Seneca College in Toronto, Canada's largest college, has added a Vista Systems Spyder to its video facilities at the School of Communication Arts (Seneca@York Campus). Seneca College boasts more than 100,000 students and offers multiple TV studios in its School of Communication Arts (SCA). SCA provides top quality programs in animation, graphic design, game art and animation, visual effects, television, radio, journalism, digital media, creative advertising, corporate media production, digital photography, and independent music production. The Vista Spyder will allow students in the Corporate Media Production program a unique, hands-on opportunity to learn multi-image processing and windowing using the same powerful technology currently employed at CNN, NASDAQ Marketsite, CBS, NBC and many high profile televised national awards shows.
The Vista Systems Spyder, is Seneca's first widescreen display. As program coordinator for the corporate media production program, Tim Abbot trains students for work in AV companies, marketing departments and multi-image productions. "My industry peers and I have a great desire to go beyond 4:3 and 16:9 environments," notes Abbot, a former business-meetings producer. "I wanted our students to think outside the box, so I spoke to industry experts and did a lot of research. I found that the Vista Systems Spyder came out on top in terms of price-for-performance."
Seneca College's Vista Spyder is configured with two new HD projectors and a new rear-projection screen. "Everything is cased and portable," Abbot explains. "We not only use the Vista Spyder in the learning environment but also in real-world applications. This year, my students will use the Vista Spyder to produce an awards show and an athletic benefit." In both cases, the processor will create jaw-dropping multi-projector displays like those used for the Grammys, the Emmys and in some of the top stadiums and sporting arenas in the world. "The college gets great programming and the students get real, hands-on production experience."
The Vista Spyder is a windowing processor that takes virtually any content from a variety of graphics and video sources and outputs this content in real-time across a multi-image display. The Vista Systems' switchers have become the industry standard for live multiple-destination video-and-data-mixed signal switching.
Abbot says the new Vista Systems Spyder has broadened the students' creative capabilities. "The whole renaissance of widescreen visuals is a wonderful thing," he says. "We did widescreen with slides many years ago, then that disappeared because it became too labor intensive. Now it's great to go back to widescreen and move away from 4:3. The Vista Spyder is giving our productions a different look and offering us opportunities we didn't have before. We can now create huge presentations and provide our students with a unique experience unparalleled by other post-secondary programs."
About Vista Systems
Vista Systems was acquired by Christie, a global leader in visual solutions for business, entertainment and industry, to create a comprehensive source for image processing and projection solutions. The acquisition combines the power and flexibility of Vista's video switchers and real-time windowing and composition products with the power, performance and reliability of award-winning Christie projection systems. Vista Systems' switchers have become the industry standard for live multiple-destination video and data mixed signal switching. For more information on Vista Systems, visit their website at www.vistasystems.net.
