May 24, 2021 - Dallas-based Esports company Envy Gaming Inc. has incorporated Absen Inc LED products into their 21,000 ft headquarters. Founded in 2007, owner Mike Rufail has grown the organization from a single professional esports team to one of the premier esports and entertainment companies in the world. Today, Envy employs more than 60 front office staff and is comprised of competitive gamers, esports teams, and content creators with a global audience.
The setup that Envy envisioned started with a 45-degree, L-shaped studio, with practical elements for LED. The space is interfaced with Creston devices for using background and video assets. They were also looking to project client and digital signage during esports matches. One thing that LED took care of is that keying issues with typical green screen technology was fixed with LED. The studio is used to host Envy's tournament games and show 3D contents as well.
Envy partnered with integrator AVI-SPL to install two Absen LED walls. The first wall is in the competition room wall. This room is used to mirror the smaller PC displays of the competing teams/players so attendees watching in the room can have a larger image to view. The second wall is in the podcast room, where Envy broadcasts and reviews matches. Initially they wanted to go with a very unusual sized wall with four 16:9 images within, but after more research it was determined what the client really needed was just two stellar side by side 16:9 images. In the end, they ended deciding on installing 2 Acclaim Plus 2.5mm LED walls for the space.
The Acclaim Plus is one of Absen Inc's flagship LED series and is a high-end indoor dvled commercial solution for a variety of solutions in education, corporate, houses of worship, etc. With a 2.5mm pixel pitch, brightness of 1000 nits, and a refresh rate of 3840 Hz, it was the perfect solution for Envy Gaming. The broadcast room has a 24' x 6.78' wall (12x6 panel layout) while the podcast room has a smaller 10' x 5.63'wall (5x5 panel layout). Over 97 panels were used on both walls and were installed on hanging trusts during February 2020 for greater creativity.
One of the clear advantages of having the Acclaim Plus series is that it allows Envy to flex their creativity. They are able to change sets quickly without having to paint or design new sets while also having the ability to have three distinct looks by just moving the set furniture. That also produces a cost savings on set design.
"It is the flexibility in creativity, pixel pitch, price point, and panel availability as to why we chose Absen for this project" says Mike Botkin, Executive Producer for Envy. "We are only scratching the surface and looking to push the boundaries to make the space more dynamic, whether physical or online."
