The Space Theatre at the Hong Kong Space Museum in Hong Kong has invested HK$34m (£2.8m, 3m euro, US$4.4m) to create the Stanley Ho Space Theatre - a Sky-Skan Definiti installation.

The planetarium has a giant 23m (75ft) dome screen and seats 270 people. Definiti DigitalSky 2 software runs everything from 8K and 4K playback streams, cutting-edge real-time graphics generation and 5.1 sound, to total theatre control via SPICE Automation.

Visitors can tour the universe live with interpretation by skilled presenters or, alternatively, hit a push button to watch a playback show in ultra high-resolution.

The Sky-Skan's Definiti 8K projection system consists of six Sony SXRD 4K projectors fitted with Definiti HD 8K lenses, 24 Definiti graphics computers pushing 53 million pixels (the screen has 38 M pixels after masking/blending) giving 24 HD streams at once, which are blended into one giant seamless picture. Sky-Skan's SPICE Automation handles theatre control.

The planetarium's dome was refinished as part of the renovation. The existing framework is from Astro-Tec (www.astro-tec.com), while the dome was re-sheeted by Spitz prior to this renovation.

Museum curator, Chan Ki-hung, said: "With a resolution exceeding 53 million pixels, the new digital planetarium system boasts the highest resolution in a theatre. Only two theatres in the world, Beijing Planetarium and the Hong Kong Space Museum, can project such ultra-high definition images. Coupled with Sony's latest SXRD projectors, which were introduced in early 2009, the Space Museum is one of the most advanced digital planetariums in the world.

"The new system can project full dome animations or movies, which couldn't be achieved by the old projector," Ki-hung continues. "Audiences can gaze at the starry sky at any time and from any place in the universe. They can also fly to a star or other celestial object and view it in a rendered 3D model. They can even fly to the end of the observable universe and study the large-scale structure of the universe.

"The new seats are installed with a multi-language system offering narration in more than four languages for a show. The newly designed display unit installed on the armrest of the seat allows individual viewers to select languages and use the interactive features, such as sending short messages among audience members and taking part in real-time games. A wireless headphone system makes it more convenient and comfortable for the audience to use."

(For more information, please see AM4/2009 Planetariums feature