An ultra-compact PIXERA mini media server is punching above its weight at a new interactive exhibition focusing on the world’s largest infrared space telescope.
Launched in July, Golden Eye on the Cosmos is a new permanent exhibition at the Hong Kong Space Museum spotlighting the innovative technologies and scientific goals of the James Webb Space Telescope, the largest infrared space telescope ever built. The exhibition features a model of the Webb telescope, along with projected displays of images captured by its cameras and exhibits demonstrating the science behind infrared astronomy.
As an exhibition that relies heavily on projected images and video, Golden Eye on the Cosmos required a media server solution that would ensure stable video playback and flexible projection mapping and geometric correction capabilities, explains Jason Yeung of Hong Kong-based system integrator CosmoVision. To meet this objective, Yeung and team specified a single PIXERA mini Dual server, which handles all video content layering and output projection mapping, including the spectacular projection-mapped images of the cosmos which are the highlight of the exhibition.
The size of the PIXERA mini Dual – an ultra-compact (1RU) media server for digital signage and multi-display applications – was also ideal for the Space Museum, says Yeung. “The installation was relatively simple, but the exhibition space was comparatively small,” he comments, “so the PIXERA mini was the perfect size to be hidden away behind the show exhibit while not compromising in terms of performance and stability.”
Due to the limited space for the installation, the Christie projector used in the exhibition had to be paired with an extreme wide-angle fisheye lens, which created significant distortion. “Hence, all the image correction and warping was done within PIXERA to ensure that the content is not distorted or deformed in any way,” Yeung continues. The PIXERA software also fulfilled another client requirement, he adds: “They wanted to have show control without having to involve another third-party system, which made PIXERA Control the perfect complementary show control solution to interact with other elements in the exhibition.”
Recognising their role in helping to deliver an immersive experience in a challenging space, Yeung is full of praise for both the PIXERA media server and software. “As always, PIXERA provided the ideal hardware, software and support to allow us to realise this project,” he concludes.
Photo credit: CosmoVision
