Christie display technology is at the forefront of Northern Kentucky University’s (NKU) College of Informatics with a striking Christie MicroTiles array, four Christie projectors, and two Christie Spyder X20-1608 image processors managing and controlling the content.
Located in the Digitorium of Griffin Hall – the university’s first LEED-certified building – the 19 wide by 15 high Christie MicroTiles (25 feet wide by 15 feet high) array is drawing rave reviews for its bright, vivid colors and its flexibility in displaying images, videos and graphics.
The 120-seat Digitorium hosts virtual performances, simulations, collaborative gaming, workflow modeling and 3D visualization, all fed to the Christie MicroTiles by the Spyders.
“This project had a strict deadline and it wasn’t an option to miss the opening date of Griffin Hall,” said Kevin Collins, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Diversified Systems, project integrator. “The timeline for installation from paper to completion on this entire project was just six months but integration went smoothly. In fact, it went up just like 1-2-3 and was a textbook integration. The MicroTiles definitely have a very high cool factor.”
“The number of sources we feed into the tiles from the Spyders is huge,” added Shawn Samii, project manager, Diversified Systems. “The MicroTiles receive several feeds including streaming video, HDMI out of a laptop, display footage out of a laptop, AV, cable TV feed, PC graphics, static images, and broadcast STI feeds.”
“In the Digitorium, we have eight opera boxes (four on each side) with computers in each one, which get tied back into the MicroTiles wall – so we can do live interaction,” said Chris Strobel, associate professor of electronic media and broadcasting, NKU. “We anticipate hosting ‘cyber defense’ competitions in the Digitorium, where each team will be stationed in an opera box defending their own computer network from cyber attack.
“We may also participate in various types of "capture the flag" cyberwarfare competitions in that space (which involve both defense and offense). In both cases the ‘BigWall’ functions as high-resolution dashboard/scoreboard that allows the audience on the main floor to track the highly multi-facetted real-time status of the competition.”
“Everybody who has looked at the MicroTiles wall is in utter disbelief,” concluded Samii. “The wall is truly a sight to behold.”
“When we show student projects such as films and animations on the MicroTiles, there is definitely a ‘wow-factor’ that you wouldn’t get with other technology,” concluded Strobel.
Serving as the main Digitorium projector is one Christie HD6K-M with three Christie LW650 projectors located outside the auditorium.
