VIOSO serves Christmas fare at Latin America’s largest dome

VIOSO is helping to bring to life an inflatable immersive theatre that has transformed the Brazilian town of Canela for the festive season.

The Mega Domo – which is 60m in diameter, 30m high and can accommodate 2,000 people – is the venue for the world’s largest immersive Christmas show, Viagem de Natal (Christmas Voyage). The production combines projection mapping, theatre and music to tell the story of Miguel, a young photographer spending Christmas away from his family for the first time.

VIOSO’s local partner, Hoffmann Technology, was tasked with mapping a seamless 360º projection on to the interior walls of the largest inflatable structure in Latin America, which is kept inflated by fans blowing air at up to 100km/h.

The company’s technical manager, Alan Leitão, specified four VIOSO Anystation Media 12 servers, configured in two systems (hot spare master/client) for full redundancy. While the media servers, which come with Pixera VIOSO Edition software, handled the demanding high-resolution timecode based playback for the show, VIOSO’s software took care of the complex calibration (camera-based warp and blend) needed for the perfect projection over the dome’s surface, which is more than 5,600 sq m.  

Each playback system consists of two VIOSO Anystation Media 12 head servers to run all the projectors, while a secondary system runs parallel, using precise timecode synchronisation to provide a fully redundant back-up solution that can be switched during the show by a programmable video matrix.

In addition to the servers, the Mega Domo has been equipped with 20 Panasonic PT-DZ21K projectors, installed at heights ranging from 2.5m to 5.5m above the ground, connected to the video signal with nearly 3km of fibre-optic cables and an HDMI matrix. A Dolby Atmos-equipped sound system provides the soundtrack in spatial audio for maximum immersion.

VIOSO’s sales director, Raul Vandenberg, said: “Our advanced projection technology and camera-based calibration method, combined with the expert installation by Hoffmann Technology, has created a truly mesmerising holiday attraction.”