A Hannover Messe event (ITAP 2020) took place recently in Singapore EXPO & MAX Atria with full Covid-19 precautions, safe distancing, safe entry and Singapore’s TraceTogether mobile app. Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions and health concerns the event was changed to a hybrid physical and online event with local and virtual attendees and panelists. There were over 5,000 registered attendees, while 100 invited guests were physically present for the opening ceremony. For greater interactivity and audience engagement, Ideal Systems was selected to provide critical NDI and AV infrastructure for ITAP 2020 which was Singapore EXPO & MAX Atria’s first MICE (Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) event since Covid-19.

The solution Ideal Systems provided was based on NewTek NDI at the heart of the event control and command center. The system used the advanced functionality of thenew NewTek TriCaster 2 Elite which provided a key feature called “Live Call Connect”. Using Live Call Connect enabled seamless integration of multiple remote panelists who joined by video-callusing Zoom, Skype TX and Microsoft Teams. This was done by converting their video calls into unique NDI IPinputs which could be switched, mixed and controlled independentlyby the TriCaster 2 Elite. This enabled the virtual panelists to be presented together in their sessions with the local moderator and local panelists on the stage screen in the main event theatre. Virtual participants appeared on the 10m long X 3m high LED wall on the stage (also provided by Ideal Systems) and simultaneously online as a single unified interactive panel of experts. The TriCaster 2 Elite was controlled by NewTek’s2-Stripe Control Panel, which was paired with the Video Mix Engine in the TriCaster to manage all the discreet NDI IP streams of the panelists along with camera control of the Panasonic NDI PTZ cameras in the main auditorium and all of the scaling and mixing and graphics for the stage and web outputs. Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat was the Guest-of-Honor for the event’s opening ceremony.

Mr. Ang Chee Chiang, General Manager, Centre Management, SingEx Venues, said: “SingEx wasdelighted to have partnered with Ideal Systemsto build our digital production and broadcasting capabilities to support our first hybrid event. Ideal Systems worked closely with our technical team to design and build a fully functional system in a tight timeframe. They also trained and upskilled our production team and operators on the new system, shared valuable insights and advice, leading to the flawless execution of a very successful hybrid event.”

Fintan Mc Kiernan, CEO if Ideal Systems Singapore, added “This was a great experience for us to use the latest NewTekNDI IP video technologies to drive a live international event of this scale and we are honored to work with companies like SingEx who have great technical foresight to leverage these newIP video technologies to overcome the challenges presented by Covid-19”