Industry Entertainment |
Region Warwickshire, UK |
Type of Solution Optoma W401 |
Installation Company AV Candy |
www.av-candy.co.uk |
Based in Warwickshire, AV Candy provides residential and commercial AV installations and full control multi-zone systems. |
Installation company, AV Candy, was appointed to upgrade the projection system in the popular Kenilworth pub, the Virgins and Castle, in time for the 2015 rugby season.
Built in the late 15th century, The Virgins and Castle is one of the oldest pubs in Warwickshire. One of the pub’s quirks is its awkward shape: long, thin with a low ceiling, and access doors at both ends.
AV Candy installed the Optoma W401. This WXGA resolution Full 3D projector has exceptional brightness of 4,500 lumens, perfect for watching games in the day with the curtains open and lights on.
Simon Redfearn from AV Candy said: “In this particular project, we used a little gem of a projector – an Optoma W401. Not being a full 1080p resolution might surprise some, but as this particular projector is 4,500 lumens, this is far more important in the pub environment. This picture fills the screen, which has a black border further improving the perceived brightness and really making an impact on what the audience sees.”
Also installed was a Sapphire manual drop down screen, Electro-Voice Evid 3.2 two-way surface-mount loudspeakers, a Cloud MA60 single zone controller and amplifier and a CYP automatic HDMI switch.
The size and location of the screen allows all customers to get a good view of the match from anywhere in the room without the pub needing to reduce customer seating. Applying a little reconfiguration, it was able to slightly increase the number of seats available in its floorplan.
AV Candy integrated a simple mono audio system that would ensure even coverage throughout the single zone as well as helping the intelligibility of commentators during sporting events. Included in this package was a microphone input for the weekly pub trivia quiz, a HDMI to support Blu-Ray/DVD and VGA for laptop control input.
Simon added: ““Due to the location of the pub, we selected a Freesat digital satellite solution to guarantee a decent picture in HD since terrestrial reception is still questionable in this area.
“In all our projects, we spend time calculating optimum throw, screen size, required resolution, and brightness necessary to capture a ‘wow’ from the client and the audience.”
Simon said: “On seeing the installed system, the pub owners were well and truly wowed. Stealing customers from other pubs and clubs in the area was an unexpected bonus!
“The owner agreed that spending a little more for getting this system installed was well worth the small investment.
“Many regulars to the pub are claiming that it’s the best picture in the area! We also found that quite a few customers switched to this pub mainly due to the picture quality. This level of feedback always makes us feel good about what we do.”
With thanks to Alice Gustafson, Commercial Integrator Europe