Devin Townsend's The Moth: On Air Case Study
Kayleigh Phillips
•August 20, 2025•7 min read
Summary
Devin Townsend's ‘The Moth’ was a once-in-a-lifetime rock opera premiere, decades in the making. It was performed live with 119 musicians and no advance studio recording. The show was planned for a strictly limited run of two in-person performances, which sold out in four minutes. Devin and his team had one goal: to ensure the fans unable to get tickets could witness this monumental occasion in the most efficient (but unobstructive) way possible.
On 28 March 2025 (show two of two), On Air delivered ‘The Moth’ to a global audience in real-time. This was deployed with a robust, low-footprint livestream system, integrating AWS cloud tools, AJA ColorBox, Bitmovin, and BuyDRM for a high availability, DRM-secured stream. With dual-ISP failover, real-time analytics, and on-the-fly transcoding, we ensured a flawless, real-time 4K UHD performance across devices. This innovative collaboration overcame artistic, technical, and financial risk, streaming the debut of a decade-long passion project without compromise, and transitioning instantly to on demand replay. The result: a truly cinematic at-home concert experience.
Context
On Air offers a premier TVOD streaming service designed to deliver the vibrant atmosphere of live entertainment directly to fans at home without compromising the quality that fans experience in person, aimed at audiophiles and home-cinema enthusiasts alike. On Air content has reached fans in over 140 countries. On Air also offers those with accessibility requirements access to live entertainment that might otherwise be unattainable. The company combines decades of in-house production and technical expertise with technology partners in the specialist audio and video sectors.
The show was available to stream with unlimited replays through On Air's website, mobile, and TV apps, supporting browsers and devices such as Chrome, Edge, Safari, Apple iPhone, Google Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Google Android TV.
Devin funded and organised teams for choir, orchestra, scoring, and visuals, overcoming scepticism about his capacity to manage such a large-scale, logistically complex production without compromise. He delegated responsibilities across specialist teams working in different locations, with staggered schedules for score delivery. ‘The Moth’ featured a 119-member ensemble: 63 musicians, 50 choir members, Devin and his 4 band members, and guest singer Lynn Wu (lead singer of the progressive metal band Ou).
The Challenge
Delivering this ambitious, one-time event worldwide introduced technical and logistical challenges.
Capturing a complex, fully live rock opera two-hour vocal showcase with acoustic and band augmentation, with complex parts, involving 119 performers on stage. The project needed to overcome Devin’s concern that past livestreams were “so janky” with unpredictable sound mixes (one loud kick drum or off-balance guitars) and ensure this debut would not compromise the show’s subtle musical nuances.
The project required a 10‑camera 4K UHD production from Groningen to reach a global audience across public internet links, while ensuring consistent quality and smooth playback on desktop, mobile, and TV apps.
This was an entirely new opera without an advanced studio recording that would require flawless live mixing, synchronised click tracks for choir, orchestra, and band, and seamless intermission handling.
Our Solution
To address the project's challenges, On Air implemented a coordinated set of technical and production strategies. We began with joint pre-production workshops alongside Devin’s creative team to define audio-visual requirements. Our compact AWS-powered fly-pack was deployed behind the stage, designed to reduce the physical footprint while maintaining high technical standards and preserving audience sightlines. This mobile setup also supported complex staging and timed visuals central to the opera’s narrative.
The live show was captured using a ten-camera 4K UHD array, including crane and dolly cameras, with placements carefully mapped to ensure cinematic storytelling without obstructing the in-venue experience. Real-time colour correction was provided via AJA ColorBox, ensuring consistency across feeds.
All technical equipment and crane positions were integrated with careful reference to the stage design and audience layout, ensuring no disruption to the sold-out crowd of 1,500. Although cable trenches are not shown in diagrams, they were routed separately to avoid interference with performer or audience areas.
The livestream was delivered over dual ISP connections (KPN and VodafoneZiggo) feeding into four geographically distributed data centres across two regions. We used AWS Elemental MediaLive and MediaPackage to transcode the stream into multiple resolutions and codecs in real time, enabling optimal playback across global networks and devices. DRM-protected delivery was handled through Bitmovin’s player.
Real-time Bitmovin Analytics allowed for intelligent CDN routing based on performance data. This ensured optimal stream performance across global networks. After the live show, the recording was immediately made available on demand. Our in-house transcoder removed the intermission section, ensuring a continuous and polished viewer experience.
"Delivering a flawless global stream for Devin Townsend was a true showcase of collaborative innovation. Together with AWS, Wak in the Park, 2sat, and an incredible network of partners, we brought a uniquely immersive broadcast experience to audiences around the world. From ingest to delivery, every technical detail was fine-tuned to ensure reliability and quality at scale - a testament to what’s possible when the right teams come together."
— Rick Bal, On Air Technical Director
