Luminex GigaCore Switches Partner with BlackTrax on Global Entertainment Productions

	Photo: David Bajt

GigaCore managed Gigabit Ethernet switches from Luminex Network Intelligence are working in tandem with BlackTrax tracking systems from The CAST Group, Toronto, on high-profile entertainment events worldwide, including the smart government awards show in Dubai and many others productions around the world.

Arena spectaculars and touring productions alike take advantage of the cost savings and automation offered by BlackTrax to deliver precise 3D and 6D positioning in real time to controllers for automated and robotic technologies.

In turn, BlackTrax integrates Luminex GigaCore 12 managed Gigabit Ethernet switches with its tracking solution to deliver what the company says are rugged, reliable custom solutions guaranteed to perform show after demanding show. "GigaCore managed Gigabit Ethernet switches are designed to cope with the most demanding lighting and AV installations in a truly user-friendly way," says Marty Cochrane, BlackTrax product manager.

BlackTrax has enabled productions to replace many followspots with a single automated system that can track actors and moving set pieces. BlackTrax also talks to media servers, which feed content for projection mapping onto moving sets.

The versatile GigaCore switches integrate well with the demanding multimedia environments that BlackTrax supports. For example, "A single network ring of GigaCore switches can support the lighting Art-Net network, media servers, device management, the Internet, and BlackTrax," explains Hugo Larin, director for Luminex in America.

On some productions multiple GigaCore 12 switches act as "the brains of most of the show," Cochrane says. They deliver reliably, at wire speed, lighting console information and tracking data from BlackTrax beacons buried in moving set pieces and actors' costumes to servers and end points. The BlackTrax system is responsible for the final data output.

"Cameras see the beacons and report their positions back through the switches to the BlackTrax server so we can track the artists and scenery" with lights that act as automated followspots and with video projection, Cochrane points out.

"BlackTrax servers can manage all this live on the DMX lighting network," says Larin. "The lighting consoles talk to the entire BlackTrax system via the GigaCore switches."

Since Luminex GigaCore allows BlackTrax to put lighting and BlackTrax data on a single set of switches "there are no latency concerns" for customers, Cochrane points out -- a real improvement over former systems. "Luminex also supports the Interswitch Link (ISL) ring called RLinkX, which assures redundancy with fallover paths if connections or systems fail. Our previous managed switches did not support the ISL ring. But it's a really useful option to have and very easy to set up."

For the smart government awards show in Dubai designed by HQ Creative with support from video consultant David Bajt, BlackTrax was deployed by ProTec to provide the tracking solutions for all the set pieces. BlackTrax was installed into the venue and BT Beacons were installed into the three set pieces: a 5x5 meter cube and two interlocking jigsaw pieces. There were a total of eight tracking points on the cube, and six tracking points per jigsaw.

BlackTrax used four Luminex GigaCore 16RFO for the show, which were "the brains" behind all BlackTrax and lighting control systems. There were ten BTCameras on the show, alongside the standard timekeeper, router, and eSync. The positions of all the objects were then sent to the d3 Technologies media server. The d3 server created a rigid body skeleton of those objects, which they used to projection-map all content onto. This project was the first d3/BlackTrax show to have all projection-mapped objects tracked.

BlackTrax first became familiar with Luminex switches when they heard that the Cirque du Soleil was using them. BlackTrax tested them while exploring options for clients and quickly embraced the GigaCore switches. "Now, we recommend Luminex GigaCore switches on every show we do," says Cochrane.

"Working with a company like Luminex that builds switches for the live entertainment market has been really helpful," Cochrane says. "We can call them, and they'll understand what we're trying to achieve and offer solutions. Luminex has given us new updates to address our special needs. They've been very responsive -- something we didn't see with the previous switches we used."