Christie to Demonstrate Innovative 4K 6 Primary Laser Technology at CinemaCon and NAB 2014

Fiber coupled, the 6 Primary projection system architecture is ideal for immersive 3D experiences, including Dolby 3D.

Christie today announced demonstrations of the world's most advanced Dolby 3D and laser projection architecture that will take place in the Christie Innovation spaces at CinemaCon 2014, taking place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from March 24 to 27 and at NAB from April 5 to 10.

Christie DLP Cinema laser projectors, using the 6 Primary (6P) color laser modules that will enter mass production in early 2015, will demonstrate that 3D lighting levels, image uniformity, viewing comfort and immersion can be significantly improved, especially in combination with advanced separation technology such as Dolby 3D, compared to conventional 3D systems currently used in cinemas. everyone.

Don Shaw, senior director of product management at Christie Entertainment Solutions, recognizes that "the drop in the number of viewers of 3D movie theaters that has recently been detected would indicate not only that the novelty has ceased to be new: also a reduced willingness of the viewer to pay more for what is often a rather mediocre experience. The poverty of that experience is the result of a series of technical limitations in current 3D architectures. The most serious is the limited lighting levels, between 10% and 30% of those achieved with 2D presentations. Simplifying, I will say that the films are too dark, leaving the audience the task of distinguishing important details that make up the image that unfolds before their eyes.

"Christie's latest laser projection technology, which uses six specific primary colors instead of filtered or polarized broad-spectrum white light, radically improves the efficiency of 3D projection systems, regardless of the screen size of large movie theaters. We believe that this advance is the future of 3D cinema projection, a future that is just around the corner and that will be a fundamental factor in increasing 3D box office revenues around the world. Our demos at CinemaCon and NAB Show, the first 6P Laser events held for the greater film community, from film directors to exhibitors, confirm Christie's eighty-year commitment to cinematic innovation and that goes beyond the promise to “move beyond digital cinema” made by some other players in the sector,” added Shaw.

Christie's 6P laser projectors, which at least double the efficiency of today's best 3D, deliver a proprietary mix of photooptically optimized light wavelengths for each eye directly from the source, eliminating the need to go through a highly inefficient stage of filtering or polarizing the light exiting the projector. In the demos, Christie will use Dolby 3D glasses specially prepared to couple to the 6P laser light wavelengths and thus achieve a lighting efficiency close to 90%.

For Shaw, "professionals in the sector rightly see this color separation technique for 3D as a key reference, especially for its chromatic realism, compatibility with low-gain white screens and its good behavior against crosstalk. Added to all this is that it can now be incorporated into a system that is infinitely more efficient from a lighting point of view."

For his part, Doug Darrow, Senior Vice President of Cinema at Dolby Laboratories, maintains that "Dolby 3D's advanced color separation technology is perfect for the next generation of laser projectors. With extremely high light efficiency, virtually no crosstalk, and razor-sharp images with vivid colors, we believe that the combination of Dolby 3D and laser projection creates an unbeatable 3D viewing experience for movie audiences."

Matt Cowan, co-founder and senior technical advisor at Entertainment Technology Consultants, agrees: "I saw one of the first 6P laser demonstrations at Christie's global engineering, research and development center in Canada, and I can safely say that this is a crucial and exciting innovation for 3D cinema. We just have to wait and see how the technology is perfected and rolled out to major movie theaters around the world."

In line with the efforts made to date in the development of 3 Primary (3P) laser projectors, which for Christie have solved important needs in several non-film industries, Christie laser projectors are set to provide industry-leading brightness, with up to 72,000 lumens per projector head, as well as a wider color spectrum, higher contrast and radically lower maintenance requirements. Result: a better experience in all applications. In the largest research and development program Christie has ever undertaken, the brand will continue to develop superior 6P and 3P laser projection solutions for its customers around the world.

Christie supplied and installed the world's first commercial laser projection solution at the Seattle Cinerama Theater a few months ago.