Museum and visitor attraction designer, Real Studios, created four displays within ‘The American Dream’ exhibition space. It covered a 1942 Willys Jeep, 1968 Pontiac Bonneville Fire Service Ambulance, 1915 Ford Model T and 1981 De Lorean DMC 12 and included a striking graphic backdrop with audio-visual projection for each one.
Sysco Productions was appointed to design and install the audio-visual elements for the new displays. The AV experts installed four backdrops across the vehicles each containing a ZU510T laser projector to show moving footage on a continuous loop.
A Brightsign LS423 media player provides the video footage for each display connected through an SY-2A-20W digital amplifier to two Apart Mask4 passive speakers. Control of the projectors is supplied by the infra-red remote control and audio level is adjusted via the infra-red add-on to the SY amplifier.
Graeme Bunyan, Associate Director at Sysco, said: “One of the reasons that we recommended the ZU510T was because the exact projection placement was still unconfirmed. We needed a bright, reliable projector that would fit into any space. We knew the ZU510T has a large zoom range, both vertical and horizontal lens shift and four corner adjustment so would give us the flexibility we needed to position the image precisely per the designer’s vision.”
Weighing just 11kg, the ZU510T WUXGA projector boasts a brightness of 5,500 lumens and its quietness of just 33 decibels (in Eco mode) makes it ideal for the museum. It has a 100,000:1 contrast ratio and, due to the combination of its solid state laser-phosphor light engine and DLP technology, produces exceptionally vivid colours.
The projector has been independently tested and certified with an IP5X dust resistance rating and delivers up to 30,000 hours of reliable operation without the need for expensive lamp or filter replacements. This industry-leading lifetime is achieved using Optoma’s DuraCore technology, with advanced laser diode cooling techniques and an innovative dust resistant design. The filter-free design prevents dust and dirt from affecting the system, ensuring optimal image quality with minimal maintenance.
It can be installed at 360° along its vertical axis, enabling projection onto floors and ceilings, as well as portrait mode and includes vertical and horizontal lens shift, plus centralised optics to make it easy to set up. The high quality 1.8x zoom lens enables flexible projector placement across a wide range of throw distances.
Connectivity is extensive with an HDBaseT port included as standard and complemented by two HDMI inputs on the rear and a further HDMI port at the front. The remote control unit has a backlit keypad for operation in dark environments, and can be hard-wired to the projector. This enables direct control of the projector without line-of-sight.
Projector control can be via HDBaseT, RS-232C or a traditional wired network connection, and a motorised screen can be coupled to the 12V terminal.