When Microsoft Ignite took over the Chase Center in San Francisco, it brought together more than 17,000 attendees on-site and over 200,000 viewers via webcast. Delivering a visually cohesive experience at this scale required a media server workflow capable of managing enormous amounts of content, rapid revisions, and a highly complex display environment. Production partner Thrasos Media Group relied on PIXERA to meet those demands, driving more than 152 million pixels across 33 display surfaces throughout the venue.
 
The scenic design centered around an impressive three-tier LED superstructure, complemented by additional screens distributed throughout the arena. The objective was clear: create a seamless visual environment that could support keynote presentations, product announcements, and live demonstrations while maintaining a consistent visual identity across every display surface. 

To control this vast pixel landscape, Thrasos Media deployed a high-capacity PIXERA infrastructure: 

• 10 PIXERA Media Servers, each playing out 4 to 5 4K streams in NotchLC. 
• 5 Dedicated Director Units, operated simultaneously by a three-person programming team. 
• 50 Gb UniFi Network Backbone, interconnected with a high-speed 50 Gb NAS boasting over 32 TB of NVMe RAID storage. 

This distributed network setup enabled PIXERA to seamlessly transfer and synchronize terabytes of high-resolution media in real time, effortlessly keeping pace with rapid show adjustments during rehearsals.

As with many large-scale corporate events, one of the greatest challenges was the volume and speed of content revisions. Presentation assets, keynote visuals, and creative elements continued to evolve while rehearsals and programming were already underway. Cameron Yeary, Managing Partner and Screens Producer at Thrasos Media Group, explains: “The biggest challenge was managing the speed and volume of late-breaking creative and content updates while programming and rehearsing simultaneously.”

To address this challenge, the production team relied heavily on PIXERA's Multi User workflow and NAS integration. Multiple programmers could work concurrently within the same project environment while large media files were rapidly synchronized across the system. This allowed the team to incorporate ongoing content changes without disrupting rehearsals or compromising production schedules.  

The result was a streamlined workflow that enabled Microsoft to continue refining content until the final stages of the event while keeping the production team agile and efficient.

Corporate events present unique technical requirements compared to traditional live entertainment productions. A key challenge at Microsoft Ignite was integrating PowerPoint-driven content into a sophisticated media server ecosystem while preserving a unified visual experience. 

PIXERA enabled the team to move beyond conventional presentation systems by combining speaker content with creative visual treatments, transitions, and alpha channel effects. This provided greater freedom for the show designers while ensuring presenters could deliver information clearly and reliably to both in-person and remote audiences.

Beyond the PIXERA platform, the production ecosystem incorporated a range of technologies supporting content management, routing, networking, monitoring, and audio workflows. PIXERA served as the central hub that connected these elements into a cohesive production environment, allowing different teams to collaborate efficiently throughout preparation and execution. 

The project's success was made possible through close collaboration between numerous industry professionals. Alongside Thrasos Media Group, contributions came from Xite Labs, Intertain Productions, Meyer Pro, ThinC Worldwide, Clair/ATK Audio, DFG Scenic, and scenic designer Greg Elder, among many others. 

For Thrasos Media Group, PIXERA's combination of collaborative workflows, reliable media management, and flexible system architecture made it a natural fit for an event as dynamic as Microsoft Ignite. Having worked with the platform since its earliest stages, the team values not only the technology itself but also the partnership behind it.

"We've been using PIXERA since version 0.8, before it was publicly released. Throughout that time, the AV Stumpfl team has consistently been responsive and helpful in solving bugs, improving workflows, and answering technical questions." – Cameron Yeary

For productions such as Microsoft Ignite, success depends on more than pixel capacity alone. It requires efficient collaboration, fast content distribution, and the flexibility to adapt to changing creative requirements throughout the production process. PIXERA provided the foundation that enabled those workflows at scale.

 Project Overview

• Event: Microsoft Ignite (Corporate Flagship Event)
• Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco (17,000+ in-person attendees, 200,000+ live webcast viewers)
• Key Media Server Partner & Production: Thrasos Media
• Media Server Technology: PIXERA (Multi-User & NAS Workflow Integration)
• Key Creative & Technical Partners: Xite Labs, Intertain Productions, Meyer Pro, ThinC Worldwide, Clair/ATK Audio, DFG Scenic, Greg Elder (Scenic Design)

Production Credits

• Screens Technical Producer / Programmer: Cameron Yeary 
• Lead Programmer: Clay Avery 
• Media Engineer / Programmer / Content Wrangler: Chris Allen 
• Media Producer: Rachel Heitzer