Crystal Vision in the largest video-art installation in Europe

Swedish audiovisual solutions company Informationsteknik is using a total of 44 Crystal Vision ViViD HD-20 delay correctors in Europe's largest permanent video art installation created by French-Colombian artist Tania Ruiz Gutiérrez.

La compañía sueca de soluciones audiovisuales Informationsteknik está utilizando un total de 44 correctores de retardo ViViD HD-20 de Crystal Vision en la mayor instalación permanente de video-arte de Europa. Creada por la artista franco-colombiana Tania Ruiz Gutiérrez, esta instalación denominada ‘Elsewhere’ se acaba de inaugurar en la estación de metro de Malmö C Nedre.

A lo largo de 360 metros lineales, Elsewhere proyecta 44 secuencias de vídeo sobre un muro dando la impresión de que son las ventanas de un tren en movimiento. Los módulos ViVid HD-20 se emplean para darle al video el delay correspondiente para crear esta sensación de movimiento con una precisión milimétrica.

Commissioned by the National Public Art Council of Sweden and Trafikverket, it is part of the City Tunnel project that has resulted in the closure of Malmö's old central station and the opening of a large transport interchange.

With 1,300 different video sequences, which were recorded all over the world, Elsewhere allows viewers to have the feeling of traveling on a train. The video database is monitored in order for 16 hours a day. In total, there are 22 projections five meters long on each side of the platform.

It is the first time that video technology has been used to decorate a public place on such a large scale.

The 44 ViViD HD-20 modules are housed in Indigo D decoders and are connected to 44 720p projectors hidden from the public on a technical platform. The delay on the high-definition signal was set to 12 seconds on each ViViD HD-20, with the signal chained through the delay lines to give the effect of motion.

Crystal Vision systems have allowed space savings since these modules barely measure 100mm x 266mm including 4 GB of DRAM. They allow delays of up to 21 seconds in high definition or 119 seconds in SD, and can be adjusted to the second, frame, line and pixel.

Tania Ruiz Gutiérrez has acknowledged that, although the product was intended for a different market, "the ViViD HD-20 have adapted to the needs of this monumental art project perfectly. We wanted a simple and reliable solution, and a perfect implementation technique guarantees that the technique is invisible and therefore the public can focus exclusively on the images."

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