Lightware USA and Solotech Team to Put the Toronto Maple Leafs on the Ice

	Lightware MX16x16DVI matrix switcher is used in the system that projects the Toronto Maple Leafs' player intro video onto the home ice at MLSE's Air Canada Center.

Solotech, a North American end-to-end provider of entertainment technology services, has integrated a Lightware MX16x16DVI matrix switcher into the system that projects the Toronto Maple Leafs' player intro video onto the home ice at MLSE's Air Canada Center. Lightware USA is the US distributor for Budapest-based Lightware Visual Engineering products.

Used in the past as a fan "extra" for NHL play off games, videos projected onto the ice itself have become a new way to generate fan excitement during regular season games. The Maple Leafs' video, created by 4U2C, Solotech's content design company, is a dynamic montage of still and moving images showcasing the players, on-ice action and graphic glimpses of the team logo, a rippling flag, even the stitches on the players' jerseys. Teams face off, sticks clash, pucks fly, players crash, and crowds roar in the lead up to the Maple Leafs' line up hitting the ice.

"We've used Lightware in other applications for several years now. It's always worked well even in a tough show business environment," says Sebastien Lovse, video technical advisor at Solotech. "We try hard to find robust equipment to guarantee the security of the shows we do, and we have never experienced any failure with Lightware products."

In MLSE's Air Canada Center, the Lightware matrix enables technicians to switch any input or output of the system to six double-stacked 20K projectors, which are mounted on the grid above the ice.

"We had only three weeks to set up the entire show, so receiving the MX16x16 router from Lightware really fast, helped a lot. Since we're accustomed to working in touring and staging fast turnarounds are nothing new to us. Lightware USA delivered the system quickly, and we made it happen!" Lovse reports.

The Lightware switcher is housed in a rack in the equipment control center at the venue. Solotech operators supported the video display system for the first ten games of the hockey season then MLSE technicians assumed control. 4U2C can update and create new content as needed by the team.

Solotech maintains a rental inventory of other Lightware gear, including HDBaseT and fiber optic transmitters and receivers and 17x and 32x frames. "We're hoping to partner with Lightware to develop other products that fit our needs," says Lovse. "We've (been) having ongoing discussions about how to customize Lightware solutions for our clients."