Having a bowling alley, a multi-screen movie theater, and dining options all under one roof is a well-proven formula in the contemporary leisure industry, and the Cobb Cinebistro at Peninsula Town Center in Hampton, Virginia is no exception. What makes this location different is the operator’s ability to tempt users of the bowling alley (‘The Lanes at Cinebistro’) into extending their stay at the Cinebistro to take in a meal and a movie as well – thanks partly to Cinebistro’s unique ‘movies with taste’ concept whereby film-goers can dine as they watch, and partly to a digital-signage solution using DLP® projectors from Norway’s projectiondesign®.
“Being able to show movie trailers and advertising in a bowling alley that is one floor below a movie theater is a great way to advertise business, and the fact that we are using two 28ft screens certainly gives it a ‘wow’ factor,” comments Matt Ayers, CTS, Lead Engineer in Audio-Visual Engineering Services for Vicom, the local company that carried out the project’s AV systems integration.
“We suspended two projectiondesign F32 projectors from an open ceiling above the bowling alley,” continues Ayers. “Originally we looked at using fixed-frame screens, but they would have needed to be very large, so we decided to use GooScreen paint instead. This proved to be very easy to apply and the customer had his theater construction team fabricate black velour trim to install around the edges of each screen, which gives them a nice finishing touch.
“We also used black mounting hardware to suspend the projectors in an effort to make them as ‘hidden’ as possible in the open ceiling. The projectors are surrounded by teardrop hanging lights which proved to be somewhat challenging, but our design and installation team formulated a mounting plan and executed it without problems.”
Ayers adds that the F32s display images from a pair of Blu-ray disc players located at the bowling counter, which staff can easily control themselves without needing any formal training. A Crown CTS amplifier drives 10 SoundTube Broadbeam speakers suspended from the ceiling above the alley’s seating area to ensure that the sound quality is on a par with that of the images. A paging microphone is connected to the audio system for announcements.
“The customer regularly builds movie theaters so had a clear idea of what he wanted in the bowling alley,” Ayer concludes. “We worked with him to provide the right solution at a cost-effective price. The system fits the venue’s needs and is performing very nicely.”
For projectiondesign, Anders Løkke, Marketing Director, says: “Digital signage and digital advertising take many different forms and, in situations where conventional flat-panel displays are either too small or too predictable, our projectors offer a more accurate, vivid and involving image, without a substantial cost penalty.
“Installations like that at Cobb Cinebistro illustrate that large-screen projection in a leisure environment can provide more than just entertainment; by lengthening dwell time and increasing customer spend, it can provide the operator with a rapid return on investment as well.”
Tags: corporate av, pro av, F32
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