When TV viewers in Austria tune into ORF 1 to watch weekly TV talent show Die Grosse Chance, one of the first things they notice is 1500 strings of SGM's LB-100 LED Balls festooned across the set. This large display forms the centrepiece of a set design conceived by Florian Wieder (of Wieder Design).
The LB-100's were supplied by production company, Supporting Role, who specialise in the broadcast rental sector, after being impressed by a system demo organised by SGM Germany's co-MD Thorsten Sattler.
Florian Wieder has taken a highly creative approach with the lighting - hanging the LB-100's as a curtain, split into separate sections, and as 'bridges' across the studio (one of which serves as the portal bridge to the stage).
These are fed by moving images from three Coolux Pandoras Box media servers.
Each of the 1500 strings measures 0.85m and contains seven balls (at 120mm pixel pitch) to form a dynamic 3D video light curtain. The balls themselves contain two powerful RGB LED's (rated at 42mW per pixel) giving a total power consumption of just 42W.
Thorsten Sattler confirms, "The LED Balls are a great tool for being able to create atmospheres. Even with a small sit-up you can achieve a big effect."
"In the past we used another product," states Supporting Role MD, Harald Stauber, "but the LB-100's extra brightness and ease of installation convinced us that this offered a superior solution. The LED Balls underline the shape of the set design and create depth for the cameras."
