Epson Sales Japan Corporation Uses Blackmagic Products for 360-Degree Space Performance

Blackmagic Design announces ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, Teranex Mini and its Mini Converters were used as part of massive indoor spatial projection system by Epson Sales Japan Corp.

Based around a 4K and 12G workflow and including 29 Epson projectors, the 360-Degree Space Performance system is based inside the JR Shinjuku Miraina Tower and will be able to be viewed by the huge number of visitors to the tower in every elevator and the general showroom.

Epson Sales Japan Corp. is the Japanese sales division of Seiko Epson, and includes a media department that is charged with giving customers surprises and building excitement for Epson products through live and online imagery.

The new system is designed to show the growth for projection mapping with projectors across many of Seiko Epson's markets. The department created, using Blackmagic Design equipment, a project that would let customers experience a new spatial design with the latest technologies by installing them in the elevator hall and showroom which many customers visiting the company pass by every day. Original characters expressing "Global EPSON" from around the world are projected using 29 EPSON projectors.

The video workflow for the system includes 19 units of Teranex Mini SDI to HDMI 12G and 29 Micro Converter SDI to HDMIs. 4K HDMI output by digital signage players are converted by Teranex Mini HDMI to SDI 12G into 12G-SDI and ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K then combines four layers of video signals using its chroma keying tool. The output from ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K is then converted into four streams of 3G-SDI by Teranex Mini 12G-SDI to Quad SDI, which are then converted later into HDMI by Teranex Mini SDI to HDMI 12G. The output signal is then converted into Ethernet and sent to each projector.

"We intended to use chroma keying to combine video signals in our system and found ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, which supports chroma keying in 4K. The price as well as the features of ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K were perfect for this project. It had all the features we needed, including four layers of 4K chroma keying against one layer of background and an ability to change keying color in whatever way you need. Having many layers in projection mapping results in more reality and dimension. ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K was the best product for the system we wanted," says Hiroaki Kanisawa, general manager.

He continues: "The resolution can be low when you are projecting material on a tall building outdoors, but the resolution must be higher when you have projection mapping in small spaces like our elevator hall and show room. We focused on the picture quality and color representation of the material so that customers can watch it within the distance of a few inches."

"We've been using the system for many hours every day, and Blackmagic products have not failed or caused issues. The elevator hall and the showroom are the face of our company where you welcome customers. It is very important to have reliable products because it would undermine our company reputation should some problem take place in the system. I am glad to say that we find Blackmagic products highly trustworthy," he concludes.