Vista Spyder Helps in Seattle's EMP Museum

Many seek nirvana but the Vista Spyder actually helps achieve it at EMP's exhibition Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses. To do this, integrator Advanced Broadcast Solutions (ABS) employed the Spyder X20 1608 video processor to feed the enormous new indoor LED screen, which features content of the band Nirvana at the Seattle pop culture museum.

Recently unveiled alongside the Nirvana exhibition -- the most extensive collection of the celebrated Seattle grunge band's memorabilia -- the 60' by 33' curved 7mm LED screen spans the width of the Sky Church live performance and exhibition space. Displaying concert footage, short films, and live feeds of museum events and programs, the screen also provides video support for after hours' private functions and live concerts.

"The Spyder feeds a giant multimedia presentation system," explained Mark Miller, sales and design specialist, ABS. "Throughout the day, the screen plays automated interactive museum content with moving lights, 5.1 surround sound, special effects, curtain drops, and more. The power of the Spyder and the size of the screen are making a huge splash in the Sky Church venue.

"The Spyder is pretty much plug-and-play and it works very well in the automated setting," Miller continued. "And for corporate events, it's easy to switch from full automation to having an operator run cues. You can easily make it widescreen, add logos and signage, and customize your settings to make it look like anything you want."

The giant screen receives four of the eight outputs while the other four outputs feed to additional 65" LED displays throughout the museum that list attractions, an event menu, and EMP's rotating logo. ABS uses all 16 Spyder inputs for the 2,392-by-1,300-pixel screen.

"We input a couple of router sources, four servers, several Green Hippo HDs, a switcher, signage, a couple of PowerPoint presentations, Blu-rays, and two wild cards for someone who brings a laptop or other playback device," Miller said. "There is also a 64 x 64 3G router in front of it displaying resolution up to 1080p 3G. The Spyder is working great. It is definitely the right solution."