Video Encoding/DVD - Products

Estonia seems an unlikely place for an international pop-song spectacle. So when the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) held the 47^th annual Eurovision Song Contest in the capital city of Tallinn, set designer Lir Hermelin was determined to show Estonia as a modern country without using a clichéd high-tech look. Performers from 24 European countries competed on a fiberglass stage, designed to make light and projection an integral part of the show. Hermelin also created a moveable projection surface — referred to as “sails” — that curved like waves over the stage. After searching for a powerful projection tool to use for this stage, lighting director Per Sundin of SVT (Swedish TV) chose Austin, Texas-based High End Systems' Catalyst Digital Media Server.

The three-hour show, based on “A Modern Fairy Tale” theme, chronicled the story of Estonia's history 10 years after achieving its independence. It was critical that each performance be given its own unique design and identity while remaining true to the overall look and feel of the project. This was the largest application for Catalyst — a 16-unit system — as well as its largest audience, an estimated 166 million viewers.

“One Catalyst was used to feed the rear projection, a quad split soft edge application achieved with four Panasonic PT-D9500M projectors,” explains Norbert Franke of CatAtec, the technician in charge of the projection system. “There were 14 Catalyst systems working with mirror heads, with seven units as front projection and seven as rear projection. System 16 was a back-up and used for content production and distribution.”

The output of the 15 Catalysts was split — one went to a Barco G10 projector to the left, and one went to the right-side stage screen. The switcher was controlled remotely from FOH. To speed up data transfer, content distribution was provided via Firewire daisy chain. All the servers were networked together in a control room in the backstage area. In addition, one of two Firewire inputs was used to take direct live video feeds of presenters in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain, which was part of the introduction to the show, and then broadcast it from Catalyst onto screens on both sides of the stage.