SAS installed four Christie Spyder X20 video processors at its worldwide headquarters in Cary, North Carolina. Two manage and control the content displayed on the Christie(r) MicroTiles(r) walls while the other two manage and control the content on auditorium screens.
SAS, the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market, provides business analytics, data management and IT management software and services to the financial services, government, retail, energy, life sciences, manufacturing and numerous other industries.
Morrisville, North Carolina-based Thorburn Associates Inc., an international acoustics, technology and lighting design firm, worked closely with SAS to determine the company's needs and recommended the optimum solution. Derek Meares, associate principal at Thorburn Associates and the project's lead designer, says the Christie Spyder X20 software played a key role in the product's selection.
"It had the functionality we were looking for: It was easy to manipulate, set up looks, and change them in an automated fashion. This was especially important in the auditoriums where SAS takes its "on-the-road events" in-house - the events are very interactive and they often need to make changes on the fly. Although the content of the MicroTiles walls is more stable, SAS needed the ability to change those looks, too."
Two Christie Spyder X20 video processors are dedicated to SAS's two auditoriums. Both spaces feature two rear-projected Christie HD10K-M projectors with a Christie Spyder blending content on 28-foot by 10-foot screens. Two Christie HD6K-M projectors in each auditorium display content for two smaller, flanking screens.
Christie Spyder Manages and Controls Content on Five Christie MicroTiles Walls
A 4 units wide by 2 units high Christie MicroTiles configuration greets visitors as soon as they enter the building and the new SAS headquarters is platinum LEED certified for its green sensibilities. A second 5 units wide by 4 units high MicroTiles wall is nearby in the lobby.
The standout display is a 40-foot long Welcome Wall, in a 28 units wide by 4 units high configuration, which acts as the backdrop for the registration area. The lobby's 12 units wide by 3 units high Future Wall displays current and upcoming events. In the executive wing on the sixth floor, the fifth MicroTiles wall, measuring 7 units wide by 3 units high, displays computer models, cable television content and digital signage; content from the auditoriums and meeting rooms can also be sent to this Executive Wall.
SAS can transform the lobby into a technology showcase and use the Welcome Wall, in conjunction with the Christie Spyder X20 video processors, to display themed backgrounds and logos for the conference registration areas. Each Christie MicroTiles wall can be repurposed several different ways just by changing the content fed to it by Christie Spyder.
"From my perspective, design support was really critical to this installation," adds Meares. "We got excellent design support from Vista throughout the process."
At Thorburn Associates, David Covington was the project designer for the installation. Integrator AVI-SPL installed the Christie MicroTiles at SAS after gaining expertise with the technology from several other large installations.
About Vista Systems
Vista Systems was acquired by Christie, a global leader in visual solutions for business, entertainment and industry, to create a comprehensive source for image processing and projection solutions. The acquisition combines the power and flexibility of Vista's video switchers and real-time windowing and composition products with the power, performance and reliability of award-winning Christie projection systems. Vista Systems' switchers have become the industry standard for live multiple-destination video and data mixed signal switching. For more information on Vista Systems, visit their website at www.vistasystems.net.
