Christie unveils laser projection system in Shanghai
SHANGHAI–Christie has unveiled the world’s first commercial pure laser projection system, installed at the prestigious Shanghai Film Art Center.
The Shanghai Film Art Center, the first cineplex to be built in China, has just installed the Oriental Mega Screen and is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and amenities. The installation of Christie’s laser projection system at this facility is a clear indication that high-brightness laser projection technology is officially ready to enter commercial operations. Having successfully demonstrated high powered laser projection systems at numerous industry events for the past two years, including the world’s first commercial laser engagement in 2013, Christie has once again accomplished the pioneering feat of placing this groundbreaking projection technology permanently within the reach of the mass audience.
Christie is in constant pursuit of maximum brightness and the most realistic color reproduction. Christie laser projectors will provide industry-leading brightness of up to 72,000 lumens per projector head, wider color gamut capabilities, higher contrast, and dramatically reduced maintenance requirements, resulting in a better experience for all applications.
With a maximum brightness of up to 72,000 lumens, Christie’s laser technology has achieved an astounding breakthrough, which completely shattered its previous record of 34,000 lumens using conventional xenon lamp technology. Not only does this greatly increase the brightness when viewing 3D content, it also further pushes the capability of high quality visuals and art forms to new heights and restores cinematic colors to its intended realism and brilliance.
One of the biggest advantages of Christie’s laser projection system is its scalable and upgradable architecture, which allows users to precisely select the amount of laser light needed for their screen, with the capability to simply add more laser modules in the future if they wish to increase the brightness. Moreover, using the industry-proven Christie Duo system, there is no practical limit to the amount of light that can be put on a cinema screen. For maximum reliability, Christie’s laser system features integrated cooling in each laser module to provide the right amount of cooling for the lasers that are in use.
If the mechanical cooling components in one module experience a failure, then only that module goes dark, but the movie can still play very brightly with the light from other modules. Competitive architectures feature a single cooling unit, which represents a high risk, single-point of failure for the entire system.
The event at the Shanghai Film Art Center showcases the capabilities of Christie’s 4K laser projection system in displaying spectacular images that redefine the cinematic experience. From the gleaming bodywork of the hottest automobiles to flying sparks from chainsaw-wielding workers, the minute details on an owl’s feathers to soaring grains of sand generated from swift motions of a shark, the crystal-clear waters of natural landscapes to glimmering lights from multiple windows of a New York skyline at night, Christie’s laser projection system elevates stunning and lifelike visuals to a whole new level.
SMPTE extends call for papers deadline
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.–The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has extended the call for papers deadline to July 7 for the prestigious SMPTE 2014 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition, which will take place Oct. 21-23 in Hollywood, California. Proposals may be submitted online at www.smpte.org/cfp2014.
“The presentation of technical papers is an important element of this event, and we strive to ensure that papers address a range of critical concepts and issues that influence the motion-imaging field,” said Paul Chapman, chair of the SMPTE ATC Program Committee. “Though we already have received an array of quality proposals, we are providing additional time for those who may have been considering submitting but have not yet done so.”
The SMPTE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition is a technology event covering motion-imaging and media technology, production, operations, over-the-top content services, and the allied arts and sciences. Proposed papers must be informational and must address technical theory, research, innovation, application, or practice specific to any of the evolving technologies associated with the media technology industry.
Technical paper topics include, but are not limited to, 4K/8K UHDTV and beyond; postproduction; broadcast infrastructure, file-based workflow; cinematography and image acquisition; asset management, storage, and archiving; the “Internet of everything,” the second screen, and alternative content; audio/video processing and compression; content security; new techniques in audio; content distribution; display technology; advanced image processing; mobile, IP, and future distribution technologies; and restoration and preservation.
Student papers are strongly encouraged. Papers that have been published previously or that are commercial or promotional in nature will not be considered. A complete and more specific listing of possible topics, as well as instructions on submitting a topic heading, paper title, and one-page abstract, are available at www.smpte.org/cfp2014.
ARRI launches Spanish and Portuguese websites
NEW YORK–ARRI has enhanced ARRI.com with special Spanish and Portuguese-language versions available at http://www.arri.com/es and http://www.arri.com/br. Visitors can also access the sites through the ARRI homepage by simply clicking on the language tab located on the right side of the menu bar.
As production continues to grow in Central and South America, ARRI recognizes the demand for online resources for its line of award-winning products. The website offers technical information on lighting fixtures, digital camera systems, Pro Camera Accessories and more. In addition, inspiring stories on how creatives use these tools are updated regularly.
ARRI will also have more Spanish and Portuguese language content for its social media outlets, including YouTube and Facebook.
Wohler and Media Alliance team on integrated solution
SAN FRANCISCO–Italian software development company Media Alliance is using Wohler Technologies’ RadiantGrid Intelligent Media Transformation Platform as the transcoding and media transformation engine within its media asset management (MAM) system. By incorporating this file-based technology from Wohler into its Borneo MAM product, Media Alliance has created a turnkey solution that provides its customers with even faster and more efficient combined media management and processing.
“We are committed to providing our customers with innovative, forward-looking solutions built on proven technologies,” said Giovanni Soldi, CEO at Media Alliance. “The solution enabled with Wohler meets this standard perfectly, enabling significant performance gains through the integration of our well-established MAM and file-based media processing products.”
Media Alliance technology is used in more than 20 countries by hundreds of users including Gruppo Espresso, Telelombardia, and Sige in Italy; Expert TV and VGTRK in Russia; Voxafrica in the U.K.; Astro in Malaysia; StarHub in Singapore; KBS in South Korea; TrueVisions in Thailand; TVB in Hong Kong; Intigral in the UAE; and many more.
The core team working on Borneo, Media Alliance’s flagship product, has been actively involved in the development of MAM systems for the broadcast industry since 1991. Borneo was first released in 1994 and has been continuously developed and refined over the past two decades. Today, the version 4.0 release is relied upon daily to provide stable and reliable performance in critical production and media management tasks across the news, sports, program production, and archiving departments. The integrated solution featuring Wohler technology already has been deployed successfully for customers in Asia-Pacific markets.
Within the solution uniting Media Alliance and Wohler technologies, Wohler’s RadiantGrid applies TrueGrid file-based processing to manage and accelerate several tasks simultaneously while allowing users to realize true scalability across multiple machines. The result is a media transformation process that is simpler, faster, and dramatically more efficient than alternative solutions.
“With a strong presence in key markets and a highly refined MAM system and interface, Media Alliance represents an ideal technology partner,” said Craig Newbury, VP of sales, Wohler. “Wohler RadiantGrid technology brings exceptional power and flexibility to the processing of media, and this integration with the Media Alliance MAM system will extend the availability of these benefits to an even greater number of users and media processes worldwide.”
Avid provides Platinum support for EditFest London
LONDON–For the second year running, Avid has signed on as a platinum supporter for the America Cinema Editors (ACE) society’s EditFest London taking place at the BFI Southbank on June 21. The event brings together a world-class line-up of editors, providing both established and aspiring film professionals with a rare opportunity to hear the most compelling artists talk about their work and interact with them in an intimate theater setting.
EditFest was launched by ACE in 2008 in Los Angeles, in response to a need to connect the industry’s top editors in conversation with other editors and post-production professionals. Speaking at this year’s event are an impressive array of BAFTA, Oscar and Emmy award-winning and nominated editors including, Mark Sanger, ACE, (Gravity), Ken Schretzmann, ACE (The Lorax, Toy Story 3), Lucia Zucchetti, ACE (The Queen, Closed Circuit). Commencing the day is an in-depth conversation with ACE president and renowned editor of All That Jazz, Network and The Notebook, Alan Heim.
