Hippotizer MX Series Powers Distinct Visual Worlds

WWE's WrestleMania 42 drew more than 106,000 spectators across two nights at Allegiant Stadium, pairing blockbuster in-ring action with vast, cinema-scale visuals. Providing the show's visual backbone was a Hippotizer Media Server system from Green Hippo, an ACT Entertainment brand, which helped deliver two contrasting design languages: a gritty, Mad Max-inspired look on Night One and a clean, contemporary aesthetic on Night Two.

The production deployed an extensive array of LED canvases throughout the venue. Hippotizer systems fed the ring posts and skirt, trusses, barricade, over-ring trons, ramp, entranceway and stadium ribbon boards, as well as numerous auxiliary displays and content feeds. The package was supplied by Upstaging, with WWE Media Server Programmer Chris Keene collaborating with Project Manager Tony Thompson and a large technical crew to keep every element aligned.

"WrestleMania is now a two-night event, and this year there was a bit of a juxtaposition between the two nights," said Keene. "For the most part, we take over the screens with custom pre-produced graphics during entrances, and then the TV truck takes over some screens during matches to show live camera feeds. Video is an integral element in our world. It is constantly featured."

From superstar walk-ons and sponsor content to dynamic set pieces and title announcements, the screens were in near-constant motion. Hippotizer MX Series units mixed custom pre-rendered content, live camera inputs and IMAG, with displays switching roles as the show evolved.

To meet the scale, the network combined eight Hippotizer MX Series Kasai Media Servers with six Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Media Servers. The Kasai MX units powered several high-resolution surfaces including the 7,272 x 864-pixel over-ring trons, the 6,080 x 128-pixel stadium VOMs and the 13,856 x 448-pixel lower ribbon boards. Boreal+ MK2 servers in turn supported the entranceway, ramp, barricade and a range of additional LED elements across the bowl.

Keene continued: !As always at WrestleMania, one of the biggest challenges we face is ingesting all of the content and syncing it across the network. We are either downloading, encoding or syncing constantly for days. The Hippotizers are tanks and keep going.!

That resilience proved vital during live broadcasts, when the team often had to implement late-breaking changes or stage surprise entrances by prepping content on standby machines mid-show. All Hippotizer Media Servers were operated from a grandMA3 console, with comprehensive output monitoring and tightly managed workflows giving the crew the precision and control needed for such a complex environment.

ACT Entertainment's Chief Innovation Officer, Bob Bonniol, said the deployment showcased the company’s philosophy for mission-critical scenarios. "We're thrilled to hear about the success of the Hippotizer system at WrestleMania. This reflects the ‘Tier ZERO’ philosophy and performance standard at Green Hippo and tvONE, which we use to describe the most critical, no-fail environments that our technology is designed for. Tier ZERO equals mission-critical, one-shot environments where failure is not an option."

A standout flourish arrived with Cody Rhodes' entrance, which morphed the set into a cave evoking Batman's iconic lair. The sequence stitched multiple screens into a single narrative moment, with precisely timed clips running in lockstep to audio triggered from Hippotizer. "It was really cool and tied all of the screens together in precisely timed clips that all had to sync together with audio," said Keene. "The sync was great across all the machines, and it all looked and sounded great.

"To have so many moving parts that we're all trying to manage, and not have to worry about the media servers, is invaluable. That wouldn't happen without Green Hippo and Upstaging. They are wonderful partners."

Credit: © WWE

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