COLUMBUS, Ohio —New Christie dealer Bartha Audio Visual selected the Christie Roadster HD18K 3-chip DLP projector for the Columbus Blue Jackets NHL home opener. The company also used Christie gear for the 81st National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Convention. Blue Jackets fans didn’t have to settle for a rinky-dink projection, either. When their team took to the ice at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, four Christie Roadster HD18K projectors were rigged vertically, approximately 72 feet in the air. By blending four images, the units were able to a single large image on the ice.
Later in October, the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis hosted the 81st National FFA Convention. Four Christie Roadster HD18K projectors were rigged for a 20-foot-by-85-foot front screen blend with a slight curve on the ends.
Projectors at each venue were controlled wirelessly via a laptop and had the option of hardwire control. Bartha Audio Visual’s Jason Fritz was impressed with the results. “For each event, image quality was excellent,” he said. “With all the warping and masking done inside the projectors, it was impressive to see no degradation in the image.”
The Christie Roadster HD18K 3-chip DLP projector has a 1600-2000:1 contrast ratio, 10-bit image processing and high-bandwidth signal processing. It also features a Xenon bubble lamp system, lenses designed for increased image sharpness and manual contrast adjustments for image control. Other features include built-in edge-blending, two HD input channels that allow 4:4:4 signals, digital dark level adjustment, an Intelligent Lens System on zoom and focus and DMX 512 communication capabilities.
Bartha Audio Visual’s Nick Wears spoke favorably of the wireless capability of the units, saying they were “easy to set-up and they can go wherever you need to be at the time to deliver stunning images and effects. Furthermore, the ability to generate alignment patterns at the same time really makes load-in and tweak time that much faster and easier for the technician.”
Wears also found that the masking feature worked well around the curve of the ice and that the Christie Twist software delivered the necessary finishing touches. “The masking feature really gave the video an exact match to the structure of the boards and the warping function made it much more convenient to dial in the blend region, given the fact that the projectors were around 70 feet in the air for the Blue Jackets and 30 feet for the FFA.”
“We’re thrilled to be supplying Christie projectors to our customers,” said Bartha’s Dan Bashore. “Their image quality meets all of our expectations, the operational costs are quite attractive and enhanced features like Twist software allow us to meet unique challenges like projecting onto curved surfaces.”
For more information, please visit www.christiedigital.com.
