latest news headlines
Global Immersion Integrates projectiondesign in UK’s Largest Digital Planetarium
As part of the dramatic transformation of a Hampshire auditorium into a state-of-the-art planetarium, projectiondesign has supplied six of its F30 sx+ DLP projectors to immersive theatre design and integration specialist, Global Immersion. The projectors are part of the Global Immersion Fidelity Bright fulldome solution, which also integrates a Global Immersion Media Director, Server and Playback system, eight channel audio system, and a Global Immersion wireless theatre control panel.
Located near the historic city of Winchester, the INTECH Science Centre, which aims to inspire and excite young people about science and technology, relocated to a new purpose built, lottery funded building in 2002. The Centre already draws around 90,000 visitors a year and was originally built with a dome structure that was used for science shows and as a corporate and conferencing facility.
Last year Phil Winfield, INTECH’s director, successfully attracted funding from SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) to upgrade the auditorium into a fully-fledged digital planetarium. The project was the first to be won by Global Immersion since its management buyout from systems integrator SEOS in the summer of 2007. The company is currently working on ten other similar theatres around the World.
Martin Howe, CEO of Global Immersion says: “As well as providing all of the technology for the project, we have also produced a custom show for INTECH called ‘Neighbourhood Earth’ – a presenter-led show that uses our Media Director fulldome movie software and the UniView real time software from SCISS AB. This platform uses a standard Windows interface, so as well as meeting requirements for the science and astronomy curriculum, the movie can be adapted by the presenter, depending on the audience profile.”
The UniView software allows real-time space flight and astronomic data visualisation, and INTECH’s Planetarium manager, Dr. Jenny Shipway, has been trained to use both the software and the wireless control panel so that shows can be edited and customised as and when needed.
For alternative content, INTECH will be showing a range of pre-produced Fulldome shows from across the World.
The INTECH dome measures 16.5 metres across and now has seats for 176. The six F30 sx+ projectors provide a total resolution of over eight million pixels for the Astro-tec screen surface, and the effect is enhanced by 160 segments of LED cove lighting, stage spotlights and audience floodlights, all controllable wirelessly from the latest version of the Global Immersion theatre control and management system. The whole set-up also benefits from remote diagnostics, enabling Global Immersion engineers to access its status and provide assistance at any time and from anywhere in the world.
Commenting on his company’s use of projectiondesign projectors, Howe says: “This particular solution met the client’s specification and requirements for a stable, dynamic system with high brightness and high resolution – all within budget. projectiondesign are a close partner of ours, and we work with them on each project to carefully select, colour-match and grade the projectors at the production unit in Norway. This ensures that the client receives the highest specification of hardware.”
Anders Løkke, marketing and communications manager at projectiondesign, adds: “We’re justifiably proud to be involved in such an application of such importance. As well as offering exceptional brightness, resolution and colour accuracy, it is the ability of our company to provide close collaboration with our partners that enables us to support projects such as the INTECH planetarium. This is a specialist application and you cannot simply deliver six standard boxes to the client and then just walk away. Global Immersion appreciates our personalised approach to customer support, and we look forward to working with them on many similar projects around the world.”
7th March 2008
HEADLINES
news archive
search stories
FOOTNOTE: Select the news type you require in the red band above; this will enable you to see the current news stories from that section
© 1999 - 2012 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories
