COSM Brings 8K+ to Renew a Dome in Texas
In April last year, we published an email interview with COSM, a specialist in developing location-based immersive experiences. Our interest had been drawn by reports of a new 8K+ planetarium being developed in Prague and we had also heard about a new development at the Dorrance Planetarium of the Arizona Science Center. However, we hadn’t heard at that time about an installation in the Omni Theater IMAX which is part of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. That installation has just gone live and we spotted a video here.
The IMAX Theater in the Fort Worth Museum is reported to have been a favourite destination of local residents for many years. It was originally created in 1983 as a 70mm film installation and was the first IMAX dome theater in the Southwest of the US.
The Museum missed out when digital technology was launched (IMAX Digital 2K in 2008 and IMAX with Laser 4K in 2014). Covid in 2020 saw the theater shut down and it had not re-opened after the pandemic as it had ‘slipped into dis-repair’.
Upgrading to a New Level
The decision was made to upgrade the dome to a completely new level and an LED-based direct view display was selected with more than 8K of resolution over the dome. This has been a big step for the Museum, as the change meant a $20 million investment (although only $16 million had been raised when the decision was made in 2022). The renovations and the new installation took 18 months. Although it will no longer be active, the original 70mm film-based system will be maintained as a museum exhibit. The IMAX Omni Theater has been renamed as the Jane & John Justin Foundation Omni Theater.
COSM has reported that the decision to go ahead was influenced by the chance for Museum executives to see the firm’s Experience Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, the definitive prototype of Cosm’s technology. It features a 65-foot (20m) diameter 8K LED dome. Once immersed in Cosm’s LED dome technology, initially hesitant donors became enthusiastic advocates, inspiring others to contribute and share in the excitement, the firm reported.
The Numbers
The dome is 77.5′ (23.6m) wide and has required 12,000 LED modules of 10″ x 10″ (25cm x 25cm). The resolution is quoted as ‘8K+’ and the dome has 43 million pixels (ITU 8K UltraHD is 33 million) The modules allow sound pass-through so there is an immersive sense to the audio as well. The digital technology allows the use of the dome for conferences, product launches and other events beyond education and the Museum now has staff dedicated to creating content for the dome. The high brightness (up by a factor of 30-40) and contrast (without ‘cross-bounce’) of the new dome is said to have generated a “Wow!” reaction from viewers.
The opening of the new Theater has helped to fuel a competition to catch up with Fort Worth. The Tampa Bay Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) is in the process of installing a new new 8K system using a COSM aluminum dome of 82′ (25M) with the images provided by ten Christie projectors. The new display will boost the capacity of the venue from 46 to more than 300. The facility is due to open in the second half of this year.
