September 16, 2016—The Milwaukee Public Museum’s (MPM) Dome Theater and Planetarium will be the first planetarium in the world to debut Digistar 6 technology on Saturday, September 17. This ground breaking dome technology will replace the giant screen 15/70 film system, which was once the gold standard for giant screen projection.
“We’re thrilled to launch Digistar 6 at MPM,” said Bob Bonadurer, Director of the Dome Theater and Planetarium. “The stunning new imagery will captivate our audiences and get them closer to the action than ever before – whether that’s blasting off into space or trekking through a National Park. The dome imagery is crisp and life-like, it’s awe inspiring.”
The new Digistar 6 system from Evans & Sutherland uses five 4K Christie video projectors that produce 30,000 lumens each, for a total brightness of 150,000 lumens across the entire dome hemisphere. Using auto alignment and auto blending systems, the five projectors precisely align and blend together to form a single, seamless fulldome image.
Evans & Sutherland President and COO, Kirk Johnson said, “Digistar has been a part of the MPM planetarium for many years, and we are honored that when it came time for them to replace their 15/70 projector, they looked E&S and our 8K resolution Digistar 6 system as the solution that would not only replace, but surpass the quality of their film system. We look forward to our continued partnership for many years to come.”
The addition of the Digistar system is the second phase of the Dome Theater and Planetarium revitalization project which was funded by a $1.6 million dollar gift from the Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust. The first phase of the revitalization was the inclusion of the 3D digital system in 2013.
“As the technological hub of the Museum, it’s key that the theater features the best systems available today. We’re proud to help make this possible and to continue our support of this vital community resource,” said Audrey Strnad, trustee of the Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust.
Planetarium shows in MPM’s Dome Theater are included with general admission. On September 17 and 18, MPM will be showing free planetarium shows as part of Doors Open Milwaukee, allowing visitors to be a part of this world-wide first for free. For information shows and times, go to www.mpm.edu/shows.
About the Milwaukee Public Museum
The Milwaukee Public Museum is a natural and human history museum located in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum was chartered in 1882 and opened to the public in 1884. MPM has three floors of exhibits that encompass life-size dioramas, walk-through villages, world cultures, dinosaurs, a rain forest and a live butterfly garden, as well as the Daniel M. Soref National Geographic Dome Theater & Planetarium. The museum houses more than 4 million objects and hosts some half a million visitors each year.
The MPM is operated by Milwaukee Public Museum, Inc., a private, non-profit company, and its facilities and collections are held in trust and supported by Milwaukee County for the benefit of the public.
About Evans & Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland (www.es.com) provides Digistar 6, the world’s most advanced digital fulldome planetarium and digital dome cinema system, ideal for replacing 1570 film systems. Digistar 6 combines fulldome video playback in 2D and 3D with the most comprehensive real time 3D digital astronomy package ever assembled, all within a powerful easy-to-use graphical user interface that makes creating shows more intuitive than ever. The unique capabilities of the system, the Digistar Cloud Library (a resource for community content sharing), Domecasting (live broadcasting to planetariums), Show Builder (a powerful and intuitive way to build shows), the Digistar STEAM library (included content for science, technology, engineering, art, and math), and Ease of Use, combine to provide unequalled capabilities for immersive dome experiences. Evans & Sutherland is also the world’s leading producer and distributor of digital fulldome shows including show converted from giant screen film. As a full-service system provider, E&S also offers Spitz domes, SciDome, hybrid planetarium systems and a full range of theater systems. E&S markets include planetariums, science centers, themed attraction venues, and premium large-format theaters. E&S products have been installed in over 1,300 theaters worldwide. Visit the E&S website at http://www.es.com.
Source: Evans & Sutherland