December 14, 2015—D3D Cinema is pleased to announce they will install a cutting-edge laser-illuminated giant screen cinema system for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.
D3D will replace the existing 15/70 projection system with a Christie 4K laser-illuminated solution. The installation marks the world’s first permanent installation of a giant-screen 2D laser-powered projection system in an institutional theater. The Christie 4K laser projection system will provide viewers with vastly improved image resolution, sharpness, and brightness, and with greater contrast and a wider color gamut than ever before possible with conventional digital projection systems.
“The conversion of our theater from film to D3D’s digital laser projection system will improve the quality of the programs we can offer and enhance the experience of our nearly one million visitors annually,” said General Duane Thiessen, President & CEO Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. “This conversion allows us to take a 20 year old theater and make it relevant for the next 20 years. This is a win-win for us.”
The theater will undergo a significant physical transformation alongside the installation of the new cinema system, with new carpeting, LED lighting, wider seating with custom tables and new lobby amenities.
“We’re honored to have been selected by the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation for this important project, and we’re thrilled to bring another prestigious national museum into the D3D family.” said Derek Threinen, Vice President of Distribution and Business Development for D3D. “This stunning new laser-illuminated system will not only provide the museum with a powerful and compelling new guest experience, but will dramatically improve the museum’s programming flexibility—allowing them to present everything from mission-centric documentary films to dazzling Hollywood blockbusters, and from streaming event programming to hosting live presentations in Pensacola’s premier event space—and it will do all this while providing dramatic operational savings over the existing system.”
The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation’s flagship film, The Magic of Flight, will continue to be shown daily. RPG Productions in Burbank, CA, is converting the film to the 4K digital format. The Magic of Flight premiered at the museum in 1996 and has been seen by over 1.7 million people in its theater over the past 19 years.
About the National Naval Aviation Museum
The National Naval Aviation Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014. It features nearly 350,000 square feet of displays and is one of the world’s largest aviation museums. Located aboard Pensacola Naval Air Station, the facility boasts more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard aviation, and is one of Florida’s most visited museums.
TripAdvisor’s 2015 Travelers' Choice Awards named the National Naval Aviation Museum one of the “Top 25 Museums in the United States,” alongside the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. It ranks 13 on the list of 25 best museums in the United States. In 2014 USA Today named it as one of the “10 Best Military Museums” in America. Museum admission is FREE and open to the public. The National Naval Aviation Museum is open daily from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. For more information, visit www.navalaviationmuseum.org
About D3D Cinema
D3D Cinema offers complete digital cinema solutions and services to museum and attraction industry clients worldwide, providing a unique partnership approach to cinema design and 3D content production built around four core capabilities – theater design and installation, touring exhibition theaters, an award-winning library of content, and custom signature film production. D3D’s production arm produces films for D3D Cinema, IMAX® and other giant-screen and museum cinemas. Comprised of institutional theater specialists, D3D excels in bringing first-to-market immersive cinema technologies to its clients, offering technology-agnostic consultation, strategic planning, installation, content production & distribution, operational support, and ongoing service.
D3D has become an industry leader through the design and integration of digital theater systems in large format venues for clients such as the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH, the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, GA, the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, TX, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Kentucky Science Center in Louisville, the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach, the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, PA, Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX, the Putnam Museum of History and Natural Science in Davenport, IA, the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis, TN, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque and the Yellowstone Giant Screen Theater in Montana, among others. D3D is headquartered in Evanston, IL. Visit www.d3dcinema.com
