Hong Kong—Dec 15, 2009
GDC Makes Further Inroads into UK Clinching Server Deal with Hammersmith Apollo
London’s historic Hammersmith Apollo, a theatre famed for its
illustrious history and Art Deco architecture, has opted for GDC servers in its
screen restoration program. London-based Future Projections was tasked to carry
out the project work in which GDC servers (SA-2100A and
SA-2100T) and Barco
DP2000 projectors were deployed.
Curzon Cinemas, who
will be operating the Hammersmith Apollo venue technically, picks GDC servers as
they are the only one that can meet the unique storage requirement at
Hammersmith Apollo. “The limited storage per screen offered by alternative
options means that we’d be loading and reloading DCPs often but there is no such
problem with GDC servers which offer 2TB drive capacity per screen and 8TB show
library,” said Mick
Steven, technical manager for Curzon. “GDC also wins our
vote for the ease of use, competitive pricing and excellent technical support
that come with its servers.”
Opened in 1932 and
with a seating capacity of 3500, Hammersmith Apollo is a legendary venue in
London’s entertainment world. It has been graced by some of the biggest stars of
all time including the likes of Tony Bennet, Louis Armstrong, Duke
Ellington, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. With the completion
of its restoration this year, Hammersmith Apollo now boasts the largest screen
in central London, the largest capacity (5000) of any cinema in the UK, and
complements the theatre’s wide variety of music, theatre and comedy offerings
with the potential for movie premieres, screenings and corporate events.
“The Hammersmith
Apollo project presents a unique technical challenge to us with a multitude of
special requirements,” said Future
Projections’ Peter Hall. “The major ones include providing a premier standard
digital cinema solution that allows film premieres bigger and better than
anything in the West End, usage flexibility for both corporate and theatre
productions, and future 3D support. Besides, any work that may interfere with
the venue’s predominant rock-n-roll use or alter the building (currently carries
a Grade 2 Star listing from English Heritage) is also strongly prohibited. GDC’s
digital cinema solution has all the answers for this project and we are very
happy with the results.”
GDC is among the world’s top three digital cinema server
manufacturers with more than 2500 servers installed to-date. “It is indeed an
esteemed honour for GDC to be associated with Hammersmith Apollo, a legendary
entertainment icon of London,” said Dr. Man-Nang CHONG, founder and CEO of GDC
Technology. “This is our fifth installation project in the UK and we are glad to
see GDC steadily making inroads into the European market. We are delighted to be
working with such high profile clients as the Apollo, Working Title Films and
Curzon Cinemas. Working with a trusted partner like Future Projections gives us
the confidence to achieve wider market acceptance of GDC servers in Europe in
tandem with the rise of digital conversion there.”
