Panasonic Projector & Display Corporation, a leading audiovisual technology provider, has acquired 100% of the issued shares of UK-based media technology company HIVE MEDIA CONTROL LTD, bolstering its capabilities in media playback and control for immersive and fixed-installation settings.
This signifies a further step in Panasonic’s development from a hardware-led manufacturer to a provider of a broader visual solutions ecosystem, moving its offering beyond projection and display into software, workflow, and integrated media-delivery.
Panasonic has acquired 100% of HIVE's issued shares
HIVE will continue to function as an independent company with a vendor-neutral approach to the market. Panasonic will support HIVE’s ongoing expansion while maintaining the independence, flexibility and openness that have established its market position.
This includes continuity for HIVE’s current clients and collaborators, including those using HIVE with projector and LED display brands beyond Panasonic.
'Interconnected, adaptive and free to evolve'
By helping to manage playback, synchronisation, and content control across numerous displays and surfaces, media servers are a key component in immersive environments and large-scale visual installations.
With this acquisition, Panasonic extends its ability to support clients across a wider portion of the workflow, from content playback and control through to deployment and operation, as well as at the display endpoint.
Based on the Intel Smart Display Module (SDM) standard, HIVE’s signature BeeBlade platform facilitates direct integration with projectors, direct-view LED display systems and professional displays.
Yousuke Adachi, CEO of Panasonic Projector & Display Corporation, says: "This is a strategically important step for Panasonic as we continue to evolve our business beyond a hardware-oriented model toward broader visual solutions and workflow value.
"Under MEVIX, our visual solutions brand, we have been clearly articulating our commitment to contribute to customers across the total workflow, not just at the hardware endpoint. This acquisition is a major step in that direction and an important step forward in growth guided by the spirit of the MEVIX brand.
"HIVE brings proven expertise in media playback and control, and when combined with our projector and display portfolio, we believe it can create meaningful customer value through simpler deployment, greater flexibility and a better end-user experience.
"At the same time, we fully respect HIVE’s position as a standalone business open to working with the wider market, and we look forward to the synergies from HIVE’s continued growth also creating value for Panasonic."
The Panasonic and HIVE teams
Mark Calvert, co-founder and CEO of HIVE MEDIA CONTROL LTD, says: "We are inspired and honoured by the opportunity to work with Panasonic, while continuing to grow HIVE as an open and independent ecosystem.
"In nature, the most powerful systems are interconnected, adaptive and free to evolve – a philosophy that sits at the heart of HIVE.
"This partnership gives us the scale to accelerate our vision while preserving the openness and platform-agnostic approach our customers rely on.
"I would also like to thank my co-founders, Dave Green and Trey Harrison, and our incredible HIVE team – whose belief and dedication mean we move into this next chapter together."
Driving major international projects
Panasonic sees potential for growth in the media server market, supported by rising demand for immersive attractions, museums, themed environments, and other permanent visual installations.
HIVE has built a solid presence in this space by delivering a more compact, scalable, and future-proof approach, with an SDM-native architectural foundation and an open ecosystem design.
For clients, the mix of HIVE’s media control architecture and Panasonic’s projection and display technologies is anticipated to deliver value through improved deployment versatility, a smaller infrastructure footprint, fewer external devices, streamlined cabling and simpler installation and operation.
By using HIVE and Panasonic solutions together, clients can benefit from an improved end-user experience.
HIVE’s media servers have been adopted at significant international projects, such as the BBC Earth Experience, the National Museum of Qatar and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel exhibition. Such installations showcase their potential across immersive attractions, cultural institutions and large-scale visual environments.
Furthermore, the media control company's BeeBlade platform and broader media control ecosystem have been honoured with numerous prestigious global industry awards.
More details on the partnership will be announced in due course.
Recently, Panasonic collaborated with the Cercle Odyssey world tour, the first large-scale touring concert of its kind. This deployed Panasonic’s 3-Chip DLP projectors to reinvent immersive cinematic storytelling by synchronising 4K visuals with live music.
