At Australian Outback Spectacular, storytelling meets spectacle—where horses gallop through sand, visuals dance across immersive surfaces, and Australian folklore is brought to life in a way unlike any other. But beneath the seamless experience lies a highly technical production infrastructure—and at its core, a powerful new PIXERA media server system from AV Stumpfl.

According to Technical Supervisor Adam Moir, what makes this production truly unique is the opportunity to merge “cutting-edge technologies with the fast-paced Equine industry to deliver a unique and entertaining experience of Australian stories and characters.”

Media Server Configuration: Stability Meets Flexibility

To ensure optimal performance and redundancy, the venue installed a combination of PIXERA One Gen 2 and PIXERA Two Gen 2 servers:

• 2 x PIXERA One Gen 2 (Director software – main and backup)
• 3 x PIXERA Two Gen 2 (Playout servers)

The choice to standardize on AV Stumpfl hardware was deliberate. “We wanted guaranteed stability and reliability of genuine factory-built hardware,” Moir explains. “PIXERA Two gave us the flexibility to add extra options if needed, while PIXERA One gave us peace of mind on the Director side.”

Solving Extraordinary Projection Challenges

What happens when your projection surfaces are a rear wall—and a sand-covered floor shared by live animals? You get creative—and technical. Moir and his team faced the constant challenge of re-aligning projection due to shifting surfaces and frequent setup changes.

Key PIXERA tools played a crucial role in overcoming these hurdles:

• Marker Calibration to sync real-world elements with 3D models
• Live Warping Tools for on-the-fly adjustments to floor projections
• Automatic Soft Edging to stitch visuals seamlessly across eight projectors on a massive 50m x 22m sand Floor

“Being able to pre-program the entire production in Preview and run it alongside the old system was invaluable,” Moir notes, especially given they had just five days for the full media server switchover.

Integrated Control at Every Level

The Outback Spectacular relies on a mix of automated and manual controls, with PIXERA Control acting as a central nervous system. Whether syncing with SMPTE timecode from the audio system, managing custom operator interfaces, or controlling show layers and masking in real time, Control enabled a seamless integration of:

• DMX triggers from the grandMA3 lighting console
• Real-time tracking of scenic automation
• Custom web-based interfaces
• Feedback loops to QSC Q-Sys monitoring Systems

“Being able to mix and match these various levels of control is vital when dealing with live animals and a show that can vary each evening,” says Moir. The team also implemented custom scripting modules to tailor the system to their unique needs, which, in Moir’s words, “allowed us to focus more on the creative process and less on clunky technical workarounds.”

Training, Support, and Speed

A smooth deployment wouldn’t have been possible without the extensive support from AV Stumpfl and distribution partner Show Technology. “Our PIXERA programmer traveled to Austria and received in-depth training from the PIXERA team. That face-to-face access to the team made a huge difference in workflow planning,” says Moir. During commissioning, fast remote support was key to getting the system live on time.

Technical Equipment Overview

Video

• 2 x AV StumpflPIXERA One Gen 2 Media Servers
• 3 x AV StumpflPIXERA Two Gen 2 Media Servers
• 4 x Barco UDX 4K32 Projectors
• 8 x Christie Boxer 2K30 Projectors
• 2 x Barco PDS-4K
• 2 x Datapath HX-4
• 16 x Lightware HDMI20 Fiber Optic Extenders
• Beckhoff PLC (tracking data)
• QSC Q-Sys (system control and monitoring)

Lighting

• MA3 Light CRV Console
• 106 x ShowPro R3 Wash
• 24 x ShowPro Neptune 400
• 8 x ShowPro Neptune 200
• 12 x Claypaky Axcore Beam 300
• 12 x Claypaky Sharpy

Audio

• DiGiCo SD9
• Meyer Sound PA System (UPQ, 750-LFC, Ashby, MM-10, UP-4XP)
• Meyer Sound Dimitri
• Meyer Sound Galaxy
• QLab
• QSC Q-Sys (BOH audio and supervisory control)

Conclusion: PIXERA as a Creative Catalyst

From crossfading on a single layer to seamless timeline navigation—even skipping or jumping cues mid-show—the PIXERA system has dramatically streamlined the team’s workflow. Moir concludes, “PIXERA allows us to do everything we need from a single operator console. It’s helped simplify programming, adapt to a dynamic environment, and focus on what really matters—telling a great story.”