Projection Mapping, Barco Projectors, and The Super Bowl Left Shark

Last Sunday, 161.3 Million Americans tuned in to watch the Super Bowl on NBC.  With the big game aside, many tuned in for the spectacular Half-Time performance by Katy Perry and her now sensational Left Shark.  Viewers were delighted by the visual representation of a tropical paradise, 3D fireworks, and a super realistic Chess Set projected on stage using a technique called Projection Mapping.

Projection Mapping At The Super Bowl Half Time Show – Photo Credit: projection-mapping.org

What is Projection Mapping?

We first saw Projection Mapping hit the mainstream at Coachella 2012 when performers resurrected Tupac for a surprise performance.  By using multiple high-brightness projectors, uneven surfaces, and intense pre-rendered or-on-the fly rendered graphics, artists are fooling the human brain into the illusion that the 2D projection is actually a 3D object with holographic tendencies.

Barco Projectors Dominate the Market

When it comes to live venue projection, especially in challenging or bright venues, Barco seems to dominate its competition.  In 2012, Barco FLM HD20s supported international events including Roger Waters’ The Wall, the Eurovision Song Contest, and the Bacardi Togetherness worldwide brand campaign.  It is rumored that for the 2015 Super Bowl, 80 Barco HDF-W26’s were chained to produce Katy Perry’s half-time show.  The projectors were set up redundantly in pairs to prevent blackouts in case of failure. The HDF-W26 is a 26,000 lumen DLP projector from Barco that is designed for Projection Mapping applications.  It is out of the box ready for projecting on to warped surfaces, connecting to multiple other projectors in a series, and is ruggedized and weather-sealed.

We Repair Barco Projectors

Who Runs the Show?

In order to understand more on projection mapping, we sat down with Eric from Imaginex to talk about the intricate details of Projection Mapping projects.  His company, Imaginex specializes in displays and shows on the East Coast including Virginia, Maryland, and New York.  According to Eric, Projection Mapping is a foreign concept to many entertainers, and entertainers often hire a firm that offers a Turn-Key solution.

“We offer an end to end solution.  Depending on what the client is looking for, we would provide the system control software, select the media servers and projectors, and set up the rigging.  We would even find animators if that was part of the project.”

Laying Out the Projection Mapping – Photo Credit Projection-Mapping.org

What are some of the challenges with Projection Mapping?

It seems that every show can be as simple or as complex as the plan calls for.  When working with 2, 50, even 100 projectors, you can imagine how complex the computing power can be.  Owning this type of equipment is prohibitively expensive, and so it is important to find a rental company with reliable equipment.  As we know at Digitron Electronics, poorly maintained projectors can suffer from power issues, blown lamps, and bad power supplies all the time.  We asked Eric from Imaginex about the biggest concerns:

“Things can always come up last minute – power issues, the 3D model doesn’t fit the stage perfectly, or there are issues with the hardware.  We’ve always got to be ready for last minute problems.”

Digitron Electronics is a repair center for high-lumen large venue projectors, and we frequently work with Barco, Christie, Digital Projection, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, and Sony Projectors.  We often work with rental companies that provide Projection Mappers with their equipment, and we work with projection mapping companies who own their equipment.  From our experience, large venue projectors like the Barco FLM-HD20 are in need of constant preventative maintenance, especially since their standard lamp life is less than 1,000 hours, and they rely on a complex liquid cooling system.

Bonus Left Shark:

Not a Projection Mapped Shark

**Disclaimer: The Left Shark is not projection mapped

Used A/V Sales

We often work with businesses across the US providing services like Reverse Logistics, Repairs, and Warranty Administration.  Sometimes we work with companies that excel in what they do, and Solaris Network is a great example.  Solaris procures high-end A/V assets like Moving Head lights, LED Panels, High Lumen Projectors, Speaker Systems, and Mixing Consoles.  Often times, users of Pro A/V gear can find high quality gear out of their price range.  New Barco LED Walls, Martin Lights, and Christie Digital Projectors can cost a fortune, making these things out of reach for Churches, Schools, and small production companies… Solaris helps bring down the total cost of ownership of these kinds of items.  Solaris goes above and beyond by shipping gear internationally and they sell hard to find items like projector lenses and vintage gear.

Reduce E-Waste

We strongly believe in reducing our e-waste footprint.  At Digitron Electronics, we encourage people to repair their broken pro A/V equipment like projectors, mixing consoles, and moving head lights.  Take it a step further and buy used if you can!

Used Professional Audio Visual Experts

The Superbowl is a national hallmark, it is a day that Americans celebrate, whether at a home, a local bar or restaurant, a Vegas casino, or even a football stadium.  Last year, The Nielsen Company showed that the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII on Fox had an average audience of 111.5 million viewers and was said to be the most-watched television program of all time. The game was viewed in roughly 53.7 million households.  Some watch for the Football, some watch for the commercials and the half time shows; either way, there’s no doubt that the Super Bowl is a big deal.

Whether you are hosting friends and family at your house, or a crowd of 500 at your restaurant, if you are hosting a Super Bowl Party this February, make sure that all of your equipment is in good shape to handle the big show.  Projectors, Amplifiers, and other equipment can malfunction at the worst possible time, leaving you empty handed (except for the 100 pounds of wings and disgruntled guests).  In honor of the Super Bowl, we are waiving diagnostic fees from now until February 1st.  Just mention Superbowl14 when shipping your equipment and we will waive the diagnostic fee so that you can rest easy knowing your equipment will be functional when you need it most.

In business since 1992, Digitron Electronics specializes in Projector Repair, Pro Audio Repair, and Broadcast Camcorder Repair

Fix your Projector just in time for the Super Bowl game

We are proud to announce that we are an authorized warranty service center for B-52 Professional Audio products including Prodigy DJ Workstations, US series amplifiers, Guitar amplifiers, and ACTPRO Active Systems.  B-52 Pro Audio systems are built in the US, here in Southern California, and are known for their excellent sound and competitive price points.  As always, we accept warranty service requests that do not fall under the abuse category with proper proof of purchase.

Standard Warranty

LIFETIME Warranty on Cabinet Construction
FIVE-YEAR Warranty on High Frequency devices
FIVE-YEAR Warranty on Loudpeakers
TWO-YEAR Warranty on Digital Amplifiers

This new warranty authorization brings our total count to 70 brands that we are authorized to repair including Soundcraft, JBL, and Panasonic.  Digitron Electronics has been in the business of Professional Audio repair, Professional Camcorder repair, and Projector repair since 1992.  We help event production companies, schools, churches, and other institutions simplify product maintenance by centralizing all warranty and out of warranty repairs in one location, with one purchase order.

Warranty Information: http://www.b-52pro.com/Service.html

B52-Pro: http://www.b52-pro.com

In Q3 2014, Digitron Electronics joined the NEC Display Self-Servicer network. Our partnership with NEC display means better pricing and quicker service for our customers who need NEC Projector Repairs and NEC Professional Monitor Repairs.

Digitron Electronics works with institutions like schools, hospitals, and event production companies to consolidate all audio visual repairs in one central location with one purchase order. We reduce administrative headaches, shipping mistakes, and increase convenience in times when broken equipment can seriously disrupt productivity.

Montebello, CA, 05/07/2014

Digitron Electronics is now an Authorized Service Center for Onkyo USA

As of May 2014, Digitron Electronics is proud to announce that we have become an Authorized Service Center (ASC) for Onkyo products. We are now able to perform both in warranty and out of warranty repairs on Onkyo amplifiers, receivers, speakers, high-end home entertainment systems, and more. This authorization compliments our ability to service Yamaha, Denon, and other high-end amplifier/receiver systems.

Digitron Electronics is proud to be Southern California’s primary destination for Professional Audio/Visual repairs. Whether it’s projector repair, speaker repair, or receiver repair, we always do our best to keep your equipment in top shape.

For more information on repairs or reverse logistics partnerships, please visit www.digitronelectronics.com, or contact us by phone at (323) 887-0777.

Since you guys loved the thrashed FS700, this was the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II that took most of the damage. Surprisingly, the metabones adapter is in pristine shape.

We will be Live-Tweeting coverage of NAB 2014 bringing you all the latest news on Broadcast Camcorders, Cameras, Projectors, and Technology. If you would like to schedule an interview, please call Business Development at (323) 887-0777.

About Digitron Electronics

We are veterans of the Pro A/V Industry specializing in the repair and maintenance of 64 different brands including Sanyo, Panasonic, and JBL. We are proud third party logistics partners of Sony Professional, Panasonic Broadcast, and Gibson Guitar.

Press Release

Los Angeles, CA
03/03/2014

New Website

We are proud to announce our new affiliate websites SanyoProjectorRepair.com and PanasonicProjectorRepair.com. We take our partnership with Panasonic very seriously, and we intend on providing the best Nationwide Sanyo Projector Repair and Nationwide Panasonic Projector Repair service possible. Traditionally, Panasonic asks owners to send their projectors across the nation to the Heartland facilities, but we are pleased to serve the California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado markets, as these projectors can cost quite a bit to ship across the nation.

About Digitron

Digitron Electronics is a consolidated A/V Repair Services firm. We help consolidate A/V Repairs for Event Production Companies, Corporate Entities, Schools, and Broadcasters.

As an authorized service center for 62 different manufacturers including Panasonic, JBL, and Mackie, our team of engineers is trained to work on Projectors, High-End Video Camcorders, Lighting, and Mixing Boards, among other miscellaneous A/V equipment. We help production companies save time and money by consolidating all repairs in one convenient location with a net 30 account and free pick up/delivery for large orders.