Christie used NAB to showcase its latest projectors and announce a new name for its RGB laser source: Freedom. This source can deliver laser illumination by fiber optics to a projector head in 5000 lumen increments up to 60,000 lumens. The three projector heads the company now offers include:
- The DCI compliant Cinema projection head (Christie Solaria CP42LH – capable of up to 48Hz)
- The ProVenue 60Hz model (Christie D4K60LH – capable of up to 60Hz)
- The Immersive 120Hz head (Christie Mirage 4KLH – the only laser system capable of up to 4K resolution at 120Hz in a single projector).
These projectors open up opportunities in simulation, planetariums, location-based entertainment or rental and staging although the 20m maximum length may be a bit limiting for that market. A video of the RGB laser presentation has also been posted on DisplayDaily. (Christie Shows 2020 Material at NAB 2015)
We also got to see several new series of lamp-based projectors from Christie. The new Boxer and H series were introduced at ISE, but NAB represented their US debut. The Boxer for example, is a 30K lumen model that is a lot smaller (2’x2’x1’/60cm/6ocm/30cm)) and lighter (150 lbs/68kg) than previous products in the same lumen range (see photo). It uses six UHP lamps and it can be hung in several orientations. Embedded inside are the TrueLife electronics which offer a fast 1.2 Gbps pipeline for the 120 fps operation at 4K resolution.
There is also a clever NFC capability that allows a service technician to simply bring his phone or tablet in close proximity to the projector to read out all kinds of status data. This is particularly useful for rental companies who can now easily see the use the last customer had, hours on the lamps, etc without having to power up the projector. There is also a service toolkit built right into the projector. The projector is designed to operate on single phase 208V supply, but it can power up one lamp using 120V supply allowing quick set up and adjustment if the 208 power is not yet available – another handy feature for rental and staging use.
Stepping down in lumen output to 12K lumens is the H series, which is similar to the M series, but smaller. This is a 1-chip DLP platform that uses dual UHP lamps and includes built-in warping and blending and advanced color correction. It is offered in FHD resolution for $20,995 or WUXGA resolution for $21,995 without a lens.
Christie also debuted its first ultra short throw projector, the Q series, that offers a short 0.38:1 throw ratio. The D series will get a short throw later as well. These can create 100 to 350 inch images using an all-glass lens that offers better stability of the image due to better thermal management in the lens. There is also the ability to adjust the focus at the center and at the edges. Christies sees good applications for this in house of worship, R&D and other markets. It will be available in May for $7,500 MSRP.
Also Launched at NAB was the new Christie D Series 3LCD single-lamp digital projector series with brightness ranges of 6000-8000 lumens and 10,000:1 contrast ratio.
