Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Christie, Cypress, California-based visual displays and audio technologies company, has acquired Cologne-based coolux (as we reported, rumoured back in October 2014 here), a world-renowned developer and supplier of 3D compositing and rendering systems, best known for its Pandoras Box product family.
coolux will be integrated into Christie’s global market solutions team, maintaining its office in Cologne, Germany.
“Christie is committed to deepen its marketplace lead in supplying a total solution for advanced applications such as projection mapping, broadcast delivery and all manner of large-scale digital canvas creation, so the fit between our products and services and those of coolux is a natural one,” says Jennifer Smith, executive vice-president, Christie global market solutions.
“Pre-visualization capability when creating stunning, experiential events – including real-time rendering of same – is increasingly important in the creative plans of entertainment designer and creative visionaries,” says Smith. “The acquisition is a boon to those who need multiple display technologies to come together to create both continuous and non-continuous digital canvases, but most importantly, to be able to create and manage the content that flows onto these canvases.”
coolux CEO Jan Huewel, who will report to Smith in his new position of senior director, processing solutions, says, “In a world where visual and audio experiences are assuming new importance in inspiring and moving audiences, content orchestration and synchronized content delivery is paramount and with today’s news, Christie, with its already impressive presence in this arena, has gained another leading-edge product line and development team to ensure it keeps its lead.”
More details on the announcement are expecrted at the biennial coolux Connect Conference, being held Jan. 8-9, 2015, at Vulkanhalle, Building E, Lichtstr. 43, 50825 in Cologne, Germany.
Initial reactions to the news of the acquisition is said to be positive among global leaders in augmented reality and experiential-marketing projects,.
Award-winning projection designer Bart Kresa of BARTKRESA design Inc., says, “I’ve used coolux and Christie products in a number of my productions and value both for their feature-rich gamut and reliability, so I’m excited about what Christie will come up with in future, leveraging its expertise and that of the coolux team.”
coolux has become a welcome feature at various industry shows, including #ISE2015, NAB, LDI and #InfoComm15, and this presence will continue in the Christie experiential marketing booths at these shows, beginning with the NAB 2015 show in Las Vegas, Apr. 13-16, 2015.
coolux, on its own and in combination with Christie products, has earned an enviable track record in delivering impactful 3D visualisation and composting solutions and driving various events .
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