Roland And UK Production Services Go To The Cinema For Software Launch

With more than 15 years experience in providing full production services for live events, Director of UKPS, Carl Wackan knew that he would need the very best equipment to satisfy the requirement of this heavyweight client.  The project presented a number of challenges and the Roland V-1600HD Multi Format Live Video Switcher was chosen by Carl for the job.  ‘The V-1600HD is a well thought out bit of kit that ticked all the boxes’ commented Carl, ‘I can see what I’m doing and what is going on because the screen is right in front of me and I have everything to hand for every eventuality’.

The launch event took place in a cinema - a perfect choice for the client as the power of the cinema projector ensured that each detail was clear to the audience on the 20m cinema screen.  With an audience of around 600 people, it was not just the live event that UKPS had to consider– the event also needed to be recorded so that it could be streamed for download afterwards. 

There were several risks involved in the project which really tested the skills of UKPS and the features of the Roland V-1600HD.  The first risk was the possibility that the software the client were launching could itself be unstable, and any faults would be of course shown immediately to the live audience but would also be recorded.  The solution was to devise multiple levels so that each level would be separate but still linked allowing UKPS to tidy up or revise where necessary ‘live’. 

The first level was the clients with machines and backups, the second was to separate and record to a recording studio – a TV studio that UKPS had practically built overnight.  Each layer added complexity to the job but was essential as an insurance against any unforeseen problems. 

UKPS used the V-1600HD at the centre of it all ‘like a hub in a wheel’, designing a logogram of all the visuals, where they would come from and where they needed distributing to and how this was going to be done.  All visuals had to be shown and recorded at the same time so this had to be factored into the setup. The loop out facility on the V-1600HD allowed UKPS to bring everything in and then choose to display locally or send to recording machines elsewhere.

The V-1600HD Live Video Switcher is ideal for any live event or installation that requires a high channel count and the ability to accept a variety of video input formats out of the box. The sixteen inputs provide connectivity to HD/SD-SDI, DVI-D/HDMI, RGB, Component, S-video, and composite formats – as well as still images assignable via USB memory. The 14 mixing channels provide built-in scalers and frame syncs for worry-free seamless mixing regardless of the resolution or format.
In this instance, the scaling facility meant that the V-1600HD could take a lot of hi end computer signals and turn them into high end HDSDI.

‘In post production the quality of the recorded image on screen was so good it looked like we had the software open on our system’ commented Carl.

Because of the intuitive, menu driven options and built in high resolution preview monitor, UKPS could check that all sources were connected and preview them by scrolling through.  The built monitor also made life much easier for UKPS as they were able to adjust and resize images live. 

Carl refers to the V-1600HD as an ‘ace up his sleeve’ because it has more flexibility than other products.  ‘It is an essential tool for all of our jobs – the vision mixers are good for the money, highly specc’d and easy to use – that’s very important when you are working with a lot of freelancers, if they can come in and pick it up and you don’t have to train them, that’s a great benefit’.