Technicians Rise to the Challenge of Custom Video Wall Installation at Sydney Opera House
When Hire Intelligence agreed to help marketing and consulting company SapientRazorfish prepare and install a bespoke video wall for the Adobe Symposium 2017 digital marketing conference at the Sydney Opera House – an iconic yet notoriously difficult venue for external technicians to operate in – our team knew the job would present some unique challenges.
Fortunately for our loyal client, SapientRazorfish, there’s no tech equipment hire problem we won’t try to solve.
PROBLEM SOLVED #1: KEEP IT SIMPLE
SapientRazorfish needed Hire Intelligence to provide a 3×3 video wall comprising nine 55-inch monitors with seamless bezels. That was the easy part.
“With a video wall, the input device plays in high definition (HD) through the nine TVs. Initially Sapient wanted extra HD via three computers running three separate screens simultaneously, but that is not necessarily a cost effective method,” explained Hire Intelligence Account Manager, Richard Kim.
“Our solution was to invite the client to our warehouse and set up a video wall in the relevant dimensions to show what it looked like playing a HD video on one laptop. After that they decided a single input would not only benefit the budget, but also offer the advantage of simplicity. And they were very impressed with how we calibrated the colours to match all nine screens.”
PROBLEM SOLVED #2: ADAPT TO THE VENUE
The huge video wall had to be surrounded by a fireboard booth and raised 32cm above the floor for display in the northern foyer – no mean feat given the tight security checks, strict installation regulations, and limited access for vehicles at the harbour end of the Sydney Opera House.
Typically we would install a TV onto a stand with brackets, but in this case the video wall was massive and the location was tricky to reach. The monitors wouldn’t fit in the elevators. We had to bump in and bump out via the stairs,
Richard said.
We adapted by making everything in advance and piecing it together like a game of Tetris or a Lego puzzle. And in terms of the display height issue, our video wall would normally only go up to 25cm, so we used sandbags to raise it to the desired level and prevent it from wobbling or falling over. The wall casing then covered the bags and the stand, and it looked great.
Another concern for the client was the sunlight coming through the foyer windows and potentially making it difficult for people to see the video. “We quickly solved that problem through a combination of hanging a drape over the TV and switching the monitor brightness to a full setting,” Richard said.
TOP TEAM EFFORT
“It was all hands on deck to ensure everything worked perfectly. The Sydney Opera House is a particularly challenging venue to bump in and bump out of for big events, so much of the credit goes to our whole tech team, who were patient, efficient, and always put the client’s priorities first,” Richard said.
“We didn’t allow the various challenges to interrupt our quality of service. I believe that effort reflects the professionalism and flexibility we offer every client at every event,” he said.
