The South Downs Planetarium in Chichester, Sussex, UK, has reopened following a technology upgrade, which included a new show control system and media server from 7thSense Design (7thSense).

The upgrade was led by Brighton-based immersive experience specialist TEQ4, who worked closely with 7thSense to integrate a single Delta Nano media server and show control system in the 100-seat theatre.
Delta was selected as a cost-effective yet powerful solution for the two-channel fulldome display.

Richard Brown, CTO of 7thSense, says: “There’s a huge amount of content management and control functionality within this installation - our development team customised the management interface so that any operators or presenters can lead a show without any training or technical support. A wireless touchpad allows for easy, intuitive theatre control and instant show management.”
Martin Howe, founder and managing director of TEQ4, says: “Delta was the obvious package for this project. It can play uncompressed images straight from Fulldome content without the time consuming splicing that is often necessary. Also, the enhanced User Interface feature allows the operators to control the entire system from a tablet. This all-in-one solution avoids the cost and effort it would take to build and configure a separate control system.”

Howe adds: “The results on screen are stunning, it’s a bright, sharp, colourful display. I’m really pleased that we were able to bring this solution to the South Downs Planetarium. It’s given the theatre a whole new lease of life for a very modest budget.”