South Florida Museum selects Barco to install state-of-the-art immersive digital dome system
Bradenton, FL – Residents of South Florida will experience breathtaking space visualizations and dazzling shows at the newly refurbished 50-foot diameter dome, 139-seat Bishop planetarium.
“We are very excited to be working with Barco,” said John Howard, Director of South Florida Museum. “We know many people that have been on the Queen Mary 2, seen Sky-Skan’s digital theater with Barco SIM4 DLP™ projection system, and reported that the performance is outstanding. This affirmed our decision to move forward with Barco.”
“Barco is pleased to be a major contributor to this program,” said Hernan Rodriguez, Director of Edutainment & Entertainment at Barco Simulation. “We’re looking forward to working with the South Florida Museum and our partners to bring the latest in digital dome technology to the people of Bradenton.”
The Bishop Planetarium at the South Florida Museum will be equipped with the latest in digital dome technology for the ultimate experience in immersive, visual and audio edutainment. Barco’s complete solution includes a multi-channel, high-fidelity digital projection system; digital content display and multi-media system; dome screen; comprehensive control and management center; peripherals devices; and system cabling.
An array of seven Barco SIM 4 DLP projectors with SXGA resolution is configured to paint a blended, seamless image on the entire dome. Six of the Barco projectors are located around the perimeter of the dome to create a panoramic image. The other Barco channel is positioned at the interior of the perimeter to project the Zenith field-of-view for optimum balance of brightness and blending. This ergonomic configuration allows room for extra visitor seating. To take advantage of delivering a wide range of content, an additional projector — a single-channel Barco Galaxy Warp three-chip projector — will pump high-definition video and static images on the hemispherical screen.
Barco partnered with Sky-Skan to provide DigitalSky – the real-time digital planetarium and 3D graphics system. This state-of-the-art system from Sky-Skan consists of a versatile content development and image generation platform, capable of presenting high-definition video, real-time 3D graphics, and high-performance digital surround sound. Barco also partnered with Astro-tec to provide the high-quality, seamless perforated dome screen.
Early in the planning phase, the South Florida Museum had high-expectations for building its state-of-the-art facility. It was important that the planetarium was equipped with the absolute best in visual display technology that offered the highest performance and maximum resolution. The museum also wanted to equip the planetarium with the finest sound system to immerse patrons in rich, dramatic audio experiences. Last, the museum required content versatility. To keep customers coming back for more, it was essential to have access to a wide range of show content and new programs. Barco and its partners worked closely with the museum to develop a complete system solution to meet the planetarium’s creative, technology, and longevity needs.
More on Barco Technology
Barco’s SIM4 DLP projectors are equipped with high-performance hardware and built-in software to handle the complete application needs of the digital dome. They work hand-in-hand with Sky-Skan’s Digital Sky system to effectively predistort and optically blend images to project a single, immersive image on the entire dome surface. Barco’s Galaxy WARP high-resolution, three-chip DLP projectors feature perfect color matching, excellent color uniformity and color saturation, automated brightness matching, built-in geometry distortion, built-in edge blending, and excellent contrast.
For accurate alignment of all projected images and easy maintenance, the Barco digital dome system includes laser array alignment units, placed immediately underneath the projectors. These lasers project reference points on the dome, allowing for accurate adjustment and periodic realignment of the projection system.
The digital dome system is also equipped with Barco’s xRACUTM – a revolutionary solution to streamline the setup and control of the multiple projection system. The xRACU can simultaneously control up to 32 projectors and makes several projectors appear as a single projector to the user. The unit instantly detects the projector type, location, and when a projector is replaced, and it automatically downloads its display parameters. The Barco xRACU is “future proof,” using a common interface across all projector types and technologies including projectors not yet on the drawing board – and is backwards compatible.
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, provides visualization and display solutions for professional markets. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. Barco has a network of subsidiaries, distributors and agents in almost 100 countries. Barco is quoted on Euronext Brussels and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company. www.barco.com
About the South Florida Museum
The South Florida Museum is the largest natural and cultural history museum on Florida's Gulf Coast. [South Florida Museum to provide remainder of description.]
About Sky-Skan
For over 35 years, Sky-Skan has been the world's leading provider of media technologies and facility design for domed theaters. Sky-Skan's products and services include their trademark SPICE Automation Show Control System, SkyVision fulldome video projection and DigitalSky digital planetarium systems, as well as complete turn-key facility design and construction management services.
There are over four dozen permanent DigitalSky and SkyVision installations completed to date and over 250 SPICE Theater Automation systems installed in planetaria, large format film theaters, domed media theaters, museums and science centers around the world.
Sky-Skan maintains sales, production facilities and technical support on 3 continents with its offices in Nashua, NH USA; Munich, Germany; and Melbourne, Australia. More information on Sky-Skan, DigitalSky, SPICE Automation and other technologies can be found at www.skyskan.com.
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