Luna Park Welcomes the Mythical Dream Circus

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23 January 2024

Luna Park Welcomes the Mythical Dream Circus

To have an in-depth understanding of Luna Park Dream Circus commission please come and meet the Hive team at the ISE Trade Show, Barcelona on stand 5D200, where we will be showcasing our new Beehive product, and our full product ecosystem.

Sydney’s 120-year-old Luna Park recently reinvented itself with the brand-new, $15 million immersive attraction Dream Circus.

Combining artistic creativity with cutting-edge technology, Dream Circus takes guests on a captivating journey through enchanting, hallucinatory visuals brought to life by blockbuster surround sound, holographic innovations and 360º projection.

Enhanced by Hive’s product ecosystem, the media control specialists offered the perfect solution for the world-first attraction.

Dream Circus runs on 32 Pluto Beeblades that are housed in Hive’s new 5U Beehive chassis, alongside 10 Beebox media players. Designed by immersive storytellers Artists in Motion and technically conceived by TDC Australia, the solution powers mythical video through Barco projectors and LED screens inside the park’s existing 3,000 sq metre Big Top building.

An evolution in media control, the Pluto Beeblade improves the way visual experiences can be powered. Essential to any large-scale creative video project, it achieves stunning, silky smooth 8K media playback and 4K output.

The synergy between the various elements of the Hive ecosystem have achieved a spectacular show that blurs the line between reality and fantasy.

“Michael Hassett at TDC, Sydney was eager to deploy the Hive Beeblade range within his Luna Park project. The proven high performance of the Beeblades and product affordability aligned perfectly with the already ambitious ideas of the project.”
Mark Calvert, co-founder at Hive

Mark continues “The Beehive enabled TDC to deploy a traditional rack-room setup to drive the Barco video projectors, and where possible, Beeboxes were deployed to sit next to display technology site wide. Hive now has two successful projects in Australia with BBC Earth Project & Luna Park, and we remain grateful of the trust and confidence TDC has in our product range, in their market.”

Now a permanent fixture at Luna Park, Dream Circus delivers a multi-layered adventure to the iconic family attraction – setting the bar for theme parks of the future that demand immersive thrills beyond the classic roller coaster.

Photo Credits:

TDC is the technology and technologist provider for Dream Circus at Luna Park in Sydney.

The Sistene Chapel

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20 December 2023

The Sistene Chapel

One of the most influential figures in Western art, Michelangelo spent his illustrious career transforming Italy’s most precious palaces, chapels and religious houses into shrines of classical antiquity.

Some of his most notable work can be found in the Sistine Chapel, which, up until now, could only be viewed in person at Vatican City. In a world exclusive exhibition held in the grounds of Warsaw’s PGE National Stadium, the historic edifice has been reinvented 500 years later with the help of media control solutions from Hive.

Spread over three halls, the exhibition – titled ‘The Sistine Chapel. A Legacy’ – is an all-encompassing journey through some of history’s most referenced paintings and sculptures. Polish AV integrators ARAM headed up the complex installation, opting for 39 Hive Beeblades inside Panasonic SDM compatible projectors and three Beeboxes that powered LED walls, transporting guests directly to the Apostolic Palace.

“The right technological solution had to be harnessed for Sistine Chapel Legacy, as it was the first time visitors could get up close and personal with the building outside of the Vatican,” begins Michał Mrzygłocki operations director at ARAM. “The team behind the project – Manuscriptum and LIVE Event Agency – listened to our advice and opted for the highest quality solutions from Panasonic Poland and Hive. There was really no one else that we wanted for this project.”

“The team behind the project listened to our advice and opted for the highest quality solutions from Panasonic Poland and Hive. There was really no one else that we wanted for this project.”
Michał Mrzygłockin operations director at ARAM

When guests arrive at Sistine Chapel Heritage, the first room that they enter explores the era of Renaissance art, where extraordinary reproductions of Michelangelo’s Pietà and David sculptures are displayed. The second space, known as the Cinema Hall, shows the Sistine Chapel and pioneers of the movement across a huge 19-metre LED screen. The third room is where visitors become completely immersed in the chapel via state-of-the-art visual technology, all powered by Hive Beeblade, and kept in sync with Hive Beesync technology.

Named the Immersion Chapel, guests find themselves directly inside the walls of the Sistine Chapel. Beeblade, Hive’s cost-effective solution for media control, was placed inside Panasonic projectors, integrating Hive Media Player Beesync solutions and easy-to-use software into the display hardware and eliminating the need for any complex signal distribution networks.

“The Hive solution was an essential part of the success of this exhibition,” says Mrzygłocki. “I am delighted that we got the chance to be part of such an incredible project in our home country, and it wouldn’t have been possible without Hive. It has been a hell of a ride, with short timelines for delivery and tight schedules with the setup but we did it! The visitors have all been really impressed, it’s definitely a one of a kind project.”

Photo Credits:

Agata Dabrowska Photography

The exhibition is a result of collaboration between the Vatican Museums (©Governatorato dello S.C.V.Direzione dei Musei 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED) and Online Manuscriptum Ltd (© Manuscriptum sp. z 0.0. 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED) and Scripta Maneant (© Scripta Maneant 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED).

Manuscriptum is an avant-garde publishing house that combines tradition with modernity, drawing from the cultural heritage of the entire world.

LIVE Event Agency is engaged in the comprehensive organisation of the exhibition and its promotion. The agency realises both mass events that echo throughout Poland and intimate corporate events. It specialises in producing large sports and cultural events as well as brand and product promotions.

Odyssey: a voyage through light and time.

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15 December 2023

Odyssey: a voyage through light and time.

Odyssey is a transcendent journey through space, time, light and imagination, reflecting on our place in the universe. Imagined by Artists and production company Greenaway & Greenaway and technically delivered by Daniel Williams from LedsAkimbo. Hive’s compact Hive Media Engine delivered high-quality HD playback in an energy-efficient package.

Presented as an LED monolith structure, Odyssey is a bold and dynamic light-based installation that takes viewers on a journey through the cosmos. Standing alone in the darkness, the ambient sequence uses LED technology and the Hive Media Engines to bring the far reaches of the universe into urban and natural environments.

Hive Media Engines are the ideal solution for a project demanding high-performance that doesn’t cost the planet. Offering the brand’s signature web browser control, low power consumption and easy installation approach, Hive Media Engines are a reliable media playback solution that deliver unmatched performance.

Images courtesy of © Jude Greenaway

The Hive system deployed here worked brilliantly to support LedsAkimbo’s delivery of Greenaway & Greenaway’s work. We are very happy to support this installation and vision.
Mark Calvert, Hive founder

HIVE brings wonders of our planet to life

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9 November 2023

HIVE brings wonders of our planet to life

BeeBlade and BeeBox power immersive journey through the natural world with David Attenborough, at BBC Earth Experience Melbourne.

BBC Earth Experience is an immersive exhibition that promises to transport visitors on a journey through the natural world, narrated by none other than the legendary David Attenborough.

Following the popularity of the inaugural BBC Earth Experience in London, the attraction has recently opened a second site at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. HIVE’s BeeBlade and BeeBox products were chosen to bring this captivating experience to life through seamless media playback.

“We are introducing a new technological era into the industry with the BeeBlade series, and when TDC in Australia contacted HIVE for the BBC Earth Experience in Melbourne we could not have been any more excited,” recalls Mark Calvert, Co-Founder at HIVE. “The natural world, preserving it and the beautiful nature documentaries of David Attenborough have inspired the entire HIVE team for many years.”

Produced in collaboration with Moon Eye Productions, Live Nation and BBC Studios, the BBC Earth Experience consists of eight rooms of digital art that guide visitors through Earth’s diverse ecosystems across seven continents. Visitors embark on a 360-degree audio-visual adventure, taking them deep into the heart of our planet’s most spectacular landscapes. The experience is played out across dynamic multi-angle screens, showcasing both new and existing footage from the ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ series.

What sets Melbourne’s BBC Earth Experience apart is the playback technology used for this installation. Leading Australian video technology and production supplier, TDC, harnessed an innovative and cost-effective HIVE media server solution to power the project.

Launched earlier this year, BeeBlade is a compact media engine that seamlessly integrates with video projectors and display technology through Intel’s Smart Display Module (SDM) slot, thus eliminating the need for extensive cabling. The Melbourne exhibit is equipped with 70 Panasonic projectors, with 55 creating the main immersive space, 49 of which are powered by BeeBlade. The remaining six utilise HIVE’s BeeBox to achieve 4K clarity.

The BeeBlade and BeeBox don’t just represent technological advancements; they are harbingers of a new, greener, and more efficient era in digital art installations. This transformative approach is not just a disruption in the media server space; it’s an evolutionary leap, saving time, money and the planet.
Michael Hassett Managing Director, TDC.

Panasonic echoed these sentiments on savings, as Tony Molloy, European Sales Manager at Panasonic Business Europe confirms: “In applications such as this, having a system where you can combine the projectors and media servers together in the same location saves costs from an installation perspective.”

Indeed, both BeeBlade and BeeBox represent a shift in the media server market and contribute to a greener, more eco-conscious future in digital art installations. Furthermore, the content is delivered using HIVE’s proprietary BeeSync software, ensuring perfect synchronisation of all imagery.

“The BBC Earth Experience is the perfect playground for our range of BeeBlade products,” concludes Calvert. “They align with the environmental narrative, they meet strict guidelines from the BBC to cut CO2 emissions, and most importantly they provide rock solid reliable playback to the production team, day in, day out. Our team are all immensely proud of the BBC Earth Experience, and I am eternally grateful for their ongoing support and dedication to our brighter vision to revolutionise video playback for the industry we love.”

007 road to a million premiere

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8 November 2023

007 road to a million premiere

“007 – Road to a Million”, Amazon’s latest television series, held its World Premiere on November 2nd, 2023, at the iconic Battersea Power Station. The show features nine pairs of ordinary individuals embarking on a global adventure filled with Bond-inspired challenges, all for a chance to win a life-altering £1,000,000 prize.

Digital Insanity was entrusted with the task of producing all on-screen content and playback services for the event. Additionally, they recreated ‘The Commanders Desk’ from the series as a photo opportunity for guests, where they could assume the role of ‘the commander’.

For Digital Insanity, this event marked the debut of their new HIVE media players, which have recently been added to their inventory of playback devices. These players performed flawlessly throughout the event. They deployed 4 x BeeBox (4k) and 1 x Player_1 (HD) to operate various displays on-site.

The ease of use of the HIVE media players was a standout feature. With just half an hour of training over the phone, the team was well-prepared to work with the new players. They received guidance on essential settings such as output resolution, media uploading, and syncing the players, making deployment a straightforward process. The user-friendly web interface allowed them to control all the players from a single point, simplifying content deployment. While the event’s requirements were relatively straightforward, the team recognized the potential and versatility of these players and intends to explore further applications in the near future.

The event featured several playback areas, including:

THE MONEYBOX: Utilising 1 x 4k output (BeeBox), this two-sided LED cube with mirrored sides created an immersive space where money rained down from the sky.
THE COMMANDERS DESK: Powered by 2 x 4k BeeBox devices, this display, running in perfect sync, recreated the desk from the TV show on two 85″ TVs, resulting in a 3.8m wide x 1.2m high display.
THE LOGOWALL: Driven by 1 x 4k output (1 x BeeBox), it operated the LED Columns on either side of the Logowall.
LED COLUMN: Supported by 1 x HD output (1 x Player_1), it controlled the LED Column facing the lift, providing an impactful welcome to guests as the lift doors opened.

In summary, Digital Insanity’s initial experience with HIVE media players was an undeniable success, as they delivered flawless playback as anticipated. The team looks forward to using them in more complex setups and intends to expand their inventory of these units in the very near future due to their excellent performance and cost-effectiveness.

While the event’s requirements were relatively straightforward, the team recognised the potential and versatility of these players and intends to explore further applications in the near future.

Richard Bagshaw, Digital Insanity.