Green Hippo To Power LDI 2026 Battle Of The Busk And

Hippotizer media servers will run every video busk at LDI 2026’s Battle of the Busk, while Green Hippo’s Estuary Series makes its first appearance at the show. Attendees can also expect a few surprises at the ACT Entertainment booth (#1111).

Las Vegas, NV — The Battle of the Busk takes place on Monday, 7 December, with seven LED screens, seasoned pros in the audience, and up-and-coming programmers performing live without timecode or a safety net. Green Hippo’s Hippotizer Media Servers will power all video busking throughout the competition.

Teams of emerging talent, mentored by leading figures from live entertainment, will perform in the moment to music that won’t wait. The audience will decide the winners, with reputations on the line.

Behind the scenes, two Hippotizer MEUSE MX Series Media Servers will run in an A/B configuration, enabling fast changeovers while handling multiple inputs and live camera feeds for IMAG across all seven high-resolution LED displays.

LDI will also mark the first public outing of Green Hippo’s brand message: Built for Performance — a focus on tools made by humans for performers, designed to keep pace, stay unobtrusive and help operators shine.

“Busking is about the most honest test there is,” says Bob Bonniol, Chief Innovation Officer at ACT Entertainment. “No timecode, no safety net… just a person, the music and a room deciding in real time whether this is a night they’ll remember. That’s who we build for. I spent a lot of years at front of house wishing the video gear would keep up with me. ‘Built for Performance’ is the bar we’re setting for 2027: the machine should feel like an instrument you play, not a science project you babysit. The performing is yours. Our job is to make it JOYFUL.”

The Estuary Series — Green Hippo’s new media controller and event switcher — is now shipping. It offers straightforward, intuitive control of expansive screen canvases with extensive I/O, and speaks DMX and sACN so video can be programmed from the same lighting console as the rest of the show, reducing crew and complexity.

Hippotizer will also unveil new features in Las Vegas aimed at expanding design and show-running freedom, with more details to follow.

Before the expo opens, Green Hippo: Hippotizer Media Server Essentials — a full-day, hands-on LDI course — runs on Saturday, 5 December, 9:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., in Room W229. Aimed at beginners and intermediate users, it covers setup, configuration, media management, visualisation, encoding, output and playback. The course costs $669 with lunch included. Details and registration: www.ldishow.com/event/live-design-international-2026/session/green-hippo-hippotizer-media-server-essentials

LDI 2026 runs from 6–8 December at the Las Vegas Convention Center, West Hall. The Green Hippo team will be at the ACT Entertainment booth (#1111) throughout. Visitors are invited to stop by with questions or show challenges, then catch the Battle of the Busk on Monday and cast their vote.