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Conferences and Corporate Events in Morocco

Media Server for Events: What Is It For?

A media server for events centralises the playback of all visual content. Videos, logos, screen graphics: everything starts from a single position, at the right moment. For GDC Beauty Group in Marrakech, our control desk relied on a media server and professional computers on rental. Here is what this tool is for.

  • Practical guide
  • 3 min read

The role of a media server

A media server is a specialised computer, designed to play and output video content continuously. It sends images to one or more screens, with far greater reliability than a simple laptop.

Its main strength: handling several outputs and several layers of content at the same time. A logo can stay on one screen while a video plays on the other. Transitions are smooth, with no black screen or stray window.

It is particularly useful for:

  • stages with several LED screens;
  • events with many videos and transitions;
  • content in custom formats, outside 16:9;
  • shows where the image must follow the lighting or the music.

In video control, it becomes the heart of the set-up: everything that appears on screen goes through it. It is operated from a dedicated position by an operator who follows the run sheet.

Testing the LED screens with a colour pattern driven by the media server

Preparing content for your LED screens

An LED screen does not always have the format of a TV. Content for LED screens must therefore be created at the exact resolution of each screen. We send these dimensions to the creative teams at the very start of the project.

  • respect the native resolution of each screen;
  • use the video formats recommended by the control team;
  • name the files in run-sheet order;
  • deliver the content a few days before the event.

Each piece of content is then tested on the screens themselves. A colour test pattern lets you check geometry, brightness and colour accuracy. This is essential for a beauty brand, where colours must be exactly right.

At GDC Beauty Group, the side screens played animated graphics around the central printed banner. The media server kept them in rhythm with the programme. Last-minute changes remain possible, but they are rare when files are prepared early.

Animated graphics played on the LED screens by the media server on a beauty event stage

Control desk, rental and secure playback

A media server never works alone. It is part of a control set-up with computers for the presentations, a dedicated operator and a precise run sheet. For GDC Beauty Group, this IT equipment was supplied on rental, ready to use.

IT equipment rental spares the organiser from buying expensive equipment for a single event. It also guarantees machines configured and tested by our teams. We cover this topic in our article on IT rental for events.

Finally, secure playback is paramount. We provide a backup machine, copies of every piece of content and a full rehearsal before the doors open. In the event of a failure, the switch-over takes a few seconds, without the audience noticing.

To see this set-up in action, read our case study on the beauty event at the Jaal hotel and the photos of the GDC Beauty Group conference. Our LED screen rental and live video control service includes media servers and operators.

View of the room and LED screens driven by the video control desk during set-up
Go further

The project, the guide and our services

Custom stage backdrop with two LED screens and light beams in Marrakech. The project in photos GDC Beauty Group Congress in Marrakech GDC Beauty Group beauty event stage with LED screens and a printed backdrop at the Jaal hotel The full case study Beauty Event at the Jaal Hotel: GDC Beauty Group The related service LED Screens & Live Video Control Rental in Marrakech

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