Denbies Vineyard in Surrey, UK incorporates a cinema as part of its “Indoor Wine Experience†tour. It is a 360°, panoramic cinema and uses eight projectors to show films that explain viticulture and the heritage of the estate.
The vineyard is the UK’s largest working winery and a popular visitor destination. Family groups and business people visit the estate to learn about the process of wine making, and the history of the land, as well as to sample Denbies’ range of wine.
The cinema attracts 25,000 visitors each year and is a vital part of Denbies business, but as the projectors aged their usage of six-and-a-half hours a day took their toll and they were increasingly disrupted by malfunction.
The projectors were five years old, worn out and proving unreliable. Given this and the resource that had been required for management and maintenance, Denbies decide to update.
Epson recommended a combination of two EB–G5000 series 3LCD projectors, seven Epson EB-G5150 and one EB-G5200 projector.
Denbies is a busy organisation and the staff often have more than one job role, meaning that they don’t have time to worry about the functionality of the projectors. The Epson EB-G5150 and the EB-G5200 3LCD projectors are programmed to play the film five times a day and are automatically switched off at the end of the day so that all the staff need to do is flick a switch and the rest is done automatically.
The cinema ceiling is very high, so Denbies needed a lens that would be able to project from a distance. The G5150 and G5200 use a long-throw lens, which enables this.
Epson also points out that its projectors are designed to be lightweight, which is a big advantage as all eight are installed on a rail on the ceiling.
All eight projectors are controlled by Epson’s network-monitoring software - EasyMP. This enables the projectors to be networked and controlled centrally from one computer, saving time and resource. The projectors are programmed to switch on and off at certain times of the day and any potential issues such as filter changes or low lamp life can be flagged up by automated email alerts, removing the need for regular physical checks.
Victor Maguire, facilities and reception manager, Denbies Wine Estate, said: “I have been extremely impressed with the quality and reliability of the Epson projectors we have installed in our cinema. They are incredibly easy to use and manage and I am relieved that all I need to do now is flick a switch and essentially they run themselves. In addition to the products themselves, the level of service Epson has offered me is also a huge advantage to us. Our cinema is such an integral part of the Denbies experience so the fact that Epson can send out an engineer to fix any problems by the next day gives me huge peace of mind.”