Taking care of mixing cameras and content for the main stage video screen, the Roland V-1600HD multi format live video switcher played an integral part in the tour. Chosen for its versatility, compact design, high channel count and the ability to accept a variety of video input formats out of the box, the V-1600HD proved to be an appropriate solution. XL Video, supplied the V-1600HD.
"XL Video suggested the V-1600HD to me while I was on the road with Elbow, I liked the sound of the functionality so I did some reading on the specs and XL sent one out to me on tour so I could test it out," says Ben Miles." I was keen to check the latency between input and output and how fast you could cut between feeds as well as the usability of the menus.
"All of these functions performed really well and the size of the console was excellent for the type of tour we were doing where I needed to compress the amount of kit being flown around and also real estate onstage. We played some tiny theatres and shoe horned tons of equipment in so it was essential my control setup was small but still had all the required functionality."
The V-1600HD was used as a hub to take in all the camera feeds and a feedback from a Catalyst content server. Four broadcast quality manned cameras were supplied locally at each show and plugged in on BNC via their PPU at either 1080i or 720p, at either 50 or 60Hz. Three Bradley Robocams toured with the V-1600HD which were connected on BNC at 720p as well as two Gnat Minicams on BNC at 720p. The Catalyst™ content server was plugged into the DVI input on the V-1600HD.
(Jim Evans)
