Melbourne-based production company Diverse Audio Visual Events (DAVE) recently deployed AV Stumpfl’s PIXERA two RS Gen.2 media server as the backbone of the complete video system for Hilltop Hoods’ Never Coming Home Tour 2026, a national run of arena shows that sold out across Australia.
Hilltop Hoods, one of Australia’s most successful recording acts, took the Never Coming Home Tour to Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and RAC Arena in Perth, and more, with sold-out dates placing Diverse AV at the heart of one of the country’s biggest hip-hop tours of the year.
Brad Hurle, founder and managing director of Diverse Audio Visual Events, was responsible for designing and delivering the tour’s full video production. Hurle selected the PIXERA two RS Gen.2 following consultation with Branden Butler of Show Technology Australia.
The compact, yet powerful 2U media server offered the performance and flexibility the project required. “Going with the PIXERA two RS Gen.2 ensured we delivered both performance and flexibility without compromise,” said Hurle.
The visual design was built around a unified 4K canvas across all LED surfaces, utilising INFiLED Black Widow mesh LED systems at an 8.3mm pixel pitch to create a seamless large-format stage picture. The show ran on timecode for precise and repeatable execution night after night, while the system also had to handle extensive live camera feeds and rapid camera cuts throughout. “The main goal was to build a turnkey video system that could scale easily from arenas through to festivals, while still keeping latency low so the crowd felt totally connected to what was happening on stage,” said Hurle.
Given the tight production timeline, the team used PIXERA zero for pre-programming, building and refining the show ahead of deployment. On show, the PIXERA two RS Gen.2 handled all playback, with control routed through a ChamSys MagicQ PC Wing for real-time layer manipulation and opacity control.
“One of the standout features for me is the timeline workflow. The ability to make live edits and adjustments on the fly has been a gamechanger,” said Hurle. “When I was sitting down with the Hilltop Hoods team and the LD, Paul ‘Pauly’ Owen, it allowed us to be incredibly reactive to any and all ideas and requests in real time. We could quickly shape how the overall visual looked, and, more importantly, how everything tied in with the lighting design and how the act felt onstage.”
The project also marked Hurle’s first go using Notch, working alongside Adelaide-based content designer and programmer Brenton ‘Marchie’ March (aka CtrldChaos). March found PIXERA straightforward to navigate, particularly when it came to exporting control modules and getting Notch blocks running smoothly. “Once we had that dialled in, it really opened things up creatively, while still keeping the system running clean and stable,” said Hurle.
The Never Coming Home Tour was the first time Hurle had deployed the PIXERA platform. In the lead-up to the tour, he received support from Paul Collison of elevendesign, one of Australia’s most experienced lighting designers and a longtime PIXERA user. “I’ve been keeping an eye on PIXERA for a few years, but I haven’t had the right project to fully leverage its capabilities. The Hilltop Hoods tour was the perfect opportunity,” said Hurle. “Transitioning from another platform was very straightforward. What sold me was the balance of affordability, flexibility and scalability.”
“I can’t say enough good things about the direction and capability of the PIXERA platform,” concluded Hurle. “Diverse AV is stoked to be a rental house of LED screens and now to have the ability to control and manage those screens via PIXERA too.”
