The broadcast and cable networks pulled out all the stops and spared no expense to deliver exciting, visually compelling coverage of Election Night 2012 - an evening which engendered a good deal of excitement on its own. J3 Productions LLC in Austin, Texas chose HRS Control's UDC 400 (Universal Device Controller) to help feed content to a dynamic set designed for ABC's Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, who were hosting from a studio at the epicenter of New York City's Times Square.
J3's John Mims selected the powerful, fully-customizable UDC 400 control surface to take a pair of Vista Systems' Spyder X20 1608 systems through their paces as they fed imagery to a number of destinations. "The Vista Spyder and UDC are fixtures for each and every large show J3 Productions is involved with," he says.
UDC 400 got Mims's vote to control the Spyders feeding displays across ABC's Election Night set. They included a seamless video wall, comprised of 17 60-inch Sharp monitors in a 9x3 configuration, which formed an atmospheric background for the anchors; seven 60-inch Sharp displays, which were rotated 90 degrees and joined to create a roughly 4:1 aspect ratio used a background image for a panel of expert political analysts; a Barco NX 4mm LED wall in a circular shape, which displayed an interactive map of national polling results; and an Everbrighten 5mm LED wall, which formed a header completely rimming the upper portion of the set.
"The UDC 400 works flawlessly with virtually zero delay when triggering commands," notes Mims. "I have yet to see another such innovative, user-friendly control interface on the market. And I emphasize 'user-friendly,' because there are other control systems out there, but none match the flexibility and intuitive nature of the HRS Control platform."
Mims says that, as a company, High Resolution Systems "pioneered in the industry with regard to their work on the Montage system and 300 series Spyders - they have an acute level of understanding at multi-destination and screen management. Now High Resolution has again pioneered by way of system and show control. I have been using UDC 400 since its inception and have had nothing but success with it. I have watched it grow into a very slick piece of technology."
Mims adds that the people behind the UDC 400 have proved equally important to his success with the device controller. "The support I get from Drew Taylor and his team is top notch. I've developed lifelong friendships with HRS, as I have with Vista Systems. And they've been instrumental in my success as an operator."
About High Resolution Systems
High Resolution Systems, a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers is a company with a strong systems engineering and applications background. Its founders have decades of experience in the audiovisual rental and staging industry, broadcast applications, A/V installations and system design. This combined experience allows them to provide the highest possible quality solutions to its customers in the most efficient manner. For more information, visit www.hrscontrol.com.