The fifth annual BET Honors, held in January at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC, celebrated the achievements of legends in music, literature, entertainment, media, service and education.
Assisting Cossette Productions and the BET Network team, Pete's Big TVs of New Castle, DE,
provided 328 panels of the DigiLED MC7 panels. Stage left and stage right screens were 64 panels each, while the upstage screen was 200 panels (10 high by 20 wide).
The video screens displayed footage of the honorees‘ career highlights and content from a media server for ‘eye candy‘ as background patterns, Pete's Big TV's Guy Benjamin says.
The new DigiLED MC7 panels are the newest product in Pete's Big TVs' inventory, and the company has a two-year exclusive on the panels.
“The panels are quiet because they have no fans, so they make no sounds. Besides being audibly silent, there are also electrically silent. So there is no interference with any wireless devices in the production. That makes them ideal for television, theatrical and corporate events,” Benjamin said, adding that the MC7 panels have passed the no-noise level test on various events, with the audio engineers expressing excitement about the product.
The DigiLED MC7 panels are each a half meter square and weigh 32 kgs (17.5 lbs). Each panel is 64 pixels by 64 pixels. The LEDs themselves are called “black beauties,” as they are dark and blend in with the panels' black background when the LEDs are off, explained Benjamin. “The black beauties offer better contrast.”
The modular, semi-transparent units can be made into any screen dimension desired. They are also curvable in convex or concave curves in either direction, between panels, at 2.5 degrees. The panels are also made for outdoor events, with an IP 65 rating.
Pete's Big TVs team on the BET Honors included Guy Benjamin as project manager, with Matt Ellar as lead tech and Rob Villalobos as projectionist and second lead tech.
Others on the production team were LD Alan Adelman, Assistant Director Jamie Carr, Set Designer Richard Pizante and Media Server Guru Patrick Dierson.
Benjamin says, “It's always great working with Cossette Productions. This is the first time we've used the MC7 panels for a televised event, and they performed perfectly - the way we wanted them to. Everyone was happy with the video screens.”
Actress Gabrielle Union hosted the show, honoring poet Maya Angelou, musician Stevie Wonder, singer Mariah Carey, filmmaker Spike Lee, the Tuskegee Airmen and inspirational coach Beverly Kearney. First Lady Michelle Obama made an appearance, while Aretha Franklin and Wonder performed. Oprah Winfrey sent a message via a video segment.
The BET Honors airs Feb. 13 during Black History Month.
For more information about Pete's Big TVs, visit the Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/videoequipmentrental
Photos by Matt Ellar