Qube Cinema has once again partnered with D3D Cinema to install its single-server True 4K 3DTM system, this time at the newly renovated Air Force Museum Theater (AFMT) in Dayton, OH. The museum has upgraded from 15/70 film projection to the Qube XP-I server and dual Xi 4K Integrated Media Blocks (IMBs) and is the fifth giant screen installation in North America to use this Qube system. Visitors to the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum can now enjoy stunning True 4K 3D digital imagery on the giant screen from a system that is much easier to operate than the 70mm film setup the museum used previously.
The digital cinema playback system at the AFMT features a single Qube XP-I server paired with two Qube Xi 4K IMBs embedded in a pair of Barco 4K projectors. Using a single DCP, the server is capable of streaming data at speeds of up to 1Gb/s, sufficient throughput to support the Xi IMBs and dual 4K projectors at up to 30fps or 2K 3D at up to 120fps per eye.
Opened in 1991, the AFMT operated as a 15/70 2D film theater until its upgrade to digital cinema was completed in March of this year. The new 400-seat giant screen theater, with its 80ft tall atrium, offers a focal point for the entire museum.
The new giant screen is so large — it measures 80ft by 60 ft — that it had to be brought in by crane. It is the only giant screen in the greater Dayton area and the largest digital screen in southwestern Ohio. With this need for change came the realization that the format also needed to be updated to reflect changes in the entertainment industry.
The system integrator, D3D Cinema, installed a Qube Cinema XP-I server and two Qube Xi 4K IMBs embedded in two Barco 4K projectors, Masterimage 3D and a premium 7.1+ surround sound system that provided the museum with extra speakers. The sound system, along with devices for the visually impaired and personalized closed captioning for the hearing impaired, were custom provided by D3D Cinema.
The Air Force Museum Theater is part of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. At 90 years old and with more than 1.2 million visitors each year, this National Museum is home to a permanent collection of planes, spaceships and missiles. The museum houses 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles on display on 17 acres of space. It has a permanent display of a B-2 stealth bomber and spacecraft such as the Apollo 15 command module.
