Friday 14 February 2014

Water Screens

Deciding whether a water screen is the right solution for your event can be difficult.  As such, we have put together the following information.

HOW DOES THE WATER SCREEN WORK?

Developing our water screen technology took several months of work from our most senior staff, as well as the input from consulting engineers.  This has resulted in us having some very unique and customised technologies. The basic principle of the screen system is to push water in an upward motion from the ground in a relatively flat spray.  This gives a surface that we can project onto using high-power video projectors.


HOW GOOD IS THE IMAGE?

Very good.  As the water droplets that make up the screen surface are smaller than the pixels projected by the projector the resolution is excellent.  The downside of the water screens is that, when used at larger sizes, the water droplets tend to "atomise" which creates a cloudy effect at the outside edges of the screen.  As a result it would not be recommended to use water screens for applications where pixel-perfect images are required, such as technical presentations.

HOW DOES THE WATER SCREEN DIFFER FROM NORMAL SCREENS?

The main difference is that our water screens give a "holographic" appearance.  While true free-space three-dimentional holography is currently a technological impossibility (but watch this space!), our screen gives the closest thing to it.  To the naked eye, the water spray is virtually transparent, but when water sprays on it the image becomes bright, rich and lucid.  It really is a stunning effect.

WHERE DOES THE WATER COME FROM?

We require a large water source to use our water screen.  With a water requirement of over 1000 litres per minute of usage, we need access to a nearby lake, fire hydrant, or river.  However, we are able to run the system from water ballasts if required.

WHERE DOES THE WATER GO?

Once the water has been "thrown" up to make the screen, it then falls like a fine rain to the ground.  As such, any space we setup such a screen needs to be able to withstand a little rain.

IS IT DANGEROUS?

In essence, no.  However each site is risk assessed to look for any unique project risks.  In particular we consider the water quality and whether there is any health risks associated with it.

Read more at www.sxsevents.co.uk
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