Christie and HOYTS announced that HOYTS Chadstone has become the first cineplex in Australia to install Christie’s groundbreaking RGB laser projection system that delivers the ultimate visuals for the best cinematic experience.
Located within the sprawling Chadstone Shopping Centre, HOYTS Chadstone comprises 13 auditoriums, including the 390-seat “Xtremescreen” premium auditorium fitted with a massive 24-meter wide screen – one of the biggest in Australia. The projection system here comprises a Christie CP42LH3DLP 4K RGB laser projector featuring enhanced wavelength diversification (EWD), connected via fibre optic to a laser rack housing nine laser modules that generate white light from multiple combinations of RGB primary colour wavelengths to offer a spectacular 3D viewing experience on silver screens. Installed by the technical teams from Christie and HOYTS Cinema Technology Group, the system generates 45,000 lumens – much brighter than what current digital projectors with lamps can offer.
“We are proud to offer this brand new cinema technology for our guests to enjoy a movie experience like no other,” said Damian Keogh, Group CEO, HOYTS. “Making a trip to the movies a memorable experience is important for us and introducing Christie’s cutting-edge projector is part of making that happen.”
Adam Wrightson, General Manager, HOYTS Cinema Technology Group, added, “The Christie RGB laser projection system launching first in our biggest cinema at HOYTS Chadstone will redefine the digital cinema experience by achieving the brightest and the most realistic colour reproduction, higher contrast, and dramatically reduced maintenance requirements, resulting in rich and vibrant visuals. We are also impressed by the flexibility of the system, whereby laser modules can easily be added, removed, activated or disabled depending on the brightness requirements, so it is highly scalable and easily upgradable.”
Anchored by the Christie Freedom laser illumination system, the CP42LH produces a colour gamut that exceeds the DCI P3 colour spec and replicates the Rec. 2020 space, making it the most advanced RGB laser cinema projection system available on the market. It consists of rack-mounted laser modules where each module can produce up to 5,000 lumens of white light. Because of the scalability of this platform, up to 12 laser modules can be easily added, removed, activated or disabled depending on brightness requirements. This provides up to 60,000 lumens per rack. Each laser module is also independently cooled, providing built-in fault protection, improved efficiency and reliability.
Michael Bosworth, General Manager, Christie Australia, said, “We’re heartened that HOYTS, Australia’s largest single-brand cinema chain and a longstanding user of Christie cinema solutions for many years, has placed its trust in our award-winning RGB laser projection system, which has effectively demonstrated how 3D light levels, colour fidelity, image uniformity, viewing comfort, and a sense of immersion can be greatly improved. The cinematic presentation delivered by our CP42LH with EWD in one of the HOYTS Chadstone Xtremescreen auditoriums will not only captivate movie-goers, but also provides confidence to cinema exhibitors in terms of performance and reliability.”
Lin Yu, Vice President, Christie Asia Pacific, commented, “We’re delighted that HOYTS has installed our RGB laser projection system for its latest state-of-the-art cinema complex in Melbourne to deliver an unparalleled laser projection and viewing experience. Since our RGB laser rollouts two years ago, major exhibitors around the world have selected our RGB laser architecture, which continuously demonstrated the capability to provide incredible brightness, a reinforced colour spectrum and an extraordinary contrast ratio that significantly improves the efficiency of 3D projection systems.”
Besides the CP42LH deployed in one of the Xtremescreen auditoriums, the remaining halls in HOYTS Chadstone are equipped with Christie Solaria™ Series digital cinema projectors comprising the CP2220, CP2230 and CP4230 models, all of which provide the best in both conventional and premier movie experiences. Regular movie screenings will commence with the official opening of the completely rebuilt cineplex on October 13, which will offer a host of amenities, including luxurious halls with reclining chairs.
Christie’s RGB laser projection system is the preferred choice for a premium 3D cinema experience in a number of cinema chains around the world. In Asia, theatres equipped with Christie laser projection technology include Tongzhou Wanda Cinema in Beijing, the iconic Shanghai Film Art Center, Suning Cinema in Shanghai and Zhenjiang, Oscar International Cinema in Xi’an, and SM Seaside City in Cebu, the Philippines.