VISUAL SOLUTIONS

THE AUDI EXPERIENCE GOES 360° WITH PANASONIC PT-DS100X PROJECTORS

In 2012, Audi chose to refurbish the Audi Pavilion in the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, the world's leading automotive destination. ProfiMusik was awarded the contract to reinstall the light and sound technology.

THE AUDI PAVILION AT WOLFSBURG'S AUTOSTADT, THE WORLD'S LEADING AUTOMOTIVE DESTINATION WAS REINSTALLED BY PROFIMUSIK IN 2012.

The 'Rotunde' is the centrepiece of the Audi Pavilion. Visitor preferences are stored on a glowing sphere, handed to everyone upon entering the Pavilion. This is used to create a unique video experience for anyone entering the Rotunde, projected across 360° in the room, and customised to the user experience.

ProfiMusik selected the Panasonic PT-DS100X as it was the best choice as a versatile, high brightness projector and when assessing their requirements, it was the leading high definition projector on the market.

EDGE BLENDED PROJECTION

Toby Lange, CEO, ProfiMusik, said, "The projector project in the rotunde was a challenging install because of the geometry of the room. The 360⁰ video wall was achieved with 12 DS100X projectors with SXGA+ resolution and an overlapping area of 256 pixels. SXGA+ projectors were chosen for the low Total Cost of Operation and the video content is played out using Brainsalt media servers."

PROJECTING AUTOMOTIVE PASSION

Upon entering the Audi Pavilion, visitors receive the Audi Sphere, an interactive globe with LED lights that change colour when navigating round different areas of the site. To learn more, visitors can place the sphere into recessed docks built into the walls, activating a screen with a wealth of visually stimulating information and images.

A special grand finale of the Audi Pavilion is the 360° media projection room. Visitors are treated to a customised video, intelligently tailored by information collected from the different active Audi Spheres around the room. ProfiMusik, a leading system house for media and event technology, were the genius hands behind the AV integration and technology solution provider for the site. To bring the rotunde to life, 12 Panasonic DS100X projectors were installed as the basis for the dynamic 360° edge-blended projection.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES: CHALLENGE SOLUTION

The need for 360⁰ projection six DS100 projectors were installed to meet the need for bottom projection; space dictated these needed to be at different heights. The lens shift feature allowed a perfect projection around the 360⁰ room.

An easy to use system The Panasonic projectors and a number of fix installed cameras were integrated with Brainsalt System's Auto Alignment Software. This takes pictures of each projected image and the software calculates the requirement for image warping and edge blending parameters automatically. This plug and play application meant that the system could be switched off and on without the need for specialist support.

"Our experience with Panasonic projectors has been very good. They require minimal servicing compared to other products which we have found to fail more. Panasonic is our first choice, when a client requires projectors." Toby Lange, CEO, ProfiMusik

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES: CREATING A PERFECT CURVE

One of the challenges that was overcome was the positioning of the projectors within the rotunde. They were positioned around the outside of the circle, at different heights. Six projectors needed to be individually adjusted to reflect this positioning. The installation flexibility of the DS100X helped ensure that a perfect image is projected at all times.

Toby Lange, CEO ProfiMusik, said, "We used third party auto correction, lens shifting, edge blending and colour matching. This is all automated so that the staff only need to switch on the kit and it auto corrects to give a perfect result."

MINIMAL MAINTENANCE

Toby Lange, CEO, ProfiMusik, said, "Panasonic projectors are very easy to work with. We have used one set of replacement lamps for 12 projectors in nearly two years which is better than good. They require minimal servicing compared to other products which we have used in the past. Panasonic is our first choice, when a client requires projectors."

PANASONIC EDGE BLENDING SOFTWARE: AHEAD OF CURVE

2014 saw the latest development and introduction of Panasonic Edge Blending with the arrival of ET-CUK10 software which allows automatic edge blending, colour matching and geometric adjustment for high-end DLPTM projectors. The Auto Screen Adjustment upgrade kit, available for Panasonic Professional models including the PT-DZ21K, DZ13K series and DZ870 DLP™ projectors, dramatically reduces installation time and cost.The ET-CUK10 shortens adjustment duration time for multi or curved screen projections and makes seamless imagery that's edge blended, colour-matched and geometrically adjusted.

AUTOMATIC EDGE BLENDING, COLOUR MATCHING AND GEOMETRIC ADJUSTMENT

This system combines camera technology and Geometry Manager Pro software, with just a few easy steps for set-up. Tom Gibson at Panasonic, said, "The auto screen adjustment upgrade is compatible for a range of convex, portrait, concave and S-shaped screens."

HIGHER BRIGHTNESS, EXCELLENT PICTURE QUALITY AND RELIABILITY ALL IN A COMPACT BODY

The Panasonic PT-DZ110X series of 3-chip DLP Projectors combine high levels of picture quality, reliability, and function and system expandability into a compact body. Packed with original, advanced Panasonic technology, these projectors produce a full 10,600 ANSI Lumens of brightness and their dual lamp system and Auto Cleaning Filter (ACF) greatly reduced equipment downtime and improves reliability.

Tom Gibson, Regional Marketing Manager at Panasonic, said; "In 2014 we introduced ET-CUK10 upgrade kit for Panasonic PT-DZ21K, DZ13K series and DZ870 DLP™ projectors which can dramatically reduce installation time and cost."