Technology is constantly evolving at a staggering rate. Over the last few years the projection industry has been no exception, with the industry experiencing a laser revolution, with laser light sources used in most large venues and cinemas, rather than the more traditional lamp light source that has been the staple of projection technology for the last 20 years.
You may have seen that we have previously written an article comparing lamp and laser to give you a good idea of the major differences and the pros and cons of each. If you haven’t seen it, then you can find it here: https://churchsoundsystems.co/learning-hub/projection-vision/quick-start-guide/
Quite frankly, projection has been in a race to keep up with flatscreen technology, where we have come to expect ultra-high definition and great colour contrast for viewing our content. Great advances have been made in the world of displays to make them as power-efficient as possible, making them a great choice for environmentally-minded consumers. However, without investing serious amounts of cash, projection is still very much the go-to option for large screen viewing, particularly in church and heritage buildings where the screen can be hidden when not in use.
Now that laser technology has evolved to have a strong foothold in the new projector market, manufacturers are spending time refining the technology further, to make this new breed of projector more compact, brighter and reducing the amount of energy they consume.
Panasonic are one of our preferred projector manufacturers due to the great balance of cost and reliability their devices offer. They offer a wide range of projectors, from ultra-compact short-throw projectors for meeting rooms, to huge 30,000-lumen projectors for cinemas.
They have just announced a revamp of their market-leading laser installation projection range, which makes the argument for choosing a laser model for your new projector even more convincing. The updated range - the MZ882 series - is innovative in the way that recycled materials have been used in the construction of the housing, with Panasonic claiming to have used up to 10% recycled resins for each projector. It also uses an eco filter which can be washed and reused, rather than replaced.
The most important upgrade to the MZ range does not come from the recycled content, but from the increased brightness that Panasonic can now achieve from the same laser light source, all while using 8% less energy to do so. 8% may not sound like a lot, but over the lifetime of the projector (20,000 hours), that will make a huge difference to the size of the electricity bill you get when running it.
During that same period, not only will a lamp projector have been serviced several times (which may not be easy if specialist access equipment is required to reach it), but you will have changed the lamp unit 5 times, creating harmful waste (lamps contain mercury and have to be disposed of safely).
This means that there is a significant ongoing maintenance cost that comes with installing a lamp projector, which isn't the case for a laser model. On average, a new lamp is around £120, but it can be far more expensive depending on the model of your projector.
Does this improved efficiency and focus on making projection as environmentally friendly as possible spell the end for the trusty lamp projector? It's hard to say, but the case for laser is only going to become increasingly convincing.
If you can afford the larger upfront cost, then the long-term benefits of a laser light source both for quality and efficiency are unmistakable. Panasonic are only one of the many companies to manufacture projectors, so we are likely to see many more new product ranges from their competitors with an increased focus on their environmental impact.
You can find more information on the Panasonic MZ882 Series by clicking here to go to the product information page on their website.
The Location:
When it comes to installing an audio-visual system into a building that is nationally significant for being one of the first combined police stations and courtrooms in the country, it is fair to say there is a lot to think about.
Tavistock Guildhall and Court Room is set in the heart of Devon and is now a popular visitor attraction for people who want to get a sense of what it would have been like all those years ago, walking up from the holding cells into the courtroom. As well as inviting visitors, it is still being used as a functioning council building, and it was this use that meant an audio-visual system was required.
APi Sound and Visual were asked to supply and install a full audio, projection and streaming system, bringing the space into the 21st Century, but crucially without impacting the impressive aesthetics of the well-kept interior of the building.
The Challenge:
It was clear straight away that one of the most challenging aspects of the installation would be the projection screen, as it needed to be as unobtrusive as possible when not in use. Even once it has been decided that a winch screen would be deployed to allow the screen to be raised out of the way, the curved design of the ceiling in the courtroom made fixing this without leaving brackets exposed very tricky, and there was a large crest which the screen would need to avoid.
Next on the list of challenges to overcome was the cabling that would be required to run between the main control system in the rack cabinet to the equipment spread throughout the room. Two pairs of loudspeakers, a projector, a professional PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) camera and a hearing loop system would all require cabling, but these would need to be hidden from sight as much as possible.
Lastly, the system would need to be easy to operate, as often it would be a town council member or site volunteer setting up for an event, so a simple control interface would need to be designed, to avoid a complicated on/off procedure before and after each use.
Our Solution:
Using our previous experience working with heritage buildings, APi’s skilled engineers fabricated unique brackets and pelmets to encase them, meaning the screen winch mechanism was completely hidden from view and enclosed by something that looked like part of the room’s original design.
The projection system was completed by a high-powered laser projector, which gives almost instant on-time. It is capable of Full HD quality image reproduction, which allows the system’s users to show high-quality content from the DVD player, a laptop, or even the streaming system with this maximised on the projection screen. The option to screen share wirelessly was also included, for times when tablets or other devices may wish to present without being tied to a physical connection point.
The live streaming system was fed by a single PTZ camera, which was connected to a streaming PC in the equipment rack, along with the inputs from the two laptop points and a DVD player installed in the room for ad-hoc connections. This camera could be simply controlled using the customised control interface installed and programmed by our engineers, allowing manual control of the camera, or quick recall of pre-saved positions.
This central control interface also gives simple control of the audio system which consisted of two pairs of ultra-slim line array loudspeakers and a complimentary subwoofer to give a clear, well-rounded sound to both speech and music playback. A total of 12 gooseneck-style wireless microphones were installed which acted in a conference setup during town council meetings, with the ability to set priority on one or more of the microphones if required for the chair of the meeting.
The Outcome:
The verdict came back as overwhelmingly positive on completion of the project, with the new technology enhancing the use of the space for meetings and other events by the town council. The equipment is locked up safely in the rack cabinet which is tucked neatly into an unused area of the building but is easily accessible for users who require interaction with the control interface.
Visitors enjoying the history and atmosphere of the courtroom do not have their experience limited by the audio-visual equipment due to the careful selection of products which have a perfect balance between aesthetics and performance, and the expert installation carried out by APi’s team of engineers.
