When New Era Technology of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was asked to upgrade the video technology driving a Christie MicroTiles wall at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, the integrator chose the Christie Spyder X80 multiscreen windowing processor.
The Christie MicroTiles wall, located on the first floor of the Smilow Center for Translational Research, had previously employed a Christie Spyder X20 processor. Located in a high visibility area outside of an auditorium, the multifunctional wall displays pre-recorded content and handles overflow video from events taking place in the auditorium. It also shows content provided by other groups wanting to benefit from the public space.
“Everyone with business in the Smilow Center sees the wall,” said Scott Randinelli, project manager, New Era Technology. “The new equipment is part of a lifecycle upgrade that eventually will lead to upgrading the wall itself. Now the video wall offers Spyder X80’s advanced capabilities, including stepping up to 4K and 8K content.”
The project marked the first Spyder X80 installation by New Era. “We have had a relationship with Christie that goes back close to two decades under our previous company name, Advanced AV,” said Randinelli. “It makes a lot of sense for the X80 to be the vehicle for future upgrades for any high profile display.”
“The flexibility, power, and simplicity of the Spyder X80 make it a wise choice,” said Jason Wines, sales engineer, content management and processing, Christie. “With the X80, customers are future-proofing their investment since there are no limits in processing power for the next-generation of display. They can also choose any size, shape or arrangement of display technology today or in the future and not worry about programming or the back end configuration. The new Spyder X80’s megapixel canvas makes integration with current source formats and ultra-high resolution displays quick and easy.”
New Era Technology also put in place procedures to support content supplied by special user groups and the exporting of video from the auditorium to the MicroTiles wall. New Era Technology Senior Engineer Frank O’Hara worked with the Christie team in the beginning of the project to engineer the upgrade allowing New Era Technology field engineers Jeff Daddario and Steve Rogers to collaborate with programmer Eric Howell of Christie during the commissioning phase of the project. Eric Capozzoli from the Perelman School of Medicine was project manager.
