Located
in the new Delacombe Town Centre complex in Ballarat, Victoria, this
contemporary 530-seat cinema complex comprises six screens and features luxury
seats, surround sound and wall-to-wall screens, with the largest screen in
Cinema 1 hall measuring 10 metres wide. With this installation, Showbiz Cinemas
Ballarat has become the first cinema in Australia to be entirely fitted with
Christie CP2208-LP cinema projectors, which provide high reliability and lower maintenance
costs for theater owners. The cinema has commenced commercial screenings on
August 31.
“Being
a regional Cinema, it is important for us to choose a system that would have no
need for lamp replacements, and reduce the costs and time associated with
maintenance, consumables and downtime of lamp-based projectors,” said Chris
Jones, Director, Showbiz Cinemas. “With the added bonus of reduced power usage
that the CP2208-LP has over other digital cinema projectors, our systems integrator
MGS Group pointed us in Christie’s direction and helped us see the
clear advantages that the CP2208-LP would have in a regional environment.”
Delivering
up to 11,000 native lumens of brightness for screens up to 35 feet, the
3D-capable Christie CP2208-LP is virtually maintenance free with no lamps to
change, offers a low total cost of operation, and a low carbon footprint for
theater owners. It is available as a complete system with the optional
Christie IMB-S2
integrated media block and also works with other, popular Series-2 IMBs. It delivers
superior content flexibility as its counterparts in Christie’s cinema portfolio
with its ability to display DCI content, alternative content, 3D content and even
content produced for display at
high frame
rates.
Besides Showbiz Cinemas Ballarat, independent exhibitor
Sun Theatre has also installed two CP2208-LP
cinema projectors at its Metro site in Yarraville, Victoria. Known for its rich
heritage, the iconic theatre now boasts 700 seats in eight exquisitely-furnished
boutique cinemas featuring club seating with leather upholstery, a coffee table
shared between all seats in each group, and ample legroom. The cinema, whose
projection equipment is also installed and supported by MGS Group, has been
using Christie cinema projectors for decades.
Michael Bosworth, General Manager, Christie Australia, said,
“We’re delighted that independent exhibitors such as Showbiz Cinemas Ballarat
and Sun Theatre have placed their trust in our CP2208-LP cinema projector,
which marks a new level of digital
projection. It is capable of illuminating screens in DCI compliant colour,
supports various alternative content sources through dual HDMI-over-DVI ports,
and delivers images on the screen that are bright and engaging. The CP2208-LP
can display a full range of content, from the latest Hollywood blockbusters to
locally produced content from all over the world.”
Lin
Yu, Vice President, Christie Asia Pacific, added, “The CP2208-LP is the clear
choice for independent exhibitors, local art houses in remote locations where accessibility
can be difficult for lamp maintenance. We are very pleased that Showbiz Cinemas
Ballarat has embraced this high-value and DCI-compliant digital cinema
projector.”
Besides laser phosphor illumination, Christie’s RGB laser
projection technology is rapidly gaining followers around the world. Producing
the brightest images, the purest colours and the best 3D visual experiences, it
represents the pinnacle of laser-illuminated projection. In Australia, HOYTS
Chadstone in Melbourne is the first cinema complex to be equipped with Christie’s
RGB laser projection system with enhanced wavelength diversity, which offers a
spectacular 3D viewing experience on silver screens.
About Showbiz CinemasShowbiz Cinemas is an independent cinema exhibitor
located in Victoria, Australia. It currently operates two cinemas in Swan Hill
and Ballarat, which has a total of nine screens. For more information, please
visit
www.showbizcinemas.com.au.
