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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Christie Digital Systems)
Christie
TypePrivate
IndustryProfessional audio-visual technology
Founded1929
FounderS.L. Christie
HeadquartersCypress, California
Key people
Michael Phipps, President & CEO, Christie Digital Systems, Inc.
ProductsProjectors, LED video walls, LCD displays, image processors
ServicesDesign, manufacture, deploy, and support professional AV and cinema display technology
ParentUshio, Inc.
Websitehttps://www.christiedigital.com

Christie is a visual display technologies company specializing in digital projection, LED video wall displays, projection software and tools, and image processors for cinema and professional AV markets. The company has been granted over 100 patents.[1]

Christie is headquartered in Cypress, California, U.S. with engineering in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and manufacturing in Shenzhen, China.[1] Christie has offices in 15 countries.[2]

History

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Mirage 5000, a DLP projector sold by Christie around 2001

1920s

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Christie was founded in 1929[3] under the name McColpin-Christie Corp. by S.L. Christie and J.W. McColpin in Los Angeles, California. Christie was originally in the business of battery chargers and power supplies.[4]

1940s

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McColpin-Christie Corp. introduces six-phase full-wave rectifiers for 1 kW carbon arc lamps to the motion picture industry. This rectifier increased the number of impulses per second to reduce the flicker from projectors.[5]

1960s and 1970s

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During the 1960s, under the leadership of Tom Christie, the company began manufacturing 35 mm film movie projectors, lamp houses, lamp consoles, and film platter systems.[6]

1990s

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The projector division of Christie was acquired by Ushio in 1992.[7]

Christie acquired the Kitchener, Ontario-based digital projection business of Electrohome in 1999 as part of their move to digital cinema.[8][9]

Christie was the first licensee of Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing technology.

In 1999, Christie introduced the DCP-H, or DigiPro, the world's first digital cinema projector.[10] The DigiPro was sold to Pixar Animation Studios for the release of Toy Story 2.[11][12]

2000s

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Christie acquired Vista Controls Systems in 2007, makers of video processing systems, including the Spyder.[13]

In 2009, Christie launched MicroTiles, modular LED-powered DLP-based units that can be built together into a large video wall-style display.[14]

2010s

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In 2013, Christie launched the Matrix StIM WQ and Matrix SIM WQ projector designed for simulation and training applications.[15]

In 2015, Christie acquired Coolux, best known for its Pandoras Box product family of media and show control systems.[16]

Christie launched a new projection system using RGB laser technology with colors approaching Rec. 2020 color space.[17]

In 2019, Christie launched MicroTiles LED, a direct-view LED display consisting of a mounting chassis and three rectangular modules which snap onto the chassis via magnets.[18]

As of 2019, more than 65,000 Christie projectors have been installed worldwide, used in more than 10 million screenings.[19]

2020s

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During Expo 2020 in Dubai, 252 Christie RGB pure laser projectors were used to illuminate the Al Wasl Dome. The dome was built as the centerpiece of the Expo site and holds a Guinness World Record for the largest interactive immersive dome.[20]

Christie acquired Cinergy, a cloud-based enterprise platform for movie theaters, from Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, LLC (DCIP) in 2022.[21]

In 2025, Christie released the Eclipse G3, a 6DLP projector with true HDR, and the Sapphire 4K40-RGBH projector, the first high-brightness hybrid RGB pure laser and laser phosphor projector of its kind.[22][23]

Technological developments

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By the 1950s, Christie had established itself as a manufacturer of 35mm film projectors, lamp houses, lamp consoles, and film platter systems, which remained the company's focus until the late 1990s, when they shifted to developing technology for digital projection for both cinema and professional AV and video wall display technology.

Digital cinema

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After acquiring the Canadian DLP projection company Electrohome, Christie received the first license from Texas Instruments for the digital cinema technology.[9] Along with Texas Instruments, they marketed the first digital cinema projector to be adopted by Hollywood.[24] They began installing digital projectors in cinemas in 2006 as part of the world's first large-scale digital cinema deployment to almost 4,000 screens across the U.S.[25]

High frame rates for cinema

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Christie was one of the first manufacturers to develop projectors that could show films at high frame rates. During the production of The Hobbit (film series), the first film released in 3D at 48fps, Peter Jackson's postproduction company partnered with Christie as part of research and development on HFR integrated media blocks and projectors.[26]

In 2016, Director Ang Lee was the first to release a film in 4K resolution, 3D, and 120 frames per second per eye, which required the use of two Christie 4K Mirage laser projectors to show the film at that frame rate.[27]

HDR

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Christie entered an agreement with James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment in 2017, to help develop new RGB laser projectors and share research in high dynamic range (HDR) development.[28]

Video walls

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In 2009, Christie released MicroTiles display cubes using a projector light engine and a DLP digital micromirror device to create a short throw lens rear-projection of images onto a removable tile screen. In 2019, it was replaced by MicroTiles LED, a cabinet-free LED video wall.

Virtual production

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As part of a collaboration with partners at KinoFlo, Christie developed a virtual production solution that includes the use of high frame rate RGB laser projectors as an alternative to LED volumes for on-set virtual production and green screen fatigue.[a]

Awards

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Christie has received three Academy Awards since 1982.

The company won its first Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 1982 with LaVezzi Machine Works, for the design and manufacture of the Ultramittent film transport for Christie motion picture projectors.[33] The award for Technical Achievement was awarded to employee Clark F. Crites in 1998 for the design and development of the Christie ELF 1-C Endless Loop Film Transport and Storage System.[34]

In 2024, principal product developer Michael Perkins was a member of the team awarded the Academy Scientific and Technical Award for the design and development of the Christie E3LH Dolby Vision Cinema Projection System.[b]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Attributed to multiple references:[29][30][31][32]
  2. ↑ Attributed to multiple references:[35][36][37]

References

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  1. 1 2 "About Christie".
  2. ↑ "Christie Locations".
  3. ↑ "Christie: Relationships, passion and quality". InPark Magazine. 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 17 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "[Trade catalogs from Christie Electric Corp.] Smithsonian Libraries and Archives".
  5. ↑ "New 6-Phase Mc-C Rectifier for 1 Kw Carbon Arc Lamps". International Projectionist. July 1947. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  6. ↑ "A Digital Leader with Heritage". Archived from the original on 2020-09-18.
  7. ↑ "History | Ushio Inc". www.ushio.co.jp. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  8. ↑ "Christie Digital Systems Premieres". ProjectorCentral News. November 1, 1999. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  9. 1 2 "How Christie's retiring Jack Kline made digital movie projection an actual reality". Los Angeles Daily News. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Christie Exceeds 20,000 Digital Cinema Projector Milestone". ETC. 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Pixar Chooses Christie's D-Cinema Projector". Sound & Video Contractor. 8 November 2001. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  12. ↑ "Projecteur numérique DLP". La Cinémathèque française. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Christie Acquires Vista Systems". Sound & Video Contractor. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  14. ↑ "Christie Digital Launches MicroTiles". DailyDOOH. 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  15. ↑ "Christie Matrix StIM WQ and Matrix SIM WQ Projectors". Sound & Video Contractor. 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  16. ↑ "Christie acquires Pandoras Box creator coolux". Installation. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  17. ↑ "Christie announces new laser projection system platform and products in 2015". Projectorpoint News. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  18. ↑ Haynes, Dave (2019-10-01). "Christie Goes Into The Back-Story Of Its LED MicroTiles". Sixteen:Nine. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  19. ↑ "Christie - A digital leader with heritage". Archived from the original on 2020-09-18.
  20. ↑ "Christie Projectors Used By Hexogon Solution Set New Guinness World Records Title | Live Design Online". www.livedesignonline.com. 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  21. ↑ Staff, Boxoffice (2022-04-25). "Christie Purchases Cinergy Software from Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP)". Boxoffice Pro. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
  22. ↑ "Christie to debut Eclipse G3 at CEDIA Expo". blooloop. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "Christie's Sapphire 4K40-RGBH projector". InPark Magazine. 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  24. ↑ "Gerry Remers (MA '82)". University of Waterloo Alumni. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "Christie hires Sean James as Executive VP of Global Sales and Service". TPi Magazine. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  26. ↑ "'The Hobbit' Will Premiere in High Frame Rate 3D". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  27. ↑ "Ang Lee makes cinema history with Christie Mirage 3D projector". AV Magazine. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment collaborates with Christie". AV Magazine. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  29. ↑ "Proyección virtual, la alternativa que Christie y aliados han puesto sobre la mesa en la previa de la NAB". Cine&Tele. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  30. ↑ "Immersive Virtual Production With SMPTE 2110". GitHub. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  31. ↑ "Multi-Camera Virtual Projection Stage Goes Tracking-Agnostic at NAB 2026". VP Land. 7 May 2026. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  32. ↑ "Sub-Frame Virtual Production With Synchronized Lighting Systems And High Frame Rate Laser Projectors". GitHub. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  33. ↑ "Academy Awards Database". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  34. ↑ "Acad awards tech Oscar, other nods". Variety.
  35. ↑ "Scientific & Technical Awards 2024".
  36. ↑ "Projection technology developed in Kitchener wins Academy Award". CTV News Kitchener.
  37. ↑ "SciTech Awards: Academy Celebrates Theatrical Exhibition Advancements". Variety.
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