10K PROJECTOR SOLVES THE PROBLEM

The guys from Panavision were recently faced with this challenge on a city hall renovation project. It was a case of 'Challenge Accepted!' Panavision received a request to provide a solution in record time.

Due to circumstances beyond control, the solution and pricing structure had to be submitted within four days of receiving the brief. Panavision approached the team at Electrosonic SA for assistance; after all, as the saying goes, two heads are better than one. So we put our heads together, but not before firing up the coffee machine and donning our thinking caps.

The first challenge Panavision faced was to fill the 8,8m wide screen. The ideal solution would have been a rear projection system, but the maximum width was only 6m, which didn't suffice. Front projection it was going to have to be. This presented the second challenge - where to mount this thing? And by that I mean we had to establish a physical mounting location for the projector. Because the hall had a very high roof, a ceiling mounting would not only be tricky but would also result in an eye-sore in the smack-dead-centre of the finished ceiling.

It would also have to hang quite a few meters down in mid-air, something that would've displeased many users of the theatre. The solution was to mount the projector against the back wall underneath the gallery bulkhead. This proved to be very practical from a mounting point of view but unfortunately resulted in a massive 60m throw distance (distance between the projector lens and the display surface); enough to make any projection designer shudder.

This large throw distance posed another major challenge; how to deliver the required brightness and resolution to adequately display a bright Full HD image and fill the massive projection surface way up front.

So it was back to the drawing board; and after doing the calculations we came up with a solution. The correct projector and lens combination delivered exactly what we needed. We suggested a NEC PH1000U projector with a light source that delivers 10 000 ANSI lumens to provide the brightness required. And we used a NEC NP29ZL long zoom lens (4.16 - 6.96:1) which filled the 8,8m wide screen from 60m away. It was impressive, even if we say so ourselves.

The NEC PH1000U is a 3-Chip projector with a high definition 16:10 resolution (WUXGA – 1920x1200) for installations that demand the highest levels of heavy-duty usage. The Five optional bayonet lenses and an integrated stacking frame make it ideal for high-end display solutions. Features such as the motorized lens shift, and easy analogue or digital connectivity, make it a real gem when it comes to cost and time management. Great picture quality from the 10-bit Hollywood Quality Video signal processing, and a dual lamp system to deliver the powerful 10k brightness, makes this machine even more appealing to the user. It also offers special characteristics such as 3D Stacking; Blanking; Crestron RoomView; DICOM Simulation; Digital 3D Reform™; Edge Blending Function (03.2012); Free Tilt; Geometric Correction; Lens Memory; Lens Shift and Lens Shutter with Powerpoint, Movie, PDF and USB Picture Viewer; RS-232 Control; and Seamless Switching.

So, to close off the chapter, we did it! Between the teams at Panavision and Electrosonic SA we created the perfect solution that matched the requirement and got the nod from satisfied customers. Not only was this an awesome projection design and installation, but also the first of its kind in South Africa from the NEC arsenal.

At Electrosonic SA we pride ourselves in providing world class design assistance and in meeting tight turnaround times. What's more, we offer this service at no additional charge. We invite our customers to take us up on the offer.

Article by Abrie du Plooy (NEC & GALAXY Product Manager)