Christie keeps a Tipping World in sharp focus

A to V (UK) have dipped into their inventory of Christie Roadster HD10K-M series projectors to help deliver one of the most unusual productions in their history.

As The World Tipped is a new outdoor show, using five aerialists and climbers, which have been touring UK towns and cities throughout the summer as part of their festival celebrations. It made its world premier at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival in May.

Supported by an Arts Council grant, this stunning 45 minute-long outdoor spectacle, written and directed by Nigel Jamieson and featuring the breathtaking performers of the UK's Wired Aerial Theatre, combines dramatic film visuals with aerial performance over a huge stage which literally tips up from horizontal to vertical as, suspended above the audience in the night sky, the performers enact a struggle to control an increasingly precarious world. They stand, then slide, then eventually hang in front of a giant crane-manipulated moving stage onto which dramatic projections complement the aerial dance performance.

A grey-painted 10m x 10m steel sheeting provides the projection backdrop for the M-series projectors as A to V (UK) project manager Matt Bailey explained. His company had originally been contacted by stage manager Dolan Hewison, of Manchester-based production company, CDH Creatives, on the recommendation of lighting designer Jim Gee, who has worked with the projection company in the past.

The immediate challenge had been to interface with Jamie Ogilvie’s intricate, custom-designed stage design, including complex flying hardware and rig movement within the tight rehearsal time frames available at each venue.

The solution was to rig two stacked pairs of the HD10K-M on a front-of-house scaff structure, 40 metres from the stage, and fitted with 2.6:4.1 semi long throw HD zoom lens. The frame, constructed from standard box truss with steel plating screwed to it, starts horizontally on the ground and slowly gets lifted and tilts until it is in the vertical plane. “The base of the stage is 4m from the floor where we first project onto it. — but when it moves to its second position — 8m off the floor — it tilts back 45° before straightening … and that’s when we use the second set of projectors,” he said.

“Because the display is square we do a vertical blend of the lower and upper 1920 x 1080 sections, giving us a 240-pixel overlap.”

All the blending and keystoning takes place within the fully featured projectors themselves although Matt Bailey admits that lining up the projectors was a very easy and speedy process.

The compact, eco-friendly 3-chip DLP projector outputs 10, 000 ANSI lumens with dual 350W mercury lamps. Aside from its 1920 x 1080 native resolution and a variable contrast ratio of 2500-10,000:1 the M Series’ expanded suite of high-quality lenses includes two new zoom lenses – all with true Intelligent Lens System (ILS) capabilities.

“The projector has a great feature set but ease of use and the compact form factor are the fundamental reasons why we like this projector,” says Matt Bailey, whose company also runs a fleet of Christie WU12K-M (WUXGA) 1920 x 1200 M series devices.

On As The World Tipped, A to V have kept the signal path basic, firing the content, made by Inflammable Films from a MacBook Pro running PlayBack Pro, with just the aid of switchers and scalers.

Easy to carry and transport, the Christie projectors, he said had delivered vivid images to a soundtrack created by freelance composer, Patrick Dineen.

They had run flawlessly throughout and certainly delivered the wow factor, judging from feedback. “We managed to create a lot of depth of field over the throw distance thanks to the HD zoom lens, and there was no need to carry spare projectors as these are dual lamp projectors, which can be run in eco-mode, so we had full redundancy.”

Set within the Secretariat of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, As The World Tipped is co-produced by Without Walls and is a TippingPoint/Without Walls co-commission. The production has been so successful that producers, XTRAX are now looking to take it to Australia in 2012.

Why Shell out Far more To Change Your Tv Or Projector

Obtaining a projector model tv is very related to a motor vehicle. You need to incur costs on upkeep to keep it functioning, operating easily, free from static and dusts along with fees of repairs. Before you create a decide on any particular model of Tv, regardless DLP, LCD or projector, make certain you take into consideration and seem in to the element of buying replacement lamps. Sooner or later, you will certainly need to change the bulb around the projection model instead of investing a lot more to replace using a more recent 1. According to statistics, the lifestyle for many rear projection and DLP TVs are in between 4000 to 6000 hrs and 1000 to 2000 for projector bulbs. But, some selected designs could last lesser than 800 hours while others could go in excess of attain or go through 10000 hours. For instance, when you are another person who spends a minimum of three hours per day viewing television, it could endure as much as just about 333 days for your 1000 hours life and 666 days for your 2000 hours. This can be quite real as plenty of people changes the bulb every single 1-2 years, although in some circumstances, many people substitute the lamp every single 6-8 months or each and every 3-4 many years. As a result, it will be rather challenging to determine which the most beneficial bulb that can last lengthier versus the others.

It will be fairly straightforward to find out after you should change the DLP lamp, LCD bulb or the projector lamp. One of many most visible indicators is that the display screen brightness will commence to deteriorate and seem just a little dim than when it was initial purchased. Usually, the symptoms rely drastically on how regularly the Television is used around the a long time. In some circumstances, the dying lamp inside the Tv could have an impact on the other components Television so critically that replacement lamps couldn’t be applied. As a result, it is tremendously advisable which you must prepare or buy a alternative DLP, LCD or projector lamp depending in your Television model. Regrettably, replacement lamps for all projection televisions are rather pricey and costing about 0 to 0 depending around the style and brand. These bulbs is often found easily from reputable digital on-line suppliers at a less expensive value, but it is also advisable to purchase them on line as these objects are considered fragile plus they could get broken in the course of delivery. A good delivery box will do good in that situation.

Putting in the alternative lamps for your projection tv is fairly simple for those who have basic skills on electronics. Commonly, it ought to not be challenging as twisting around a screwdriver to detach the lamp out, inserting and positioning the new unit in and cover the internal compartments together with the Tv cage assemblies, and turning the Television set back on. Some more recent models of television may very well be much more complicated that the remainder. When you’ve got doubts or confused on tips on how to substitute the lamps with out spoiling your tv, seek out aid and guidance from experts and pros or the web for information and facts and guides. On top of that, make sure the spoilt and damaged bulbs are disposed effectively in accordance to state guidelines and regulations as they include unsafe chemicals these kinds of as mercury.

Don’t forget that changing your bulb may also give your Hdtv or projector extra existence thus be very good to the environment considering the fact that that you are extending it’s real life. Obviously, newer televisions are around the market place thus you may give it a 2nd part inside your home or bestow it away to a family member or close friend. In such a way, it would be like recycling it. 

KanexPro CubeUp Turns 2D Video Into 3D

Here’s an interesting product I somehow missed at last month’s CEDIA expo. It’s the KanexPro CubeUp. The name really tells you nothing, which is odd because the CubeUp really does a lot.

First, it’s a 4 X 1 HDMI switcher (four HDMI inputs, one HDMI output) that lets you plug in multiple HDMI sources to a display device via only one HDMI input. This way you’re using the Kanex unit to do your source switching rather than your projector or TV. This of course makes installation much easier, particularly if you’re using a projector, because you only have to run one HDMI cable up the wall and across the ceiling instead of four. Most decent home theater receivers do this too, but this switcher goes a step further.

The really interesting things about the CubeUp (it’s not cube shaped by the way) are it’s processing tricks. In addition to being a switcher (there are tons of these on the market from companies like Griffin, IOgear and Accell), the Kanex is a 2D to 3D video converter. It will take standard 2D content from your Blu-ray player, game console, DVR, etc. and convert it to a 3D source for display on your 3D projector or TV.

The company says that the user can adjust 3D picture attributes such as depth and scaling via the CubeUp’s remote. In addition, the CubeUp will upscale the source resolution from 480p p to 1080p.

There’s also a pass-through mode that sends the video signal straight to the display if you don’t want the CubeUp to do any monkey business.
And being a 3D converter, it supports HDMI version 1.4a.

I see this fitting in much better with projector-based theaters than with flat panel TVs because many 3D TVs sold now already have a 2D to 3D feature. Few, if any, projectors do though.

Remember, this isn’t turning a non-3D TV or projector into a 3D one. It’s converting the source. There was a product called 3D Now shown at the CEDIA expo that did the other trick, but the results were very difficult to judge in that setting. If you missed it, you can read about it here.

How does it perform? I have no idea, but the company offered to send me one to try out, so stay tuned to for more.

A Whole New Ballgame For Ernie

At the top of the first, the house lights dim. When lights come up, they are sharp, and they shine on the house. The accompanying booming sound is stronger than the distant thunder we’ll hear later. And Ernie, the affectionate documentary about broadcaster Ernie Harwell by Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom, is in full swing.

Our setting is a rainy day in 2009 on the service level of Comerica Stadium in a nostalgic version of the tunnel where Harwell always waited before going into the booth for the Tigers. This is furnished with a US flag and the stuff of storage—boxes, a trash bin, a metal ladder on wheels to reach things. Upstage are three large projection screens, two of them separated by World Series posters from 1935 and 1945.  Harwell, 91, is about to give his farewell address when he meets a boy dressed in a suit with short pants and ankle boots, who asks him to recount major moments in his life and career. What transpires isn’t exactly a play; Albom has created a whole new ballgame. Director Tony Caselli says it’s “a mix of traditional play and ballpark attraction, and a moving biography piece about a beloved person from Detroit, all built largely for a sports audience as much as a theatre-going audience, with a lot of wonderful multimedia layered in.” Harwell shares anecdotes, often illustrated by stills and video footage—key moments he covered, his encounters with baseball luminaries, and moments from his personal life.

Scenic designer Kirk Domer found research easy, with Comerica Park right across the street from the theatre. Sizing the projection screens was less easy. “The key to designing the world of the play was to incorporate a series of projection screens that aided in telling the story,” says Domer. “The exciting challenge was to find the appropriate screen size or sizes with the limited throw distance in the 400-seat City Theatre,” without overwhelming the action. The rest of the design team had more significant challenges. Major League Baseball, WDIV-TV, Detroit Public Library, and Detroit Free Press were among those who provided images and footage for projection designer Alison Dobbins, who had to create projections from videos and stills that had been shot over a period of years, some in black and white. Some had been taken by high-definition cameras, some by standard cameras. Frame rates and image sizes varied. Some footage was grainy, some sharp. Since characters sometimes talk about disconnected moments in the same scene, footage from different periods would be shown in sequence.

Another issue was the optics of the dual-lamp projector system. “One is front-projected, and two are rear-projected and closer to the screens,” Dobbins says. Choice of materials was tricky. “If you front-project on muslin, it doesn’t have the same spread as synthetic projection materials. If you’re sitting off to the side, the center screen is dim. The show is very amber, and projectors are very blue. We tried to match the amber, but it came out with more of an orange hint. We wanted it to blend into the scenery. It’s very hard with modern footage to achieve that. Amber makes it look old, sepia-like. Modern footage sticks out.” Moreover, fast-changing baseball images and video have to blend with lighting and sound cues as well as dialogue and stage movement. Sound designer Steve Shannon, production director for Albom’s radio show, had never designed for the theatre. On his first outing, he had to time sound cues precisely with video, lighting, and acting cues, introduce music as rehearsals progressed, synchronize radio calls to video that illustrated what was on the radio, and restore or replace audio when sound was poor on the videos. And the baseball video had problems of its own. Dobbins, who had done a lot of narrative film but no sports video, discovered, she says, “If you start a pitch, you have to finish that pitch.”

Audi A4 Allroad Testing in Southern Europe

Even with Audi’s famous Quattro all-wheel drive system, we wouldn’t recommend any serious off-roading in an A4 sedan, but our friends at Motor Trend have spotted the A4 that can: the updated A4 Allroad wagon.

This camouflaged model was spotted testing in Southern Europe, and underneath the black and white wrap the Audi is wearing a few Allroad-style design pieces. The Audi grille has been flipped so the Allroad will wear vertical, not horizontal slats. There’s also an increased ride height, some tougher-looking rocker panels, and flared wheel arches.

Beyond the standard cadre of Allroad design pieces, this tester, which signals an upcoming facelift for the Allroad nameplate, is wearing some updated projector headlights with revised LED strips shaped similarly to the recently-revised A5, the vertical grille slats are refined, and the front splitter (which features a skidplate-like grille) is slightly smaller. The A4 has another opening next to the passengers-side fog-lamp, which could house anything from the radar for active cruise control to infrared illumination.

With a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder underhood in the European model, we’d hazard that it wouldn’t be all that difficult to bring the Allroad back to the United States, but, despite previous rumors, Audi hasn’t announced any plans for that. We’ll let you know if the AWD wagon is on its way to our shores, but in the meantime, check out Motor Trend for the new photos.

Projectoren helpen bedrijfspresentaties te optimaliseren

Inspringend op de wensen van bedrijven en onderwijsinstellingen heeft Epson, internationaal marktleider op gebied van videoprojectoren[1], de EB-1880, de EB-1860 en EB-1840W geïntroduceerd. Dit is een reeks betaalbare, compacte projectoren met talloze handige functies, die gebruikers in staat stellen snel en eenvoudig krachtige presentaties te geven. Dankzij de 3LCD-technologie van Epson geven deze apparaten een levendig, hoogwaardig beeld met een stevig lichtrendement van wit en gekleurd licht van maximaal 4.000 lumen en een contrastverhouding van 2.500:1.

Het instellen en gebruiken van de apparaten uit deze reeks is een fluitje van een cent. De projectoren zoeken automatisch naar de videobron - na aansluiting hoeft de gebruiker niets meer te doen. Het geluid wordt verzorgd door een ingebouwde luidspreker, die bij de EB-1880 tot 10 W levert en bij de EB-1860 en de EB-1840W 5 W. De 3-in-1 USB-weergavefunctie houdt in dat er slechts één kabel nodig is voor aansturing van audio, video en muis. Ook prettig is dat het uitlijnen van foto's in enkele seconden is gepiept. Verticale keystone-correctie vindt automatisch plaats en horizontale keystone-correctie kan met behulp van een intuïtieve schuifknop of een speciale knop worden aangepast.

Dit is een bijzonder veelzijdige reeks. De EB-1880 beschikt over diverse ingangen, onder meer voor HDMI. Daarnaast kan op alle modellen in de reeks direct de ELP-DC06 USB-documentcamera van Epson worden aangesloten, om documenten in close-up of zelfs 3D-objecten weer te kunnen geven.

Frederic Haton, projector product manager bij Epson Europe, zegt hierover: "Deze nieuwe projectoren bieden een ongelooflijk helder beeld en talloze handige functies voor een betaalbare prijs. Bovendien zijn de totale gebruikskosten bijzonder laag, vanwege het lage stroomverbruik en de lange levensduur van de lamp.

Een ander voordeel is de mogelijkheid voor netwerkbeheer op afstand. Zo besparen bedrijven op onderhoudskosten, omdat de apparaten vanaf één enkele plek in het netwerk in de gaten kunnen worden gehouden. Controles ter plekke zijn dus overbodig."

Outre And Ordinary Cinema Experiences

In my last installment, after being laid off from my job showing the college film series, I visited the projectionist union and was invited by member Don Hansen to visit his booth at Alameda’s Southshore Cinemas…

Built in the late-1960s,Alameda’s Southshore Cinemas (closed in 1998, demolished in 2002) was one of the first multiscreen theaters in theUS. This twin-screen facility had two identical theaters and was built by Robert Lippert, who produced some 180 low-budget “B” movies (many of which were westerns) and at one time owned a chain of some 118 theaters, includingAlameda’s Island Drive In, and the Alameda Theater.

Arriving for my “backstage” tour of Southshore Cinemas, I walked up the narrow fl ight of stairs leading to the booth and was amazed by what I saw. I had been in numerous theater projection booths before, but nothing like this. Most had been dark, grimy, industrial affairs. This was a long, rectangular room that was clean, fairly well-lit, modern appearing and dominated by two huge projectors—one for each screen. Don explained that these were Italian-made Cinemeccanica V18s.

These state of the art devices also ran an automation system that with a touch of a single start button would handle all operations, including fading the house lights and intermission music, starting the projector, opening the curtains, and reverse the procedure at the end of the film, reverse the procedure. Pretty cool, but what impressed me even more was the ability to load an entire feature film on a huge 13,000-foot 35mm reel (nearly three feet in diameter) and play the entire film without the need for changeovers. This allowed a single projectionist to run two screens. And each projector lamp was a high output Xenon bulb with thousands of hours of life—no stinky old-tech carbon rod lighting here! What was equally cool was that fact that Don—an electronics wiz in his own right—also created a large desktop center in the booth with remote switching that allowed him to control and monitor the operations of both screens (via closed-circuit cameras) from that spot. It looked more like something out of NASA mission control than a suburban mall cinema.

The 13,000-foot film reels had a capacity of nearly two and a half hours—great for uninterrupted viewing and could be rewound directly on the projector. However, they also weighed about 70 pounds and lifting one of these and sliding it onto the top spindle (about six feet up) required a feat of agility and strength. This presented no challenge to Don, who devised a system using the motor and worm gear drive from an electric garage door opener to create an automatic lift for the heavy reels. Problem solved.

The Cinemeccanicas were amazing, but had one drawback. The huge film reels took about 20 minutes to rewind, which was an issue with theaters that wanted to run the movie with short (like 10-minute) times between showings. Also, before any show, the film that arrived on 20-minute shipping reels that had to be spliced into one long continuous roll, and once the film run ended, the projectionist would take the film off the big reels, splice the leaders back on and pack the film for its trip back to the distributor or next theater. The process provided plenty of margin for error, such as inserting reel four before reel two, or mismarking the reels before they left for their next engagement—leaving the disaster for the next guy.

These days, the once-common 13,000-foot film reels have all but disappeared, replaced by platter systems. Using platters, on arrival at the theater, the film’s 2,000-foot (20-minute) shipping reels are assembled onto the equivalent of giant, stacked rotating horizontal pizza trays, which eliminate the need to rewind after each showing.