User manual

January/February 2001 ExtroNews 12.1 11
Electrohome VISTAGRAPHX 5,000 lumen DLP
projectors (double-stacked to illuminate the 15
ft. x 20 ft. on-stage screen), four 3,000 lumen
Proxima 9320 projectors (double-stacked
behind each 10.5 ft. x 14 ft. screen), and ten
2,100 lumen Proxima 9310 projectors (single-
stacked behind the remaining screens).
The on-screen images came from several
different sources. Two Sony digital wide-screen
cameras (DXC-D35WSLs) were located in fixed
positions. These cameras took live shots of the
stage and audience. A third fixed camera
(AJD 700 Panasonic DVC PRO) took shots of
both the performers and the crowd, and a
fourth hand-held camera took live shots from all
around the room. Two DVD players and a beta
deck supplied playback images that included the
Turner Classics movie clips and still shots.
The video sources were input to three Sony
switchers (one DFS 700 and two DFS 500s) to
accommodate the digital format of the wide
screen cameras. The outputs from the Sony
switchers were then routed to one of three
Extron SGS 408 seamless graphics switchers,
which controlled all the switching and
transition effects for the performance.
One SGS 408 was dedicated to the
Electrohome DLP projectors illuminating the
screen above the stage. The other two
seamless graphics switchers controlled the
projectors displaying images on the remaining
twelve screens. Output signals from the SGS
408s were split and run to the video projectors
through a series of distribution amplifiers.
A single switch operator—David Creed
from Dillon Productions—controlled the video
outputs from the SGS 408s. Creed
used three Extron remote control panels
(RCP 1000s) and one event control
panel (ECP 1000) to preview the video
sources and then seamlessly transition
between inputs.
RENTAL & STAGING CORNER
The remote control panels are designed to
work with the SGS 408 and can be located up
to 1,000 feet away from the switcher. These
panels let Creed independently control
switching and picture functions for each
switcher from an operator’s table instead of
through the front panel.
The panels support both a program and a
preview function that can be accessed
through two rows of buttons: one set controls
the program output—what the audience sees,
and the other set controls the preview
output—what the operator sees. These
buttons let Creed preview and execute
switches to the sixteen projectors at the touch
of a finger.
The event control panel gave Creed
simultaneous control over all three SGS 408s.
This panel let him execute transitions across
multiple screens at the same time. Creed
could select one of 30 preset multi-screen
transitions through a single button push,
enabling simultaneous cuts, dissolves, and
wipes that are timed and synchronized on
multiple screens. The panel also has a special
T-Bar transition controller that let Creed control
the speed of transitions that were executed
across single and multiple screens.
“David used a number of the different
transition effects to switch between inputs,”
says Dillon. “For example, with the twelve
screens we had set up around the room, plus
the main one on the stage, David would use
the left to right wipe effect. This created a
smooth and professional transition between
output displays all the way around the room.”
Creed executed both the impromptu switches
and the choreographed transitions with
professionalism and ease. When the lights finally
went out on the party for TBS, the
SGS 408 had wowed everyone, especially the
staff of DPSI. “We were so pleased with the
SGS 408’s performance,” says Dillon, “that we
just ordered our second set of three SGS 408s.”
Above: David Creed, of DPSI,has touch-of-a-button
control over video effects executed by three SGS 408s.
Left: Close-up of the SGS 408 setup