SEATTLE – Video technician John Cocci has invested in a second UDC button panel event controller from High Resolution Systems (HRS) to use for live corporate shows. Cocci added the UDC-400 to his equipment inventory, which already features a UDC-210 he purchased earlier. He has provided video support for the producers of corporate events for Google, Cisco, Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, Burger King, Discovery Network and others.
More details from HRS (www.hrscontrol.com):
The UDC-210 21-button panel adds physical touch control to HRS’s Universal Device Controller (UDC) software. Small and lightweight, it’s easy to travel with and efficient on the desktop. The UDC-400 expands device control with a 40-button panel featuring multicolor LED indicator lights that yield a total of 120 programmable buttons.
Cocci was introduced to the UDC button panel controller through an early-adopter friend. He thought the UDC-210 would be “a value-added item” for his business but not a likely rental item. He’s been pleased to discover it’s been both. “It was really worth the purchase,” he says. “I use it for most jobs and have rented it out, too.”
Cocci bought the UDC-400 this summer when he found he needed to control a bigger array of equipment for some shows. “I simply needed more buttons,” he declares. He typically uses the devices to control the Christie Spyder X20 image processor.
Cocci recently deployed both UDC button panels on the annual managers’ meeting for
Les Schwab Tires, the giant retail chain operating in the western US. With 478 locations and more than 7,000 employees, the company is known for its customer service and product guarantees. The 2015 meeting of all store managers was held over several days at the Washington State Convention Center. Seattle-based TPN produced; Cocci was hired by AVMS in Seattle to handle all the video and data switching plus the playback for two large screens flanking the speakers.
He used the UDC-210 to control two Analog Way Ascender 32 switchers and the UDC-400 to control Playback Pro. “With the extensive amount of video playback I needed the extra device control that UDC-400 offered me,” Cocci explains. Since there was no dedicated operator, he also managed Playback Pro, which ran on main and back up laptops. “With so much on my plate it made it easier to use the UDC-400 instead of working straight off the two laptops for playback,” he says.
Cocci was pleased with how well his UDC-210 worked with the Ascender switchers. In fact, he prefers it to the Ascenders’ built-in interface for switcher control. “I like the way the UDC recalls presets,” he says. “It’s one button versus multiple buttons to manage the video sources and send them to the screens.”
He also found it easy to write some custom commands for the UDC software.
“The UDC button panel controllers have been a good investment for me,” Cocci declares. “I take both of them to my shows. When people ask me about them, I always recommend them.”
