NEC Displays Solutions Europe and Odeon have installed an LED digital display measuring 107 square metres, on the facade of the Odeon Leicester Square in London, UK for the world premiere of 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'.
The display, which measures half the size of half a basketball court, replaces the old poster board and is flanked by two 18 square metre displays in one of the UK’s busiest locations, which welcomes more than 90 million tourists every year.
The trio will display images for the latest movies and, during events such as premieres, live footage including celebrity interviews and clips will be screened for the public to view.
The installation of the new screens will allow Odeon Leicester Square to quickly change what the screens display, eliminating the need to regularly hire 'cherry picker' lifts to change what is displayed on the poster boards.
The new screens will also enable the display to divide into multiple screens, allowing Odeon to screen different content simultaneously, a feature which will be particularly useful during premieres where live film footage of the red carpet can be screened alongside clips of the film.
Simon Jackson, VP, NEC Display Solutions, said: "A project of this scale breaks new ground and brought several challenges. Weighing in at several tonnes, the main screen had to be built off-site and installed in three separate stages. Getting uniform colour consistency of images across a display of this size is also a major achievement."
This project is a continuation of NEC’s relationship with Odeon, which has also seen all of its theatres across Europe upgraded to NEC digital cinema projectors over the last five years. It also heralds the ongoing extension from the projection room into front-of-house, with planned projects to bring more digital signage and self-service kiosks into theatres.