Christie launches Solaria One projector for emerging markets, community cinemas

Christie has announced the launch of its Christie Solaria One digital projector.

Aimed at emerging markets and community cinemas with screen sizes under 10.6m (35 feet) wide, the projector delivers DCI-compliant images at 8,000 lumens within the DCI colour space and 10,000 lumens when presenting alternative content.

The Solaria One ships with a zoom lens, a high-performance Xenon lamp, an Integrated Media Block (IMB) for playing high frame rate content and Screen Management System (SMS) for controlling the system.

Don Shaw [pictured], senior director, product management of Christie said: “Exhibitors will also appreciate Christie Solaria One’s built-in dual DVI (HDMI) and network ports, rendering it capable of displaying virtually any form of alternative content. And customers should also note that they are not locked into a projector-based, proprietary storage system.

“We strongly believe that mechanical hard drive platters should not coexist within the projector chassis and that such systems featured in competing solutions are a failure waiting to happen. DCI-compliant, robust, external storage systems based on the very latest commercial RAID5 technology are available through Christie sales representatives for use with Solaria One.”

The Star-Kinekor Theatres, South Africa’s largest exhibitor, will be the first to use the Christie Solaria, having ordered 198 of the projectors.

Ster-Kinekor CEO, Fiaz Mahomed, commented: “The Christie Solaria One projectors offer superb quality with a heightened viewing experience for movie lovers. These projectors are perfectly suited for smaller screens and are very cost effective. Ster-Kinekor is proud to be the first chain in the world to deploy this product and we believe that this partnership meets the very real demand from our valued audiences in seeing the best film content at its greatest.”

“The DCI Digital Cinema System Specification helps to ensure a uniformity of excellence among products destined for the world’s cinemas and promotes deployment of high quality digital cinema equipment,” added Travis Spann, president & laboratory director, AEGISOLVE, INC. who certified the Solaria One as DCI-compliant. “The Christie Solaria One has clearly satisfied the applicable criteria for interoperability and rigorous content security as specified in the DCI Compliance Test Plan.”