I’ve been working at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (CCPA) for thirty-three years. The lobby show relay system for the advertising of upcoming events, backstage (onstage) monitoring, and for the patrons to watch while getting a drink at the bar has remained virtually the same since we first started using it back in the SD video days. Although we did switch out the CRT monitors for flat-screens about 15 years ago. But I am glad to say that when I came back from my five days off last week that Ducky, James and Tori were already hard at work replacing the whole system! We are already using the new system today only three days later. We didn’t have time to install the video monitors on every floor, but the first floor is done and everything else is in place so for now we are running 720p instead of SD video. Unfortunately until we pull all new SDI cable through the walls we will not get 1080p, but the 720 is an incredible improvement.
Another thing which is included with this system is a new switcher which we can switch through an iPad from the stage managers panel (SMD) or anywhere in the theater. This alone is a huge improvement, as now nobody has to run up to the amp room on the second floor to switch the video from the advertising during preshow and intermission to the camera for the show presentation. There’s still more to do but things are vastly improved.
