Qube Cinema installed its single-server 4K 3D system at Moody Gardens in advance of the Giant Screen Cinema Association Film Expo and Digital Symposium happening now in Galveston, Texas.

The single Qube XP-I server delivers 4K stereoscopic imagery to two Barco 4K projectors each with its own embedded Qube Xi 4K Integrated Media Block (IMB).

The MG 3D Theater at Moody Gardens upgraded from film to digital two years ago with two 4K Barco projectors and a 2K server. Because they wanted to show high-resolution content, they immediately began the search for a server and integrated media block that could deliver the full 4K power of their two Barco 4K projectors. That led them to the Qube Cinema XP-I server, which offers up to one Gbps throughput of uncompressed data to paired Xi 4K IMBs, delivering 4K resolution at 30 fps or 2K 3D content up to 120 fps per eye.

In addition to its High Frame Rate 3D capabilities, the XP-I server can synchronize dual DLP projectors, thus increasing screen brightness for 3D exhibition to 14 foot-lamberts, a level which is comparable to that of 2D screenings. This is especially pertinent for giant screens like the 80’ by 60’ screen at the MG 3D Theater.

“The results of audience surveys are consistently great, with high marks for image clarity,” noted Moody Gardens theatre director Brandon Compton. “The big difference from our perspective is in the equipment booth. The XP-I makes it so simple to ingest content and build show files. Qube has made life a lot easier for the guys in the booth.”

Established in 1986, Moody Gardens is an educational center that uses nature for recreation, rehabilitation and research. The giant-screen theater, in operation for over 20 years, was one of the first attractions at the center. In 2012, the MG 3D Theater made history by demonstrating high-bit-rate stereoscopic 4K projection for the first time from a single Qube XP-I server and two Qube Xi 4K IMBs at its digital-cinema symposium.