Panasonic acquires Hive to expand immersive media capabilities

Panasonic Projector & Display Corporation has announced the acquisition of UK-based company Hive Media Control, expanding its capabilities in media playback and control for immersive and fixed-installation environments. According to Panasonic, the acquisition forms part of a wider strategy to evolve beyond a hardware-focused business model into a broader visual solutions provider spanning projection, display, workflow and integrated media delivery technologies.

Despite the acquisition, Hive will continue to operate as a standalone vendor-neutral business, maintaining support for customers using its systems alongside third-party projector and LED display brands.

“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,” commented Yousuke Adachi, CEO of Panasonic Projector & Display Corporation. “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.”

HIVE develops media server and playback technologies for immersive attractions, museums and permanent visual installations. Its BeeBlade platform is based on the Intel Smart Display Module (SDM) standard, allowing direct integration with projectors, LED displays and professional display systems.

“We are inspired and honoured by the opportunity to work with Panasonic, while continuing to grow Hive as an open and independent ecosystem,” said Mark Calvert, co-founder and CEO of Hive Media Control. “This partnership gives us the scale to accelerate our vision while preserving the openness and platform-agnostic approach our customers rely on.”

Panasonic stated that the combination of Hive media control technologies and its own display portfolio is expected to improve deployment flexibility while reducing infrastructure complexity, cabling and external hardware requirements across immersive installations. Hive systems have previously been deployed on projects including the BBC Earth Experience, the National Museum of Qatar and the Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel exhibition.