LUPIXX Powers AR & LED Spectacle For Goldene Henne

Multimedia production studio LUPIXX GmbH delivered a striking visual experience for this year's Goldene Henne awards, combining large-scale LED design, Augmented Reality (AR), and precisely synchronised playback powered by Green Hippo Hippotizer Media Servers.

Broadcast nationwide by MDR, the prestigious entertainment gala returned with an ambitious new visual direction, blending cinematic content with complex LED stage integration. For the first time, the show opened with an expansive AR spectacle, followed by three additional AR-driven performances that elevated the live and televised experience.

LUPIXX powered the production using Hippotizer Tierra+ MK2 and Boreal+ MK2 servers, driving custom-built visual assets designed to complement both the set architecture and the show’s diverse roster of performers. The result was a technically ambitious, high-impact production seen by millions across Europe.

"Our goal was to keep the visuals dynamic and diverse while enhancing every moment for both the in-house audience and the millions watching on TV," said Aleksei Shkurdov, Video Engineer and Server Operator at LUPIXX. "This year's addition of augmented reality brought new creative possibilities — and the Hippotizer servers gave us the flexibility and power we needed to make it all happen."

The complex stage featured a primary kinetic LED wall with a resolution of 8192 x 1664 pixels, accompanied by an oval and eight rectangular screens, 16 LED strips totaling 8860 x 1280 pixels, and a circular floor-mounted LED screen at 2688 x 2688. Sixty additional LED strips surrounded the stage, each with up to 1152 pixels in height, creating a vast network of displays that required pixel-perfect mapping and synchronisation.

To handle this extensive visual infrastructure, the LUPIXX team deployed two Tierra+ MK2 Media Servers for AR generation and two Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers for main content playback, alongside backup servers for full redundancy. The Hippotizers were supplied by ICT and Trust, two longtime collaborators on major German live productions.

"The Tierra+ MK2 provided the processing headroom we needed to generate and composite AR content in real time," Shkurdov continued. "Meanwhile, the Boreal+ MK2 handled playback of multiple high-resolution video layers and simultaneous 4K outputs with complete stability. We ran four 4096 x 2160 outputs at once without any issues."

The LUPIXX team’s workflow relied on smooth coordination between video, lighting, and tracking systems. grandMA3 light consoles were used for show control, ensuring seamless communication across departments and consistent show cues.

"Hippotizer's synchronisation features made it incredibly easy to keep all the servers aligned," notes Shkurdov. "We were managing more than 3 TB of video content, so reliable sync was essential. The software handled it beautifully — no lag, no frame drops."

Another major time-saver was the native playback of NotchLC video in the latest Hippotizer version. "In previous years, we had to convert large video files into other formats before importing them," said Shkurdov. "Now we can play NotchLC directly, which preserves image quality and eliminates a step from our workflow. When you’re working under live TV deadlines, that's a huge advantage."

The team also made extensive use of Hippotizer’s layer-based architecture, which allowed them to adjust visuals on the fly, blend multiple content sources, and make real-time tweaks to match the lighting design and live performances.

All video content was custom-created for the show by Vlad Befus, Saskia Olma, and Andrey Pokrovskiy, with each piece designed to complement a specific artist and song. The content ranged from sweeping digital landscapes to abstract, rhythm-driven animations, giving every performance a distinct identity while maintaining visual coherence across the broadcast.

The show's visual achievements were the result of tight collaboration between LUPIXX's video team and the event’s broader creative crew. Credits include Video Operator Enrico Walther, Tracking Technician Hannes Kleinteich, and Server Operator Aleksei Shkurdov.

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