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Turbo iDDR units have successfully been deployed in a number of prominent Event Production environments world-wide.
Some examples of where Turbo iDDRs have been used:
- 2006 MTV Video Music Awards (Nocturne Productions)
- Bon Jovi concert tour (Nocturne Productions)
- Aerosmith concert tour (Nocturne Productions)
- NAB2006 and IBC2006 tradeshows, various booths (Creative Technology)
With the Grass Valley Turbo iDDR, educators and students at Oregon State University now have a quick and easy way to organize and display source material for their multimedia video productions. The Technical Services department is using the Turbo iDDR for a wide variety of applications to aid in OSU's teaching and special events activities. Its compact size and portability also allows them to move the iDDR between venues on campus.
Rick Brand, Director of Technical Services at Oregon State University's Media Services department, has seen his share of new technologies that promise to make his life easier. Some have lived up to the promises and others have not.
For the past two years, with the emergence of video servers, Brand and his staff have been struggling with various videotape formats while searching for a better way to feed the large video projectors and other image magnification systems inside the University's main auditorium.
The Media Services department at OSU—of which Technical services is a part—has recently gone through an upgrade of its facilities and equipment; including the installation of a new NEC 10,000 lumen projector and a Turbo™ iDDR. Put into service literally a day after Brand took delivery of the unit, the Turbo iDDR has already been used for a special live Bill Cosby concert (presented as part of the university's Mothers Weekend celebration in May).
Still and moving images of Cosby were shown on large video screens before and after the actual concert, including an animated logo, a slide show and some video clips.
"At first we were a little tentative about using a new device in a high visibility production," said Brand.
Prior to using the Turbo iDDR, Brand said he had to make a loop of images on videotape or constantly rewind the tape in order to repeat desired images for a presentation. Now, with the Turbo iDDR's loop features, on-the-fly presentation and production is a quick and easy process.
The Turbo iDDR will serve as OSU Media Services' main presentation device, displaying image magnification of live speakers, PowerPoint slides and high-definition videos. Brand said he also appreciates the Turbo iDDR's file management capabilities, because now they don't have to search for the correct tapes among the many formats they receive content on.
Brand said he's now finding all sorts of uses around the University for the Turbo iDDR. He's considering using it to display player headshots on the large JumboTron™ Screen at OSU's main football stadium during Saturday games. Previously, they recorded digital still files of player photos onto videotape, then dumped them into another machine before being displayed. With the Turbo iDDR, the files can be loaded onto the server as is, saving a lot of time and effort.
In the OSU conference center, the Turbo iDDR—linked to a Crestron controller—will be used by professors and students to allow them to control their HD presentations from a touch-screen panel on stage. And, a new series of fund-raising commercials acquired and produced in HD will be screened in the main auditorium campaign, played off the Turbo iDDR from digital files.
New student orientations in the fall will benefit from the elimination of videotape in the process. As each new group of students and parents comes into the room, the Turbo can play out at predetermined times, saving costs of having dedicated staff having to rewind or reinsert a tape.
"It's great when a new technology can actually change your life for the better," Brand said. "The Grass Valley Turbo iDDR is just such a product."
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