CYPRESS, CA – Five digital displays comprised of Christie MicroTiles help create a visually dynamic corporate headquarters at SAS, an independent vendor of business intelligence in Cary, NC. SAS needed a green solution – functional and artistic – to enliven its hallways, briefing center and other areas throughout the building. A 40-foot Welcome Wall is the highlight of the installation, greeting visitors in the registration area.
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CYPRESS, CA – SAS has selected and installed 197 Christie MicroTiles comprising five walls, four Christie projectors and four Christie Spyder X20 video processors at its worldwide headquarters in Cary, NC. SAS is among the largest independent vendors in the business intelligence market.
“In designing our new executive briefing center, SAS was creating a technology and functional showpiece,” said Woody Weaver, SAS senior manager of engineering and operations. “MicroTiles, with their 1 mm bezel between each tile, provide a virtually seamless wall with the flexibility to build almost any configuration. Our building is platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and MicroTiles met our requirements as a green solution with their low power consumption and no consumables.”
“You see the LEED Wall (4 Christie MicroTiles wide by 2 Christie MicroTiles high) as soon as you enter the building,” continued Weaver, “along with a second, smaller video wall nearby (5 MicroTiles wide by 4 MicroTiles high). The showcase display is the 40-foot long Welcome Wall (28 MicroTiles wide by 4 MicroTiles high), which becomes the backdrop for our registration area. We also have the Future Wall (12 MicroTiles wide by 3 MicroTiles high) displaying current and upcoming events.”
Located on the sixth floor, the executive wing’s Executive Wall features a 7 MicroTiles wide by 3 MicroTiles high array displaying computer models, cable television content and digital signage.
“We often send content from our auditoriums and meeting rooms to the Executive Wall, so others can watch the presentations,” added Weaver. “Even with a skylight overhead, the MicroTiles still look good. Next, we’re implementing a touchscreen application using infrared sensors.”
Two Christie Spyder X20 video processors manage and control the content fed to the Christie MicroTiles.
“We can transform our lobby into a technology showcase and use the Welcome Wall in conjunction with our Spyders for our conference registration areas,” said Ken Weaver, senior IT manager, SAS. “For example, for an education conference here our graphics team designed a themed background for the wall, to which we added letter logos to facilitate the registration process. We often repurpose one wall several different ways just by changing up the display content.”
Two additional Christie Spyders deliver content in the center’s two auditoriums. Both spaces feature two rear-projected Christie HD10-M projectors with a Christie Spyder X20 blending the content onto 30-foot wide by 10-foot high screens. Two Christie HD6K-M projectors in each auditorium present content for two smaller, flanking screens.
“We chose Christie because it is good product. The MicroTiles have been reliable,” Woody Weaver said. “The MicroTiles run 12 hours a day, six days a week and definitely provide that ‘wow’ factor for our clients when they walk into the building.”
Integrator AVI-SPL installed MicroTiles at the high-tech firm after becoming familiar with the technology on other installations. Will Parry, senior vice president, special projects groups at AVI-SPL said, “We were happy to use the MicroTiles again after several large installations. We’ve had great success with them in the past, and highly recommend them to our clients.”
