Barco projectors put on a stellar show at planetarium
Eight Barco F70-4K8 laser phosphor projectors have been installed at the Planetarium of Brussels, together creating an 8K UHD system for use with the latest astronomical software.
The Planetarium of Brussels has opens its newly renovated dome equipped with eight Barco projectors installed by RSA Cosmos along with the latest version of its astronomical software, SkyExplorer 2021. The project is the successful result of a long-lasting collaboration between the Planetarium of the Royal Observatory of Belgium, Barco and RSA Cosmos, a Konica Minolta Group company, which is a worldwide specialist in digital planetariums.
The Brussels Planetarium, one of the most important planetariums in Europe, is part of the Royal Observatory of Belgium and has an international scientific reputation. With its dome of 23 meters in diameter, it is one of the largest in Europe.
The planetarium wanted to upgrade its immersive experience to today’s technology standards and therefore called upon the Barco – RSA Cosmos partnership again. Both European-based companies provided projection technology for the site’s first digital planetarium in 2009, which made it possible to create attractive and lively shows by immersing spectators in a 360° environment.
Barco provided eight of its F70-4K8 projectors for the planetarium. The laser phosphor projectors deliver a brightness level of 7,500 lumen, stunning images in 3840 x 2400 (4K UHD) resolution, as well as an unrivalled black level quality and contrast, enabling the planetarium to show the brightest stars onto a deep black sky. By combining these leading technologies, the Brussels planetarium achieves the best performing system in Belgium with an 8K UHD system.
Above all, the new technology gives visitors the enchantment of an impressive starry sky and the possibility to travel virtually into our solar system and even to galaxies far away in real time, immersing the visitor in a colour-rich image with a surface of 840 square metres.
For the Planetarium of Brussels, RSA Cosmos & Barco were ideal partners to achieve this high-performing system. Barco was not only the best option in terms of image performance, but also in terms of durability. Barco’s F70 projectors offer a light source lifetime of up to 60,000 hours – a huge advance on the previous projection system where lamps needed to be replaced every 700 hours, increasing both the reliability and sustainability of the solution. On top of that, Barco will also provide priority support and preventive maintenance for the next 10 years, through its EssentialCare service program.
Visit the AV Magazine website to stay up-to-date with all the latest AV industry news.
Posted: 22nd April 2021