It can now be revealed that Datapath video wall controllers were used to manage playback across three screens in the historic dome room of the Silent Green event venue in Berlin, where the multimedia installation ‘Oceanic Refractions’ immersed audiences in the urgent issue of climate change and its impact on the Oceania community.
‘Oceanic Refractions’, which ran in Berlin in January and February, wove together a moving narrative through testimonies from Oceania natives, accompanied by the sounds of their natural environments, from the bustling life of coral reefs to the serene rustle of mangroves. The auditory journey was further enhanced by 360-degree videography, kinetic seating that mimicked the ocean’s movement, and olfactory effects that transported visitors to the shorelines of Fiji, Kiribati, and the Duke of York Islands in Papua New Guinea.
FrameWorks, a multimedia system designer and integrator from Ireland, created the 360-degree multi-sensory environment. Olan Clarke, from FrameWorks, specified 16 Panasonic projectors, aligned and driven by a single Screenberry media server, to create a video display across two 360-degree cylindrical screens and an octagon-shaped dome. A quartet of Datapath Fx4 units split the signal from the media server to 16 WUXGA outputs.
The combination of the single server and Datapath video wall controllers used to manage playback across all three screens simplified the setup and ensured an extension of the immersive environment from floor to ceiling. Increased cost and energy efficiency were additional bonuses.
To output visuals onto two circular panoramas, each 10m in diameter and 3m high, Screenberry aligned 8 x Panasonic PT-RZ970 projectors utilising a combination of automatic and manual calibration. To map the 10m domed ceiling, the media server auto-calibrated an array of 8 x Panasonic PT-DZ780 projectors.
Andy Lee, senior international sales manager at Datapath, said: “We’ve worked closely with Front Pictures, the developers of the Screenberry media server, for many years on groundbreaking and inspiring projects. This latest solution shows how multimedia installations can be simpler and more reliable through the use of Screenberry and Datapath products.”
He added: “Due to its versatility, the ever-popular Fx4 processor is probably our best-selling product, and it is always amazing to see how our customers continuously innovate spectacular new uses of Datapath technology. With ‘Oceanic Refractions’, visitors to the Silent Green venue in Berlin get immersed in an incredible, realistic 360 experience, while learning highly valuable information on how to preserve and maintain the world’s oceanic ecosystem.”
Yuri Kostenko, CEO, Front Pictures concluded: “We are happy to provide our clients with powerful, reliable, and at the same time cost-effective tools. Datapath video wall controllers help us build Screenberry-driven setups with maximum efficiency and flexibility. ‘Oceanic Refractions’ is the perfect example of how a project can benefit from this approach.”
