Digital Projection HIGHlite Laser II Sets the Course at Hengdian Studios

The integrator Project:Syntropy has used 16 Projectors Digital Projection Highlite Laser II and Software AV Stumpfl Pixera to take the visitor to a new dimension within the 'Flying Theatre' attraction.

In the early years 90, Hengdian Group acquired a large tract of agricultural land in central Zhejiang (China). The goal was to build a large film studio and, subsequently, add attractions to turn it into a theme park that recreated thousands of years of Chinese history and culture. Today, Hengdian World Studios It is known as the largest film studio in the world, with more than 370 Hectares, and has received more than 150 million visitors from 2011.

With more than 1.200 Movies and TV shows shot on its premises, including the live-action remake of Mulan in 2020, The studio has continued to share Chinese culture with the world. Film crews can rent available scenes for free, thanks to the theme park attractions that provide the constant flow of tourism that fills the site every year.

Hengdian World Studios is always looking to keep innovating and expanding for the 20 millions of tourists who visit it every year. In his last bet, visitors immerse themselves in the so-called 'Flying Theater' (Flying Theatre'), installed within the set of the Qin Palace.

The German integrator, Project: Syntropy, worked on the concept and design of the system for the theatre, including delivery, Local installation and maintenance. Leveraging its experience of more than a decade in the world of flight training and simulation, developed a new generation of flight experiences.

“The theater is a mix between a theme park attraction and a movie theater”, explains Christoph Bode, Project Technology Manager: Syntropy. “Patrons are suspended in the attraction's seats in front of a domed screen of 25 metre. These wobble and move as if the users were in the movie, creating a fully immersive experience”.

The projection equipment for this venue was a vital component to the theatre. The projection had to be impeccable, with visitors directly facing at all times. Project: Syntropy chose 16 Projectors Highlite Laser II of Digital Projection for attraction.

“We needed a projector that could deliver a state-of-the-art visual result without the need for frequent maintenance. The Highlite Laser met all our requirements”, explains Bode.

With 13.000 Lumens, This projector offers a visual performance full of sharp and striking colors with a dynamic contrast of 10.000:1. With its solid-state lighting system, The projector does not require the replacement of the lamp in its more than 20.000 Hours of lighting life, further reducing total cost of ownership.

“The visual result is magnificent, with impressive uniformity for master playback of the full 4K display. Brightness values were vital to the size of the dome and the Highlite met them with ease”, adds Bode. “We also needed a company that was close by, that would allow technicians to be on site within a day, and Digital Projection China could provide it”.

Lars Steffens, Project Projection Expert:Syntropy, Explains how the projectors and calibration cameras were installed around the dome screen opening, ensuring full visual coverage.

The visuals of the dome are supported by a sophisticated surround sound system of more than 20 channels behind the screen, ensuring that users are immersed in a totally different world.

“We calibrate the projectors with the camera-based system of domeprojection.com, which does it in less than 20 minutes for the 16 Projectors, which is important for the nature of the attraction”, says engineer Juliane Neumann, that performed the initial calibration of the system and established the automated procedures.

Projectors can be controlled and calibrated thanks to the media control interface software Pixera by AV Stumpfl. Thanks to its user-friendly interface, It allows any park employee to manage the system without needing to have a lot of experience in projection or calibration.