Industry standard design brings real-world opportunities to Esports students at the University of Staffordshire. Reece Webb reports.
Staying at the bleeding edge of Esports has been the cornerstone of the University of Staffordshire’s efforts to lead the way in this burgeoning industry. Recognising the lucrative potential offered by the world of Esports beyond a flashy gimmick, the University of Staffordshire in the UK was the first educational institution to offer an Esports degree, and since then, has strived to offer facilities and technologies that reflect the university’s pioneering approach to the industry.
This is where Digital Garage enters the game – a renowned systems integrator with extensive experience in the world of Esports and broadcast. The university required an integrator that not only understood the technology well, but could offer a system that would meet industry standards, offering students a real world environment to learn, experiment, and thrive in.
Matt Seymour, managing director, Digital Garage, explains: “As a result of being an early adopter, other universities had an edge from a fit-out perspective, so this project was an investment to put the university back at the top tier. Their expertise is still second to none in the area, but the facilities were not at the level that they ought to be or providing the student attraction. The University of Staffordshire has a phenomenal reputation because they were first, and they have an incredible passion.”
Unorthodox offerings require unorthodox solutions, and with this Esports studio, Digital Garage rose to the challenge of providing a holistic, turnkey system for the university that would see the company take on every aspect of the build and fit-out process.
“If this project had been done in the traditional way with the client managing it, they would have brought in a builder, an electrician, air-con specialist, architect etc.”, explains Seymour, “they would have ended up talking to a company like us [further on in the process]. The conversation initially started around systems integration and wiring, and the University already had an idea of what they wanted to do on the kit side, and they wanted to bring it all together. We ended up saying to them that we could do it all; we could take care of every element and provide a holistic approach, maximising the budget, maximising the time frame etc. The client wanted to work with vendors that they knew, but we took the reins [on this project]”.
Digital Garage even went the extra mile by fundamentally changing the course of the project with this approach, altering the design and layout of the space and turning away from an initial two floor design to a consolidated, single floor approach.
“This is unified from an operational standpoint,” explains Seymour. “We took them down a route of technological innovation that they hadn’t thought about, and what we delivered is something that delivers the Esports experience, but also from an employability perspective, they have equipment in there that isn’t ‘like’ what’s used in the industry, it is what’s being used in the industry. That includes the replay system, which is the EVS GO 8-channel server, as well as all the Panasonic AK-HC3900 studio cameras which are professional quality, integrated into a ST2110 environment which is perfect for Esports due its low latency. Their students are getting exposed to cutting edge kit and transferable skills that will enhance their employability at the end of their degree, this is something that the university is focused on as an institution.”
The integrator went through a rigorous design process to consolidate the studio onto one floor. The final design consists of a primary Esports arena with 63 audience seats, two player teams consisting of five players per team on a central stage at the front of the arena, and a large, open plan teaching space which was converted into two broadcast production galleries with an associated server room.
“A compact yet perfectly formed television studio that was consolidated from one large classroom. We took the bare bones of those rooms, divided them up into requisite areas to create the various spaces that we needed. That’s all linked through a broader network to the university’s other Esports areas on the floor above, which consists of some large computer labs and the university’s original studio and arena space,” says Seymour.
At the heart of this studio are Leyard Europe’s MGP 1.5mm LED panels. The initial concept was to have one small display in the middle of the stage, a concept that was gradually expanded to become a 12m x 1.69m central screen, along with two 4.8m x 0.68m screens on the front of the desk of the players, creating a statement piece for the arena.
Digital Garage worked closely with the client throughout the construction and fit-out process, finding ways to optimise the setup and to balance the budget carefully to deliver on learning outcomes.
Seymour explains: “Very early on, we were looking for a manufacturer that we could engage with both from a commercial and technical standpoint. We had some challenges that we needed to overcome. We did an analysis of the budget and found that it was scoped to spend a lot more on the build, and less on the tech. We really wanted to turn that around, but also wanted to deliver with a quality build. We changed the emphasis and spent more on the tech than the build, and that was very positively received by the technical team and the academics as it feeds into what they can deliver in terms of learning outcomes.
“By taking that step back, analysing what they were going to spend in terms of kit, we noticed that they were taking a very ‘audio-visual’ approach because that’s what they knew about, whereas we believed that we could bring more broadcast technology which adds a huge amount of value to the depth of what you can deliver on the course.”
Seymour continues: “The interaction with Leyard was brilliant, helping us with the technicalities of splitting the panels off, and exploring all of the possible options open to us. We did screen tests with camera types, sending out our virtual production engineer to Leyard’s demo facilities to run on-camera and frame rate tests. While we’re not using this for virtual production, all of the content is on-screen and it cannot flicker, it must be colour accurate. Leyard had the stock in Europe, which was vital to us, as we were on a tight time frame.”
Digital Garage also created its own rigging system. Martin moving heads are featured throughout, with an image-to-light processing system which allows the university to send video to the lighting system, synchronising the lighting with action on the video wall.
“The Kairos is the beating heart of the space,” says Seymour. “Being natively 2110 was a great starting point for the project. It’s low latency, great integration, and being resolution agnostic allowed us to send anything anywhere, in any aspect ratio. When you have a screen layout that has a presenter’s desk, screens underneath the gamers, then the large screen behind, there are some unusual aspect ratios, and the Kairos can handle it seamlessly. Panasonic 4K PTZ cameras were also integrated into this system, creating a flexible, high-quality system that can cater to the varying aspect ratios and demands of the room.
“There are two Kairos systems in the environment as there are two production galleries. Each gallery can drive each individual space, but they can also work in a consolidated manner to operate the whole environment for an event or production.”
An EVS Replay server and SDI to ST2110 bridge/routing systems are used throughout, with Digital Garage specifying EVS’ Neuron network attached processor, operating with EVS’ Cerebrum as the system’s GUI.
Seymour says: “We use Cerebrum as the ‘brain’ to stitch everything together from a control perspective, it’s the glue that makes it all work. This is being used widely in industry as an operational layer to stitch disparate manufacturers’ protocols and functions together. Students with an interest are able to dive much more deeply into the technology.”
Editshare shared storage is also used extensively to bring editing functionalities for the studio environment, providing opportunities for real-time replay and post-production work. Seymour clarifies: “Editshare provides shared storage functionality for the studios, which means that we can record directly to the Editshare and that shared storage is available in the labs, and post-production facilities so that the students can create pre-edited pieces in the studio. The Editshare can be used for group work where the audio and video can be stored centrally, collaborated, and transferred to the EVS environment for replay. It gives us a fabulous real-time workspace that will be expanded upon.”
Allen & Heath Avantis consoles are also used in both production galleries, with Audio-Technica wireless microphones, as well as Electrovoice loudspeakers and subwoofers.
Seymour explains: “Everything on the audio side is tied into the IP environment via Dante, AES67 or proprietary protocols. While there is traditional coax video cable, it’s predominately an integrated network facility which gives them the opportunity to integrate with their old facilities as well as the new, or the wider university campus.”
Achievement unlocked
While the quality and technical prowess of this project speaks for itself, the client even recognised this installation with its own internal award for a comprehensive fit-out that not only met learning objectives and gave the university a strong competitive edge, but also delivered on effective collaboration between university departments.
Seymour explains: “The University has an internal project success award, the innovation and transformation award, for building new buildings or refurbishing space. This project has won that award as an example of a project exceptionally delivered with fantastic integration and interaction across various departments. The buy-in we had from IT and from technical teams was fantastic.”
Today, Digital Garage offers both on-site and remote support, but the project is not standing still and resting on its laurels. Already, the faculty is aiming to explore new functionalities, harnessing the in-room technology to deliver new functionalities and interaction.

Seymour says: “The University is already exploring in-game data streams where they can play out things like headshots in game and how that data can be used to trigger lighting or a sound effect, giving them a real platform to explore the capabilities of this technology.”
“This was the perfect marriage to say to the client that we can deliver something quite exceptional here, something that is quite different to what the client would have if they took a different approach. We completed this project in four months, and the pressure was on. We also kept innovating as we went as we believe that if we see a better way of doing something, then we want to do it. The client completely embraced that approach, and we’re so proud of that because of the approach that we took and the buy-in from the involved parties. They could see the benefit that our one-stop-shop approach was bringing. The facilities now for Esports outstrip their other departments, and this project is the barometer of the university for technology.”
Kit list
Video
Leyard MGP LED videowalls
Panasonic Kairos live production program, PTZ cameras, Broadcast cameras
Martin moving heads
Audio
Audio-Technica microphones
Electrovoice loudspeakers, subwoofers
Yamaha Dante converters
Allen & Heath Avantis mixing consoles
Control
EVS GO replay system, Neuron network processor, Cerebrum Management system
Editshare shared storage