High Definition films projected on curve screen at The Mind Museum, Taguig, Philippines
Reputed as one of the must-visit place of interests in Philippines, The Mind Museum has been branded as Philippines’ first world-class museum. Boasting a total of 5,000 sqm exhibit area, the museum is located in a 12,500 sqm JY Campos Park in Bonifacio Global City. It is also the biggest and most impressive science museum to be built in the country to date.
Exhibit challenges
Nature’s Hourglass is a 3D theatre with a maximum capacity of 50 guests that features short films such as the Birthplace, a 15-minute show of the 4.6 billion year history of the earth, and Simula, which shows the history of the Philippines in 15 minutes including a short video on how the film was made. As a 3D theatre, The Hourglass aims to provide an educational experience to the museum guests with the use of a high quality projector and a curved shaped screen that will immerse the students in the film they are watching.
Implementation of the curved screen is a tough challenge for the engineers, but the tougher challenge is the type of projector that will be used to display High Definition 3D films. The projector model needs to be equipped with a secondary lamp where a backup lamp is already installed in case the primary lamp reaches the end of its life span during a film show. This is necessary in order to provide a continuous operation so that the museum’s guests will not be disappointed. A secondary lamp would at the same time allow the museum’s maintenance team to replace the broken lamp after museum hours.
Other exhibits, like the Space Quest, Human Body and Inner Space Track also require high definition projectors to properly present its content to guests. The challenge was the limited space. With projectors of normal throw distance, the presenter’s shadow will be casing on the screen.
Solutions offered by Sony
A total of 6 Sony projectors are installed inside the Nature’s Hourglass 3D Theatre. Other Sony projectors that are installed in the exhibit are located in the Tech Scrim, Space Quest, Human Body and Inner Space Track exhibition areas.
Nature’s hourglass
Six advanced projectors, the VPL-FH500L with a ‘blend-in’ design were deployed in the Nature’s Hourglass in order to solve the museum’s need for a projector that can display high resolution video on a curve screen. The image warping function of the projectors allows adjustment of the corners and sides of the projected image to any convex or concave surfaces for dynamic display.
The VPL-FH500L’s outstanding portfolio of features allows it to offer world-class projection performance even in the most challenging of environments. The fact that it can also deliver a dramatic brightness of 7,000 lumens and ultra high-quality images with WUXGA resolution that can extend up to 1920 x 1200 pixels makes the VPL-FH500L an excellent choice in this case. The VPL-FH500L offers peace-of-mind operation and economical operation with a twin-lamp system. A second lamp (backup lamp) is built in as such that it will be automatically activated when the first lamp fails. With this advantage, the maintenance team can replace the lamp after the show and not during show, eliminating the museum’s concerns about guest disappointment and refunds.
The VPL-FH500L also delivers amazing installation flexibility and hassle-free maintenance in a stylish design that can blend into any decor. Also in terms of overall functionality, it offers more compared to standard professional projectors as it has a very wide lens shift range, enabling excellent flexibility when installing the unit and adjusting the image.
Tech scrim
Several units of the VPL-FH30, which boasts almost similar features and functions with the VPL-FH500L, were also installed in Tech Scrim, the centrepiece of the Technology Gallery. The VPL-FH30 also offers installation flexibility on high ceiling with its Optical Len Shift. It can also deliver brightness as high as 4,300 lumens and comes with a picture by picture function, making it easier for visitors to view the exhibits.
Space Quest, Human Body and Inner Space Track
Other exhibits, like the Space Quest, Human Body and Inner Space Track also require high definition projectors to properly present its content to guests. As the VPL-FH500 and the VPL-FH30 cannot fit in these areas due to limited room space, the VPL-SW125 which come with short throw lens capability, was chosen instead. With its ability to project large images from a short distance, the VPL-SW125 not only allows users to reduce glare on the presenter but also enables the museum to reproduce a large image in a small space efficiently.
The VPL-SW125 also boasts a WXGA resolution which provides excellent projection quality as well as a low brightness mode which reduces power consumption and extends the lamp lifetime to approximately 6,000 hours. This means lower operating costs across the board, allowing the museum to achieve Low Total Cost of Ownership.
Overall, The VPL-FH500, VPL-FH30 and the VPL-SW125 deliver a low total cost of ownership that also includes eco-friendly features such as long-lasting lamps and low power consumption.
Results
Thanks to Sony’s projector systems, visitors can now watch clear High Definition 3D animated films made possible by Sony’s technology. Clever features such as the dual auto-switching lamps, and synchronised lamp and filter replacement cycles, also allow the museum to reduce maintenance costs and downtime. These in turn allow the museum’s maintenance team to carry out their duties with more ease since there is now a backup lamp function in the VPL-FH500 projectors. This has proved to be very effective in solving the museum management’s concerns of having to replace lamps during shows.
Small space problems in other Exhibition areas were also solved by the VPL-SW125 which meets the museum’s need of having a 3 meter width of the projection screen given that there’s only two metres of space from the projector to the projection screen.
These Sony projectors have since helped the museum bring about a better and more satisfying experience to museum visitors during their visit.
Why Sony was selected
Sony is able to provide a team of experts who can cater to the Mind Museum’s needs. In addition to this, Sony also offers more advanced and far better capabilities than other projector systems. The deployed range of projectors at The Mind Museum’s Nature’s Hourglass 3D Theatre is built to be highly versatile and they are installed with an impressive range of features that will lift audiences’ viewing pleasure. The low total cost of ownership benefits from the installed Sony projectors also meant that the use of these products can last longer. It also requires minimal maintenance. Sony’s distinguished brand image as the hallmark of excellence and quality in today’s business were also in line with the museum’s image as a world-class science museum.