Arkansas firm unveils laser projection technology at downtown Little Rock theater

Power Technology Inc. installed the state’s first laser-illuminated projection technology at the Ron Robinson Theater in downtown Little Rock last Wednesday, the first of many such ventures that local entrepreneurs say could help bring back moviegoers to the theaters.

William Burgess, vice president of operations for Power Technology, said laser illuminated projection (LIP) is a cutting edge projection technology that is implemented in fewer than 50 locations worldwide. He said Ron Robinson Center, located at the center of downtown Little Rock’s River Market, will now have cinematic lighting on par with theaters in London, Shanghai and Paris that use similar technology.

“Laser Illuminated technology has the ability to make 3D films four times brighter than standard 3D film,” Burgess said at a ribbon cutting at the local theater. “It’s worth mentioning that this technology is made right here in Arkansas for 45 years. In fact, we are one of the oldest laser companies in the world.”

Walter Burgess, William’s twin brother and vice president of engineering for the local tech firm, explained that LIP replaces traditional xenon lamps in movie projectors with more reliable laser light sources. The emerging technology also lasts about 20,000 hours, or seven to 10 years, compared to normal xenon projection lamps that last only 1,000 to 2,000 hours, the equivalent of three or four years.

Xenon lamps also lose their brightness after just a few hundred hours of use, Burgess said, requiring expensive and labor-intensive replacements. “And the cost to replace the lamps in most theaters is about $49,000 a year,” he said.

In the past year, the Alexander-based technology company has partnered with the Little Rock Film Festival to bring projection mapping to the local event. Projection mapping is special laser lighting used to highlight images, animation and interactive graphics onto a random surface.

More recently, the local company’s laser technology was featured at the New York Digital Signage Week, hosted by NEC Display Solutions of America Inc., a leading designer and maker of desktop LCD monitors, commercial- and professional-grade large-screen LCD displays, and multimedia and digital cinema projectors.

Williams Burgess said Power Technology is in talks with a number of other companies to install the laser projection technology at other theaters around the world.

On Thursday (Dec. 10), the Ron Robinson Theater, which is part of the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS), will host a showing of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” During the holiday season, every showing at the downtown theater will use the newly installed laser lighting system to give local patrons an opportunity to experience the technology first hand.

“Some of the classic movies including ‘A Christmas Story’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ make for such a great meeting of golden-age cinema with the very best in modern laser projection technology. It is a fantastic blending of old and new only available in Arkansas,” said Power Technology spokesman Kris Hesson.

To learn more about the Power Technology, click here.