Marcos Fernandez (Christie): “Our projectors are so reliable that some companies continue to use models released more than 10 years”

Marcos Fernandez, Christie's country manager for Spain and Portugal, reviews the extensive catalog of solutions (projectors, videowalls, displays…) that the company makes available to the professional AV market, and previews some of the new features that the firm will present at the ISE fair 2013.

Within the professional projection market, Christie cuenta con una extensa gama de proyectores. What differentiates Christie projectors from other manufacturers??
Apart from some technical details, that would be too long to describe, perhaps the biggest differences of Christie compared to other brands are the reliability of the product and the level and quality of its technical support, pre-sale and after-sale, both nationally and internationally. Christie also offers one of the widest ranges of professional projectors, from XGA to 4K resolutions, and since 4.000 a 35.000 lumens. Nor should we forget the experience of the company that, in the film industry, For example, has 80 years of history.

What do Christie equipment contribute to the audiovisual panorama??
All the solutions you can imagine, from medium-range applications to the highest performance levels. Even though Christie is known for offering high-performance, high-gloss products, The company is using that experience to also offer high-performance but lower-cost projectors in the LCD and DLP ranges of 1 chip, designed for all segments and pockets within the commercial market.

What new developments are you preparing in this market niche??
The developments are almost continuous in one or another of our seven product portfolios.; many of them can be seen at the next ISE in Amsterdam (Pavilion 1, stands H40, H46 y H50). There will be very important news, For example, in control room products. We will also showcase the industry's widest offering of LCD and DLP projection solutions from 1 chip, con 32 models from 4.000 a 15.000 lumens.

In the latest edition of IBC, presented Christie Twist 4K technology. What advantages does it mean for professionals in the ProAV sector??
Maximum precision and ease of implementation in multi-screen systems and geometric deformation (curved screens). Con Christie Twist 4K, ProAV professionals can mix and color match images from multiple 4K projectors, easily creating large, ultra-high resolution canvases that display content in the greatest possible detail and without distortion.

With improvements in LEDs and other technologies, We have come to expect continued luminance improvement from LED-based projectors. Is there a maximum limit on the light output of LED floodlights based on the physical limitations of the LEDs?
Indeed, new generations of LED diodes are already coming out.. With the types currently marketed, the luminosity limit is approximately 1.000 ANSI lumens (like our new display cubes for Christie Entero HB video walls) and useful life 50.000-60.000 hours. By forcing their feeding you can reach 1.200-1.500 lumens, but reducing its useful life very significantly to 2.000-3.000 hours.

What role does laser technology play or what weight does it have in the sector?? And the 3D?
The application of laser technology to video projection is still in its beginnings in low light applications., but in 3-5 years (the before) will undoubtedly become of enormous importance (300K-500K lumen projectors, special applications, holography…).Christie has already experimented with this technology in cinema applications: At the last IBC in Amsterdam we made the world premiere of a feature film (Hugo 3D) with our laser projector prototype.

Also last October, in Beijing, in a demonstration before the main exhibitors of the Asia-Pacific region, We achieved the record for the brightest laser projection in the world (72.000 lumens). Regarding 3D, It is already a reality of great importance, especially in virtual reality and cinematography applications.

Is projectors a sector that is evolving rapidly at a technological level??
Pretty quickly, especially in ultralight LCD and DLP projectors 1 chip. In mid-level teams upwards, renewal is constant but, fortunately, not at all at the pace of the PCs. For example, our Roadster range, the most successful worldwide throughout its life in the segment of 12.000-20.000 ANSI lumens (and which at the end of last year has been replaced by our J Series) was launched on the market more than 10 years. Although progress has been made in terms of performance, reliability and cost of ownership, Our projectors are so reliable that some rental companies still use Christie projectors that were released more than 10 years.

Christie's great novelty in the edition 2012 of ISE was the video mapping that they installed at their stand. Does this initiative represent a reflection of current industry trends??
Video mapping is an application that, in recent years, has become quite popular, largely due to very high luminosity projectors (like our Roadsters and Roadies) and to the imagination and virtuosity of the creators and managers of images and content and, indeed, It is an important trend of this industry. In Spain, Last year there were several very outstanding mappings with our projectors, such as those carried out in the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló or Santa Eulalia, among many others. At this year's ISE we will also be able to see an amazing video mapping with J Series and Christie Nitro projectors.

Christie MicroTiles is having great success as display technology in video walls. What do you think is due to?
To the unmatched screen resolutions that they allow and the possibility of achieving special shapes, different from the conventional rectangular format and with very reasonable backgrounds. MicroTiles are so successful because they solve many problems (glow, contrast, resolution, pixel size, spacing between cubes, color calibration, cost of ownership, creativity…) and they are so versatile that they can be used in many markets, such as rental for events, broadcast, control rooms, corporate lobbies, architecture, etc.

Where is the display and video wall solutions market heading?? What about the control room sector??
In low and mid-level commercial applications, digital signage, etc., obviously the market, by price, va a LCD display walls, of more or less decent benefits. In higher level commercial applications, MicroTiles are a very good solution.

In control rooms, usually for more professional use, The most suitable solutions are still based on DLP rear projection cube murals of 1 chip, with LED lighting.

Last November it was the first year of the inauguration of the new Christie branch in Madrid. ¿Qué balance pueden hacer de este primer año de funcionamiento de su nueva oficina en España?
El balance es totalmente positivo. A pesar de las no muy favorables condiciones del mercado en general, nos ha permitido mejorar enormemente el contacto personal con nuestros clientes y “Business Partners” (distributors) a través de demos, presentations, trainings, etc, y el soporte técnico integral de preventa y postventa a los mismos. La oficina cuenta con un amplio showroom donde se pueden ver en funcionamiento los últimos productos proyectores y videowalls de Christie. También tenemos diferentes salas para realizar reuniones comerciales, demos, seminars and training courses, and a space where the technical service works. Y por supuesto todas estas facilidades están permanentemente a disposición de los clientes y partners de Christie para su uso propio.