wouldn’t have displayed such great visuals had it not been for the Venus X3 and MSP 200PRO. Once again, RGBlink and Mega Systems Inc. successfully put on another great show.
The Venus X3 and MSP200PRO: A Closer Look
Mega Systems Inc.’s Venus X3 was chosen due to its ability of being an HDCP-compliant, scalable and expandable video wall processor that is designed for large video walls of up to eight screens or more. It is configurable to support a variety of inputs, outputs and windowing capabilities including SDI, HDMI, DVI, Display-port, RGB, HDTV and USB. Compared with other video wall processors, the Venus X3 extends three main applications, which include a seamless switching between the inputs, local control panel option and a preview on the front panel directly. These advantages, along with its high performance and capability of producing high quality images, made the Venus X3 well suited for the main stage at NAMM.
Having to display different camera angles, videos, slide shows and logos onto the video wall also required the need for the MSP 200PRO to ensure that the correct images were always shown on the screen. The MSP 200PRO allows onboard preview of an HDMI source along with format inspection, simplifying the monitoring of the video wall. It also allowed the AV to test signal source and had the ability to allow inspection from delay. With the popular test patterns that can be easily selected with or without motion, the MSP 200PRO met the requirements that were needed to ensure the smooth and correct transitions between the multiple images that were being used on both video walls.
