Christie Brings Cinema Sound to Vivid Life with the Launch of New Christie Vive Audio

July 18, 2013 - PRLog -- Christie®, the world’s dominant brand in the digital cinema projection market, today launched the groundbreaking Christie Vive Audio™ solution to help  exhibitors “complete the experience” for their moviegoing audiences.  Designed for cinema, Christie Vive Audio leverages a unique articulated, single enclosure line array speaker design and ribbon driver technology, and combines it with the first use of efficient, high-powered Class D amplification in cinema – all at an attainable price point. Christie Vive Audio’s cinema speakers and amplifiers can be easily and efficiently integrated into any existing or new theater auditorium for the ultimate movie viewing and listening experience.

“The introduction of digital technology has sparked tremendous changes in movie content since 2005, but many theaters are still using audio systems designed for 35mm film,” said Craig Sholder, Christie’s Entertainment Solutions unit vice president. “With Christie Vive Audio, we have found a way to take all the benefits of line array configuration and put it into a cinema environment by combining it with ribbon driver technology and Class D amplification – all in a single, elegant audio solution that is easily attainable to exhibitors.”

“Typical audio solutions in the market have not kept up with performance demands of DCI specifications for audio – until now. The Christie Vive Audio integrated solution with its extended frequency response, high dynamic range and ultra fast transient response, along with unprecedented peak-to-average SPL ratios and smooth and even coverage, meets the performance demands of the DCI specification,” said Jim Hall, senior product manager with Christie’s Entertainment Solutions unit. “Christie Vive Audio represents a major leap in cinema sound, with perfect timbre-matching that unleashes the potential of today’s uncompressed digital audio along with leading immersive audio platforms such as Dolby® Atmos™.”

The complete Christie Vive Audio solution comprises surround and screen channel speakers, subwoofers, and Class D amplifiers. It offers exhibitors the opportunity to provide audiences with the ultimate movie-viewing experience, enveloping them with dynamic, richly detailed and enhanced audio where speech, special effects, music, and alternative content sound more natural and lifelike. At the core of the system are the combination of superior sounding screen channel speakers with ribbon driver technology and the proven performance of a line array speaker design, all in a single enclosure.

This innovative design helps increase the optimal listening area up to four times when compared to conventional compression driver-based audio systems and results in exceptionally smooth and even audio coverage throughout the auditorium. As well, Christie’s Class D amplifiers, which are more compatible with digital sources, are more efficient, resulting in lower operating costs.  

Added Patrick Artiaga, director, Business Development, Audio Solutions, with Christie’s Entertainment Solutions group, “The complete Christie Vive cinema audio solution can be tailored to the demands of any cinema space, from postproduction studios and screening rooms to traditional and premium large-format auditoriums. Each component of Christie Vive Audio has been specifically engineered to complement the other and combine to deliver a complete solution.  By combining the superior performance capabilities of each piece into one integrated solution, Christie Vive Audio brings the next generation of cinema audio to any auditorium.”

More information on Christie’s new audio initiative can be found at www.viveaudio.com.

About Christie®

Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world’s most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images. Visit www.christiedigital.com.