PLASA 2011: Christie - from Nitro to MicroTiles

9 September 2011

UK - Following success at ProLight&Sound earlier this year, Christie's new-look theatre arrives at Earls Court this weekend to take up its PLASA position in Hall 1, Stand E18. The Christie stand will once again present an integrated light show with video animations using Christie Nitro Solutions. Previewed at PLASA last year, this modular series of motorised moving yokes can provide up to 22,000 ANSI lumens of video projection, with the flexibility to allow the user to deploy the yoke with either a video projector or a LED light head.

Noted lighting director Bruno Corsini is tasked with creating and choreographing the show in a convergence of video and lighting-derived patterns. Corsini has a long list of accomplishments, including last year's landmark lightshow for Mexico's Bicentennial of Independence in the Mexican capital's main square.

As in Frankfurt, the PLASA display will be divided into two zones - one side featuring a simulated theatre/dancefloor for the animated lightshow (piloted by Corsini himself), the other featuring a video mapping display using the brand new J Series and award-winning MicroTiles managed by a Christie Spyder X20 processor, in addition to a two-channel edge blend with two Christie Mirage WU12K-M projectors.

All three Nitro yoke options will feature on the stand, including a dedicated demo of the new YK50 which will mount an LX700 3-LCD XGA projector. Others include a dual-arm motorized yoke option (the Christie YK200), for larger video projectors ranging from 12,000 to 20,000 ANSI lumens - exemplified by the Roadster S+20K. There will also be the Christie YK100, a single-arm yoke for LED heads and projectors ranging from 5,700 to 15,000 ANSI lumens.

Of the Nitro Solutions, Corsini says, "No other solution on the market provides such a level of flexibility and power. The brilliance of 22,000 lumens cuts through a lot of ambient and stray light from other sources and allows light engineers to break away from a traditional frame, shooting onto virtually any surface anywhere. This really offers new perspectives in lighting and events in general."

Other eye-catchers on the stand include the new J Series - the evolution of Christie's award-winning xenon illuminated 3-chip DLP systems, the Roadster and Mirage.

The J Series targets a variety of applications within the rental staging and fixed install markets, as well as advanced visualisation and simulation segments. The new series, which can be upgraded from 2D to 3D stereo whenever owners wish, offers the flexibility for customers to continue using existing Xenon product accessories - lamps, stacking mounts and lenses - as well as newer M Series input cards and lens accessories, says Christie. New features include WUXGA resolution in a Xenon projector and embedded Christie Twist that allows for image warping without purchasing additional electronics cards.

Among the items on show will be the WUXGA resolution WU14K-J and Mirage WU20K-J 3D projector, WUXGA DLP 3D projector, using solid-state LED illumination.

Finally, Christie will also show two new LCD projectors for the first time - the LX1200 and LHD700. The former is an XGA (1024 x 768) resolution, successor to the LX1000, the latter a 7000 lumens full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution projector - both utilising 4DColor technology.

(Claire Beeson)