Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has teamed up with Sony and integrators Roche AV to install a projection solution, based on Sony laser projectors, as part of a large-scale £350m upgrade of the University’s facilities.
MMU is one of the largest campus-based universities in the UK with a history dating back 150 years and 36,000-strong student population.
The University has over 600 technology-equipped rooms of various sizes, including lecture theatres, IT labs, smaller classrooms and meeting rooms. As part of the large-scale upgrade of the University’s facilities, they decided to install a new projection solution into their largest lecture theatre, which also serves as an exhibition hall. This lecture theatre houses a variety of events, fashion shows and conferences, creating a very complex set of requirements for AV solutions.
The projectors in this specific location are positioned high up on the ceilings, and previous solutions required considerable downtime and effort for maintenance, lamp and filter changes. This is why a key priority for the University was finding an efficient projection solution that requires virtually zero maintenance, which ruled out lamp-based projectors.
In conjunction with Manchester Metropolitan’s AV team and Roche AV, Sony designed and implemented a solution that features six VPL-FHZ65 3LCD WUXGA laser projectors with a colour brightness of 6,000 lumens. Four laser projectors were installed in the University’s exhibition hall. By stacking four (2×2) 6,000 lumens projectors front facing as well as back facing, they were able to create a 10K lumens image. Two further projectors were installed in lecture theatres, creating an immersive, informative education environment that brings presentations up-to-date.
The VPL-FHZ65 laser projectors cater to the University’s needs, as these projectors are ideal for a wide range of business, education and general presentation applications. The colour rendition was the main deciding factor for the AV team to choose laser technology. Sony’s Z-Phosphor laser light source, teamed with advanced BrightEra 3LCD projection engine was chosen as it delivers WUXGA resolution images with powerful 6,000 lumens maximum light output and rich, stable colours.
Neil Anderson, ITS campus technology at Manchester Metropolitan University, commented: “It was important for the University to find a solution that maintained a high performance, excellent image quality and compatibility with our existing technologies. We wanted projectors that were reliable while producing a solid image with good colour rendition. After seeing a demo of Sony’s projectors, we were convinced that laser technology was the right decision for our unique requirements and the solution has lived up to our high expectations. We are looking forward to further developing our campus technology in the years to come.”
