Cinefilia in the German Rhineland with Kinopolis and Christie

Leverkusen, a Rhineland city of around 166,000 inhabitants, is becoming a mecca for film lovers thanks to a new theater in the Kinopolis complex equipped with a 250 m² screen, state-of-the-art immersive audio and high-end solutions from Christie.

Have you ever been to Leverkusen? This German city, with a firmly established pharmaceutical industry, is known throughout the world, especially by fans of the successful local soccer team. Not so much for culture lovers. For starters, it is located halfway between Dusseldorf, which excels in the fields of fashion and art, and Cologne, famous for its cathedral. In cultural terms, it is therefore measured against quite powerful rivals.

But things are changing, and this Rhineland city of about 166,000 inhabitants is becoming a mecca for film lovers, who come attracted by the Theatre 4, a movie theater that is part of the complex Kinopolis, located in the heart of the city and which, thanks to its fabulous 250 m² screen and state-of-the-art immersive audio and high-end products from Christie, It has become a unique and leading space at the service of the best cinema.

As if that were not enough, with capacity for around 650 spectators, Theater 4 is the largest venue in the region. Last but not least, it also boasts the largest movie screen in all of North Rhine-Westphalia.

“The Kinopolis in Leverkusen is, for us, a success story,” says Helmut Brunotte, owner of the complex and who, together with his family, manages most of the cinemas in North Rhine-Westphalia, including neighboring Cologne. For Brunotte, this cinema is much more than a place to watch movies: it is an entertainment center that offers the public a whole range of options, each more tempting. "Continuing our tradition, we have installed the most innovative technology in the Leverkusen complex, and we have spared no effort or investment in updating the complex. For us, these multiplexes occupy a position of maximum leadership in the region."

Two Christie CP2230 projectors from the range Solaria They provide the ideal lighting for the large cinema screen, and Dolby Atmos technology and the Christie Vive Audio sound system ensure that the sound in the room is the best and provides some seats with motion technology to reinforce the action that takes place on the screen. Together, all of those elements create the perfect movie experience.

The collaboration with Christie is another of the traditions of Leverkusen Kinopolis. Before the arrival of the digital age, the complex had been using the company's 35mm projectors for years with great success. That is why we are not surprised that when considering the move to digital, the company opted, once again, for Christie technology.

In 2011, all eight rooms in the complex were equipped with Christie digital projectors. The new projectors, designed with the strictest observance of DCI standards, today offer the citizens of Leverkusen an entertainment experience unknown before their purchase: a visual experience impossible to achieve with home cinema systems (whatever their price). On the large screens in these theaters, viewers enjoy movies, but also artistic, sporting or other types of content.

The project

Needless to say, the visual quality of what the audience sees on screen is difficult to beat. But also, ECCO Cine Supply and Services, a company based in Hilden (near Dusseldorf), an expert in the supply of cinema technology and a partner of Christie, recently installed a new sound system based on Christie Vive Audio speakers and amplifiers in Theater 4, to extract the full sonic potential of the theater system. sound Dolby Atmos and 16-bit digital audio.

A total of 51 LA5 loudspeakers and 21 Christie CDA amplifiers were installed, with an amplification power of 88,500 watts. The system uses Christie Vive Audio technology, an exclusive combination of ribbon driver technology in a linear array design for enhanced dynamic range. The innovative technological solution reduces distortion and ensures precise audio reproduction, allowing all seats, and not just those located in the optimal center point, to equally enjoy perfect cinematic sound.

“We wanted a sound system that matches our technological status, but at an affordable price,” emphasizes Peter Hebbel, operator of Kinopolis Leverkusen. The use given to Theater 4 as a space for all types of premieres also means that it has to meet the needs of the most diverse applications. For example, opera performances by the New York Metropolitan, or classical music concerts by the Berlin Philharmonic, are regularly screened there.

Thomas Rüttgers, CEO of Ecco Cine Supply and Services GmbH, points out that "the ribbon driver technology achieves incredible clarity and tone, especially when playing music. Hence the suitability of the Theater 4 for projecting alternative content."

Por su parte, Wolfgang Burkhardt, director de Proyecto de ECCO Cine Supply & Service GmbH, declara que “Los altavoces LA5 permiten una amplia distribución horizontal de 120ª del sonido, y controla patrones de distribución vertical de 50°. Es decir: que el sonido llega justo adonde se necesita”. Una gran ventaja, especialmente en combinación con sistemas tan avanzados de sonido para cine como Dolby Atmos.

In the specific case of Theater 4, up to five sets consisting of one LA5 and two S215 units were combined to create a forward system. As a high-rise surround system, ten LA4C units were installed under the ceiling, to which 20 LA4S surround units were added: seven on each side (left and right) and six as rear speakers. Two S215 units make up the bass control system at the rear of the room, with two subzones with one S215 unit each. Four S218 units are used for the LFE (low frequency effects) channel.

The new sound system has turned a “conventional” multiplex theater, with ascending seating row layout, into one of the best cinemas in Germany, if not Europe. For the screening of the second part of The Hunger Games, several rows of seats were set up with D-Box movement, which move in synchronization with the action taking place on the screen in films specially adapted for that system.

Peter Hebbel has been able to take advantage of practically all the possibilities that today's technology allows. The cinema, in operation since 1998, also has a dual 4K projector, with two Christie CP2230 units and a 3D polarization system. "We manage a conventional multiplex complex, and we must remember that our customers pay their ticket not only to see a movie, but to live a very special experience that affects all the senses. And that can only be achieved by using the latest technology," concludes Hebbel. “With 4K/3D, Dolby Atmos, Christie Vive Audio and D-Box, we have the complete package to truly make the much-vaunted “immersive” cinema experience a reality.