Guide · Events · Product launches
Planning a product launch? Eight AV questions to settle first
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Screens and speakers are easy to find. Time, venue rules and a show that changes while it runs are not. Eight questions, each from a launch or summit we ran.
In this guide
The AV at a product launch rarely fails on equipment. It fails on time: too little of it to survey the room; on drawings that do not match the venue; on the venue’s rules for rigging, fire safety and insurance; on approvals that need several parties; and on a run of show that keeps changing during the event. PixelPro Productions has met each of these at launches and summits: at WDMS Global 2025 in Las Vegas, three weeks from award to show; at the Heyball world championship at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with four parties approving every design; and at Dreame’s 2026 launch in East Palo Alto, drawn in 3D first and built and run on the same day. Our answer is the same each time: review the drawings before load-in, bring our own equipment, and run the show with our own engineers, on a main and backup media server.
Have a project in mind? Send us the details, or call.
Eight questions, in order
The first four come before load-in; the last four on site. Each comes with the job where we met it.
- Is there enough time? AV is often booked weeks before the show. WDMS Global 2025 had three weeks from award to show; the Heyball championship, under four weeks from the first brief. The shorter the time, the sooner everyone needs to know who does what.
- Has anyone reviewed the drawings? With little time there is often no site survey, so someone has to check the design before load-in: sizes, rigging points, loads and power. At WDMS the custom stage did not match its drawings and could not carry the load, and the lighting truss was drawn where the hotel had no rigging points: six hours lost on site.
- Can the room be drawn first? For Dreame’s launch we designed the ballroom in 3D and laid it out to scale before load-in, so the build on the day followed a plan everyone had already seen.
- What are the venue’s rules? Convention centers and hotels have their own: rigging through the venue’s appointed contractor, floor plans through a fire-safety review, power booked their way, and a certificate of insurance from every vendor. We carry general liability and workers’ compensation and issue a COI on request.
- How many parties sign off? At the Heyball championship every design needed four approvals, the organizer, the venue, the sponsor and us, in different countries and time zones. We kept one set of drawings moving between them.
- Whose equipment is it? Gear rented in a hurry is hard to control: models, quantities and condition. At WDMS the LED, lighting, sound and show control were our own, trucked from our Anaheim warehouse: about 112 m² of P2.6 LED, 56 lighting fixtures, a line-array system and six NovaStar MX40 Pro processors.
- What if the playback fails? Run content from two media servers, main and backup, in sync. At Dreame’s launch our video engineer ran Hirender S3 servers main and backup, through a PixelHue 4K switcher and U5 console, with a confidence monitor for the presenters.
- Who catches the changes? A launch moves on cues, and the cues change. At WDMS the run of show was still changing during the event, and our show-control operators took every change on the spot. At Dreame one video engineer and one audio engineer ran the whole evening; at Mindray’s booth launch at ADLM 2026 two of our engineers ran the LED playback, the sound and the microphones.
Dreame, East Palo Alto: drawn first, built and run on the day
For Dreame’s 2026 launch at the Four Seasons in East Palo Alto we designed the ballroom in 3D, then built a 5 × 3.5 m P2.6 wall behind the client’s stage, line-array sound and show control on the day of the launch.
On the night one video engineer ran the content from Hirender S3 servers, main and backup, and one audio engineer ran the line arrays and four wireless microphones.
WDMS Global 2025, Las Vegas: three weeks, no survey
In May 2025 we supplied the LED, lighting, sound and show control for WDMS Global 2025 in the Blossom Ballroom at Resorts World Las Vegas: three weeks from award to show, with no chance to see the room first.
On site the custom stage did not match its drawings and could not carry the load, and the truss was drawn where the hotel had no rigging points. We brought our own load-rated stage riser and, once the plan changed, still built in two days; when the run of show changed during the summit, our operators took it live.
Heyball, Los Angeles Convention Center: four parties, one set of drawings
For the first Heyball parasport world championship, in December 2024, our team designed and built the key visual, stage and floor layout, light show, LED, sound and stage structure, under four weeks from the first brief.
Every design needed four approvals across countries and time zones; the floor plans went through the venue’s fire-safety review, and the rigging was planned with the venue and its rigging contractor.
One checklist: when to decide, and who does it
- Before load-in: Review the drawings: sizes, rigging points, loads, power (WDMS case study)
- Before load-in: Venue rules: rigging contractor, fire review, COI (Heyball case study)
- Design: Draw the room in 3D and lay it out to scale (Dreame case study)
- On site: Own equipment, main and backup playback, engineers who run the cues (Event AV production)
- A launch on a trade-show booth: Playback, sound and microphones run to the booth’s program (Mindray at ADLM, Anaheim)
Where we can help
PixelPro Productions runs launches and summits with its own LED, lighting, sound and show-control equipment and its own engineers: the whole show, or just the LED and playback alongside your production company.
Send us the venue, the date and the plan you already have. We will tell you what the AV involves.
Questions about launch AV
How far ahead should we book AV for a product launch?
As early as you can. PixelPro Productions delivered WDMS Global 2025 three weeks from award to show, but more time leaves room to review the drawings and survey the room, and fewer surprises on site.
What happens if the playback computer fails during a launch?
With a main and a backup media server running in sync, the show switches to the backup without a break. At Dreame’s 2026 launch our video engineer ran Hirender S3 servers main and backup through a PixelHue 4K switcher.
Can you run the AV for a launch on a trade-show booth?
Yes. At ADLM 2026 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Mindray held a launch on its booth; two PixelPro Productions engineers ran the LED playback, the sound and the microphones to the launch program.
