Vaddio Records Rock and Roll History

The multipurpose Foster Theater at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum hosts everything from live performances by rock royalty, to intimate interviews and video screenings.
With this in mind, employing the right cutting-edge technology is paramount and Vaddio WallVIEW CCU HD-18 Camera Systems have now been installed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum serving integrators and operators alike – with broadcast-quality PTZ cameras and control systems that will enhance any performance.
The upgrade is part of the recently completed renovation of the 14-year-old theater on the museum’s fourth floor.
With a generous grant from Gregg and Madelyn Foster, the $1 million upgrade to the fourth floor theater now includes the remote high-definition camera system in the design.
The Foster Theater has been the location of choice for artists such as Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, Al Green and The Staple Singers and historic performances can now be captured on the three Vaddio WallVIEW HD-18 CCU high-definition camera systems.
Although NPi audiovisual solutions installed the Vaddio camera systems mainly for archiving purposes, they will also be used for web casting, video conferencing and eventually live streaming of the theatre's daily events.
"Archiving has always been done," revealed Rob Weil, Director of Production for the Rock Hall, “but now we can provide a much better product with the shift from standard-definition to high-definition."
Jim Madden of NPi was the chief integrator for the AV overhaul: "Rob and his crew wanted a one-man control situation and they were interested in high-definition.”
For the past 14 years multiple cameras would be piled in the theatre for a three-man shoot. Weil added: "They would take up valuable real estate and we wouldn’t get particularly good shots. There would be heads in the way and the cross shots wouldn’t be at the right angles, so when we got the Fosters on board, one of the first things we discussed was installing a camera system."
Vaddio's ClearVIEW HD-18 high definition PTZ cameras come equipped with a 1/3”, 1.3 megapixel CCD imaging sensor, a glass multi-element wide dynamic zoom lens (18x optical), tally light and 1.8-lux rating. In Weil’s case, they are converting the HD signal to HD-SDI.
"When Vaddio releases the new HD-SDI card we will then take the native HD-SDI signal straight from the camera," added Weil.
For total robotic control the cameras are paired with the WallVIEW CCU systems, featuring cutting edge high speed differential signaling (HSDS) technology and fingertip control of iris, gain, color, pedestal, gamma, chroma, knee and detail.
Controlling each WallVIEW CCU system is Vaddio’s precision camera controller, a broadcast-quality joystick controller. The precision camera controller operates extremely smooth and accurate pan, tilt and zoom. Located in the control room behind the theater, the precision camera controller is used in conjunction with the Panasonic AV-HS400 multi-format live switcher for a complete system that easily integrates with the WallVIEW CCU HD-18 systems.
Ultimately, having a one-man camera operating system will prove to be a significant cost savings for the Rock Hall. “Having the three shooters before, we now only need one,” concludes Weil.
(BMcN/BMcC)