LIVE Ultra Lounge has undergone two major upgrades since it originally opened in San Antonio, TX in April 2014. Owner Robert Cruzzi’s mission — to give Texas patrons a taste of Las Vegas without leaving their hometown — hasn’t really changed. But with brighter, sharper and easier-to-maintain screens and fixtures available, he’s been able to intensify the nightclub’s Vegas-style allure while keeping the behind-the-scenes costs firmly in check.
The Screens
With an LED video display behind the DJ booth measuring 12.5 feet by 8.3 feet in size, LIVE Ultra Lounge was already delivering some impressive visual content. For the latest upgrade, however, Cruzzi upped the visual ante with a screen that was more impressive in both scale and pixel pitch.
The new display, comprised of Mega View Phantom Panels spans 18 feet in width. And with vivid, high-contrast black face LEDs configured in a 3.9mm pixel pitch, the wider video wall delivers sharper imagery as well. “I love the panels because they have amazing clarity,” Cruzzi says. “Our previous product was very pixelated in comparison. Now I can use these panels for marketing, and the audience views much clearer videos.”
Along with the new display behind the DJ, Cruzzi also added an additional LED surface measuring 26 by six feet (WxH) behind the bar. With those tiles allowing for a 160° horizontal viewing angle, patrons can view high-quality images from any angle in the club.
The upgrade in size, clarity and quality didn’t come at a steep price, however. The new panels, in fact, are even easier to use than the ones they replaced. That, Cruzzi says, is “a major plus. They are lightweight and user-friendly, and you can see that they were designed for the common guy, which is perfect for my guys working with it.”
The big screen behind the DJ is front-serviceable, so in the unlikely event that anything needs to be swapped out, technicians will have easy access for maintenance. Modules can be switched out in seconds. Cruzzi adds that no internal training was necessary for the house technicians to be able to work with the new displays. But that’s not the only plus. “What gets better is the power usage. I’m using the same eight breakers to power up twice the amount of panels that I previously had.”
Mega Systems’ RGBlink Venus X1 video processor is used to control both video walls. With multiple outputs that accept a wide variety of video signals, the Venus X1 combines true seamless fade-in, fade-out, glitch-free switching to meet the requirements of high-quality video presentations. This allows the guest DJ’s at LIVE to be able to project their own videos and logos onto the wall adding a unique presentation to each one of them and keeping the Vegas look original every night that it’s used.
“It has great visuals and the high-definition is definitely a game changer,” Cruzzi says. “It adds to the clarity and vision that I had — it’s something that you can only see in Vegas.”
An Impressive Centerpiece
Along with the screens, LIVE Ultra Lounge’s new looks include a chandelier made up of circular truss, lighting fixtures and a giant disco ball, hanging above the center of the dance floor. Cruzzi and his staff are able to use this setup to create light shows that are rarely seen outside of a premier Vegas nightclub.
The design makes use of several Mega-Lite products including four Axis Beam 2R’s that project tight, vibrant and colorful beams all across the club. In addition, four Axis 7D5 fixtures were also added to help project a variety of different colors, gobos and prisms, adding different visuals to the light show.
For additional effects, Mega Systems Inc. provided four Axis Beam 7R fixtures, which produce a powerful beam with flexibility that can be projected to any corner of the club. With a 16-facet prism, this pencil beam shaft of light can instantly expand into multiple dazzling beams.
To complete the look, four XS Strobe RGB’s were also hung along the rest of the other fixtures. This full color unit can operate as a wash light to bathe the entire floor in color or strobe and create chases and eye-catching LED effects, tying the whole lighting design together.
“The success and image of this club all depends on even the little things, from the glamorous granite surfaces to the personal glasses at each booth, we have emulated the traditional Vegas club,” says Cruzzi. “The lights bring the entire vision together, we want to give the people the ultimate VIP Vegas experience and stepping up the light show gave us the opportunity do so.” Indeed, the upscale establishment reeks of class from the moment you step inside.
The grand re-opening was held on New Year’s Eve, once again packing the house. Since then, the weekends have been successful as expected and LIVE Ultra Lounge along with the Mega View, Mega-Lite and RGBlink products continue to give San Antonio the ultimate VIP experience without the need to travel far.
“I’ve always enjoyed designing and couldn’t have done it without the help of the Mega crew,” said Cruzzi. “With their advice as to what I could and couldn’t do with their different products, I was able to make my design become a reality.”
For more info on Mega-Lite and PR Lighting products, please visit www.megasystemsinc.com
