LAS VEGAS – Tech Launchpad, which established an on-site studio at the CES show in Las Vegas this year, produced more than 140 segments featuring brand new brands in consumer technology. To produce the segments, Tech Launchpad used the Roland VR-50HD – an all-in-one audio and video live production switcher with USB 3.0 output for web streaming or recording.
More details from Roland Professional A/V (www.proav.roland.com):
Established in 2010, Tech Launchpad is a unique broadcast media platform delivering the latest consumer technology news to nearly 60 Million viewers through TV affiliate partners across the country.
For the 140+ segments, camera sources included a SONY HD camera, a GoPro camera mounted up high to give the audience a show floor perspective live from CES. They also used an Apple TV to connect wireless video sources using Airplay mode allowing them to walk around to nearby booths showing new products using the camera on an iPad.The fourth video source was a Mac Mini used to playback video clips and B-roll footage captured from the show floor. The USB 3.0 output of the VR-50HD was connected to another Mac Mini streaming the live broadcast via USTREAM.
Tech LaunchPad’s main goal is to provide consumers an insight to the latest gadget technology throughout the year. In the case of CES, local news stations from around the country wanted to provide their audience with live coverage from CES 2015. Tech LaunchPad provided each TV station a live CES 2015 broadcast from the show floor via SKYPE, Facetime, or LiveU’s streaming services showcasing the latest gadgets and trends. The VR-50HD’s flexibility to be able to handle all of these streaming mediums was highly valued by Tech LaunchPad’s production team. The news stations were able to provide live broadcasts from the show floor from around the country without having to send their own reporters and production crew to the show, which was a welcomed cost savings.
Corrado Amenta, Executive Producer for Tech LaunchPad some time ago purchased the Roland VR-3 to produce and web stream their live shows. The VR-3 has been a great mixer but they quickly outgrew the feature set with a need to produce and stream HD content.
Amenta comments, “When the VR-50HD arrived it was like a playground in a studio and at the same time it was like having a Ferrari but not knowing how to drive. We knew it could do a lot, we just had to figure out how to do it”. Amenta found the online video tutorials and the manual very helpful to quickly familiarize himself with the VR-50HD.
For the CES 2015 production Amenta was very impressed with the flexibility and the quality of the VR-50HD. The production crew also appreciated the ability to plug in multiple disparate video sources and have the VR-50HD handle it all seamlessly.
Amenta says, “It is very versatile. We can plug-in an Apple TV, a GoPro, a camcorder, a computer monitor, and we don’t have to worry about the resolutions because the VR-50HD handles all of these formats seamlessly”.
