As Scotland gears up for the opening of its new home of live entertainment, we take a look at the technical capabilities of The SSE Hydro.
Due to open on the banks of the River Clyde on September 30th, The SSE Hydro is brimming with cutting edge technology and state of the art digital specifications in line with first class venues around the world.
The venue will boast 145 digital screens, “arenamation” displaying 137 metres of uninterrupted media and a wi-fi system capable of supporting 12,000 users.
The real-time digital screens will be supplied by Sony, the latest major brand to partner with the venue and will support an IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) system. Four double-sided Totems (3.3m tall) will also be installed with a 60 inch High Bright LCD display on one face and a ‘light box’ for printed posters on the reverse.
Visitors to the venue will also be greeted by the glowing, translucent skin of its ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) cushions, which can either have light or images projected onto them. At the front, two High Definition video projectors will also project a 17m x 10.7m graphic on to the ETFE cladding during hours of darkness.
Tony Edwards, technical manager at the SECC and The Hydro, commented: “The Hydro is a very unique digital and wi-fi connected building which will come alive before your eyes. We have been working with our digital partners to bring visitors an experience on a par with top venues worldwide and like nothing ever seen before in Scotland.”
The team at The Hydro are also working with Frame, a creative agency specialising in advertising, design and digital, on increasing functionality of thehydro.com and on a wi-fi area which will host exclusive content and offers.
The SSE Hydro is set to open on 30 September with Rod Stewart. Tickets for all events on sale can be bought via www.thehydro.com.