A.C. Entertainment Technologies’ Video division has provided a Green Hippo HippoCritter media server system for the cutting-edge new TV set of Ford Monday Night Football, which returns this season on Sky Sports HD.
The influential football show hosted by Richard Keys and Andy Gray forms part of the biggest season of live Barclays Premier League football on Sky Sports with 115 live matches all in high definition. In keeping with the original format, the show features innovations such as digital on-screen graphics and games analysis using the latest computer technology.
To carry this high-tech look and feel through to the studio set lighting and visual effects, show LD Malcolm Reed approached AC-ET’s Video division to provide a realtime video playback control system for projecting moving content onto various LED display surfaces.
A.C. Video supplied Green Hippo HippoCritters to DMX pixelmap a series of abstract images onto Thomas PixelLine 1044 LED battens arranged as separate video screens behind the presenters. The HippoCritters also control an LED Tickertape running around the front of the rostrum giving score updates and Barco MiSTRIP LED strips arranged in a fan layout on the studio floor to create a free-form video display.
The HippoCritter media server was specified due to its VideoMapper component, which enabled the content to be mapped correctly as a single image across the complex LED fan layout and separate video screens.
A laptop running the Green Hippo Zookeeper control software was supplied to enable remote control of the video content from the studio gallery.
A.C. Video, in conjunction with Green Hippo’s Simon Harris, provided HippoSchool training on the system and technical support during the installation. All show video content was programmed by A.C. Video’s Lee House.
Show LD, Malcolm Reed commented: “Since the conception of this new set, myself and set designer, Jonathan Ryder-Richardson started to look for something a bit different to control many aspects of the lighting. We decided on the Hippo media server range. For a unit that is so small and compact, the HippoCritter is incredibly powerful and best suits this programme. The use of this device seems to be endless – the more you play with it, the more comes in to your mind as to what you can create. The support from A.C. Video has also been excellent.”
