London’s Royal Institute of British Architects is in the process of updating its audiovisual infrastructure to UHD technology with the help of long-time AV partner Panasonic. The RIBA is one of London’s largest conference and exhibition spaces and hosts hundreds of events annually.
The RIBA’s journey to UHD began with the installation of a 98″ Panasonic TH-98LQ70 Ultra HD screen, with the assistance of Insight Visual Systems, Ltd.
The LQ series packs around four times the pixels of its Full HD equivalent and can operate 24 hours a day. The display is housed in a metal-effect wooden frame designed by Quadra AV. The institute replaced its reception light boxes with two 65″ TH-65LFE8 Full HD panels in portrait mode. The LF series features a simple USB input to allow content to be displayed without the use of a central media player.
Steve Barrett-White, AV Technical Supervisor for The RIBA, said:
“We had a great experience with the two 103” Panasonic plasma panel we purchased some ten years ago. We were expecting around three years of use, but a decade later they are still going strong. However, we are in the process of moving away from a lot of plasma technology, to more modern, more energy efficient LCD technology, which is an important consideration as sustainability is a key corporate initiative for the organisation.
We have replaced one with the new 4K 98″ panel and will shortly replace the other with a video wall. It was an easy decision to replace Panasonic for Panasonic”.
The RIBA is also transitioning to the use of laser projection, with the installation of a 12,000 lumen PT-RZ12 projector in the main auditorium. Barrett-White went on to say of the device:
“We’ve been incredibly pleased with the RZ12, it creates an incredibly vibrant, bright image. We are keen to transition to laser in order to reduce the electrical and maintenance demand within the building’s AV infrastructure”.
The RZ12 packs an on-board real motion processor and is capable of high-speed processing at 120 Hz.
There is also a 10,000 lumen PTDZ10K projector in the building’s Florence Hall and three PT-VZ575s mounted to the ceiling in the canteen for staff briefings.
