Nordisk Film Shortcut approached Optoma, which brought in its ProDesign team to advise which projectors would be suitable and calculate how many projectors would be needed to blend and cover the whole dome.
Its feasibility study included technical drawings showing the exact location of each projected image to achieve full projection coverage across the dome.
Sixteen Optoma 8,200-lumen ZU850 ProScene projectors, featuring MultiColor Lasers, were installed around the base of the dome.
These WUXGA resolution projectors form part of Optoma’s DuraCore laser range which champions an industry-leading lifetime laser light source delivering a minimum of 20,000 hours in full brightness mode. They feature MultiColor Laser (MCL technology) which achieves superior colour to deliver striking and rich lifelike images with exceptional detail.
Needing minimal maintenance, their airtight optical engines have been independently certified as IP6X and engineered for 24/7 continuous operation.
They offer flexible installation with HDBaseT, four corner geometric adjustment, 360° and portrait orientations and five lens options giving a throw distance from 0.81m to 35.5m. They also have 100 adjustable brightness settings to help installers match the brightness when edge blending multiple projectors.
Vioso blended and warped the imagery from the 16 projectors to become one seamless image around the dome using its patented projector calibration solution. Three small IP cameras were mounted along with the projectors to be able to re-align the projected images if and when they go out of alignment in the future.
With the media server solution “Wings VIOSO”, the fulldome content is synchronised with the theatre’s main auditorium projector to create a dynamic experience where the content sweeps across the screen and up into the dome.
Vioso used fibre optics for the signal transmission to the projectors because of the long cable runs and to ensure there was no delay.
Sven Giersch from Vioso, said: “It was a particular challenge to operate on such a huge surface. But we are proud to have mastered the calibration procedure accordingly and achieve such a high precision of overlap.”
Nordisk Film Shortcut designed and produced all content for the lightshow that would become the signature start for all films in the cinema.
Other elements of the refurbishment included a new 22m wide projection screen. This is 15% bigger than a tennis court and the largest Ultimate Screen in Europe. The screen material reflects 75% of ambient light to enhance the imagery – particularly in 3D. The theatre’s sound system was also upgraded with 50 new speakers and of its 888 new seats, two rows are electric armchairs that can be adjusted at the touch of a button and have USB charging points for mobiles.