Interactive legacy: Czech Hockey Hall of Fame powered by Ventuz
Lukas Koberna (aka Kobbi), CTO at XLAB, has a deep history with Ventuz:
“ It traces back to 2006, when we were among the early Ventuz adopters. Even then, we were impressed by what the software could do. In 2010, together with my partner Jindřich Trapl, we founded XLAB. We started as a collective of VJs and real-time artists, initially focused on corporate presentations and video mapping. In fact, we were the first to use Ventuz for video mapping shows in Czechia.”
“Ventuz offers the most complete set of tools in the industry for creating touch interaction—without writing code. This let us prototype interactive projects quickly and refine them based on client feedback. It’s the most flexible workflow I know of for interactive applications.”
XLAB Realtime transformed the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame with Ventuz: real-time graphics, touchscreens, and dynamic content management — just in time for the 2024 IIHF Championship.
The Czech Hockey Hall of Fame has long been a must-see destination in Prague. Originally located in a shopping mall next to the O2 Arena, the Czech Ice Hockey Federation decided to relocate it to a new venue in downtown Prague.
The project had a clear deadline, it had to open ahead of the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, hosted in Prague and Ostrava. Over the course of a year, the entire installation was completed — from architectural renovation to AV content development and final implementation — led by Czech creative agency XLAB Realtime, long-time users of the Ventuz real-time graphics platform.
The goal of the project was to create a dynamic AV installation that could be easily updated by the Hall of Fame staff. This requirement made real-time, render-free content the obvious choice. Interactivity was also a key element, with multiple touchscreens integrated with info displays. Highlights included a touchscreen showcasing Hall of Fame inductees on a large wall and another one controlling holographic projections.
To further streamline content management, XLAB developed a custom CMS with a web-based frontend powered by their own API. This enabled Hall of Fame staff to update content, upload new graphics for special events, and even manage new inductee presentations without technical support.
“The new Hall of Fame facility opened just before the 2024 World Championship — which was eventually won by the Czech national team. That meant the system was tested right away, as we had to add new inductees and content immediately after launch.“
Lukas Koberna - XLAB CTO
The installation includes UHD information screens, a large curved LED wall, interactive displays, and integrated lighting and sound — all run on just six workstations powered by NVIDIA GPUs and the Ventuz software platform.
f you’d like to see the installation in person, visit the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame at Nekázanka 857/2, located in the Nové Město district of Prague.
“XLAB delivered another outstanding project for the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. They continue to push our software to its limits and find innovative ways to integrate Ventuz. Their custom API and CMS showcase the platform’s flexibility and how technologies like Remoting and Director plugins can fit into virtually any workflow.“
David Paniego, - Ventuz Technology Product Manager
