BARCELONA, Spain — The visual experience that U2 designers Mark Fisher and Willie Williams have come up with for the band’s 360º tour this summer includes a 50-meter-high claw-shaped set, a funnel-shaped transformable video screen, a motion control system designed and supplied by Kinesys, 196 PRG Bad Boys and wireless DMX to the far corners of the stadium achieved with City Theatrical’s SHoW DMX. Surrounding the set, followspots and Bad Boy moving lights are positioned around the stadium. One of the many challenges the tour faced was to reliably get data to the towers without having to run kilometers of cable around the stadium. The wireless system needed to be reliable, require a minimal radio footprint, and be internationally certified and outdoor rated for protection from the elements.
City Theatrical provided PRG with four SHoW DMX transmitters in rack mount panels and eight SHoW DMX Receivers in outdoor rated enclosures. The transmitters were fitted with standard 5dBi omni-directional antennas. The receivers utilized 8dBi directional panel antennas. The omni-directional antennas allow the wireless signal to be transmitted to any location around the stadium, while the directional antennas allow the receivers to “listen” to the transmitters in a specific location.
With the number of fixtures in use and the large channel count, multiple universes of SHoW DMX had to be used. One of the concerns was that there would be wireless interference and congestion on a show of this magnitude. With the built in user configuration of SHoW DMX this proved to not be an issue. Technicians on site could monitor the wireless spectrum and, if required, make adjustments to the spectrum usage of SHoW DMX so all wireless systems in the stadium could work in harmony.
The system was first set up and tested for the tour in the City Theatrical factory in Carlstadt, N.J. The system was preconfigured in the PRG Birmingham, England shop for the load-in and technical rehearsals in Barcelona, Spain. The U2 360° Tour continues through October 2009.
For more information on SHoW DMX, please visit www.citytheatrical.com.
