Thought to be the ‘world’s most expensive wedding’, the marriage of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant was a six-day event that took place in Mumbai, India, in July of this year. The groom, son of Indian businessman and the richest man in Asia, Mukesh Ambani, and his bride planned a lavish celebration of their love, with the event taking place across the Antilia Building and Jio Convention Center and featuring a labyrinth of different zones to accommodate the guest list of around 2,000 attendees, including A-list celebrities.
At the heart of the event was the ceremony room, where the marriage took place. It was here that technical event service provider, Blue I Europe, designed and implemented a media server system, featuring a reliable signal management solution from Lightware, to adorn the walls of the room with an array of dazzling visuals.
“Having worked alongside some of the technical suppliers previously, we were asked to support the project with media server and full playback system supply,” recalls Ethan Forde, European Sales Director at Blue I Europe. “We worked closely with other key stakeholders including system designer, Salvador Bettencourt Ávila of SBA Video, Artists in Motion, DNA Entertainment, N Visible and Spectrum AV India to plan and implement a projection mapping solution.”
The project was focused on the expansive ceremony room, known as a Mandapa in Hindu wedding tradition. The concept was to create an immersive world to transport the guests to other environments, with digital content of rainforests, waterfalls, outer space and imagery of Ambani family members. “It’s important to note this was not a one-day project,” explains Forde. “Following the wedding, open tours for the wider family, friends and acquaintances meant that, in total, thousands of people would be able to experience the immersive spectacle.”
Together with the system designer, a five-person team implemented a system that would be as robust as possible, ensuring there were adequate backups in place to ensure the production ran smoothly.
Five disguise VX4 media servers fed content into Lightware’s MX-FR65R modular matrix router, offering zero latency signal management, control and troubleshooting features, whilst supporting the highest 4K UHD resolutions, essential for creating a life-like immersive experience. From here, fibre transmitters transported the signals to 40 Barco projectors. The system ran on a Netgear network infrastructure, allowing the team to benefit from the collaborative multi-user features of the disguise servers. The content was genlocked with a sync generator to ensure all visuals played seamlessly.
“With the dual redundancy of Lightware’s MX and disguise’s matrix switching protocol, we had peace of mind that in the event of a failure in cables or servers, everything would automatically move on to a backup system,” continues Forde. “Working in Mumbai, without immediate access to replacement parts, we needed to ensure we had a reliable level of redundancy, and Lightware gave us this, with the added ability to build in some headroom due to the modular format of the MX series.” Lightware’s MX-FR65R features hot-swappable N+1 redundant power supplies, providing high-level reliability. If one of the supplies fails unexpectedly, the remaining PSU units continue to function keeping the AV system seamlessly in operation.
“I couldn't have been happier to have Blue-I supply the playback system and projectors for this project,” confirms Salvador Bettencourt Ávila, from SBA Video. “They were able to not only deliver a well-built and reliable system, but they managed to get it built and shipped to India in record time. The modular nature of the matrix ensured we could swap out cards if needed and the dual power supplies gave us peace of mind. Once on site, the working environment wasn't the typical space with AC where you would house equipment like this. The matrix powered through without a glitch, dealing with high temperatures and dusty air very well.”
Undoubtedly, the Ambani Wedding has captured the interest of audiences far and wide. With extensive coverage in the global press and footage of the six-day extravaganza shared in abundance online, the show-stopping ceremony has been considered a resounding success, with the projection mapping work in the ceremony room at the heart of the occasion.
Reflecting on the project’s success, the Blue I Europe team attest to the fact that their long-standing relationship with Lightware has been pivotal. “Knowing we are backed by excellent customer support and reliable, robust products allows us to do our best work,” concludes Forde. “Whilst no project is without challenges, having the right tools puts you in the best possible position to make amazing experiences - like the Ambani Wedding - possible. We’re really happy with the project.”
The MX2 standalone and MX2M modular matrix switcher product lines are also available.
These switchers support HDMI2.0 and represent the pinnacle of versatility and performance in the realm of AV signal management. These advanced devices are designed to meet the demanding needs of modern multimedia environments, offering seamless integration and reliable operation.
The standalone MX2 and the modular MX2M switchers allow for flexible configurations tailored to specific requirements. Whether handling HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, or other common video and audio formats, these switchers excel in routing signals with uncompromising quality. This flexibility is further enhanced by the ability to scale effortlessly from small to large-scale installations, adapting to the evolving needs of businesses and institutions alike.
