Windows XP Embedded in the Olympics Opening Ceremony!
After waiting and waiting and waiting, finally the Olympics of 2008 is just around the corner!
The opening ceremony will start at Friday 8/8/2008, 8:00 pm local time in Beijing, which is 5:00am early tomorrow morning Seattle Time. While I am excited and baffled on how to watch the live coverage of the ceremony here, I am also happy to learn that XPe is playing its role in the game too!
Austin, TX-based entertainment lighting and control systems manufacturer High End Systems (a new member of the Belgium-based BARCO Group), is playing a starring role in the ceremonies. Festivities will feature 120 HES Axon media servers – the largest quantity ever used on any live event. All effects will be accomplished in real-time using the media servers and projectors with moving Orbital Heads, and controlled with three of HES’ Wholehog 3 lighting consoles.
The servers being used in Beijing all feature:
· Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processors
· ASUS P5W DH Deluxe Motherboards
· ATI HD2900XT Graphics Cards supplied by ASUS
· Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB Hard Drives
· Highly customized Microsoft Windows XP Embedded O/S utilizing DirectX, DirectShow, and .NET 2.0 Framework.
The photo below is from the Server Room at the National Stadium in Beijing ("Bird's Nest") showing the Axon Media Servers in place. More information on the Axon Media Server is available here.
One more reason not to miss the spectacular opening ceremony! Enjoy the show and the technology :)!