7thSense Design supplies the media servers that power some of the industry’s most breathtaking digital environments, from state-of-the-art 8K planetariums to dark rides in top tier theme parks to exhibitions in the world’s most visited museums.

The company’s high-performance uncompressed Delta Media Servers are the product of choice wherever high quality, high resolution, high frame rate, high fidelity video content is required. And those products are fully supported by 7thSense’s Stack content management framework, which can be used to intelligently design, schedule, control and develop shows and content of any kind.

7thSense Design managing director Matt Barton and technical director Richard Brown explain more about the company.

What’s the driving force behind 7thSense?
MB: For the company, the team and the product, it’s always been about getting as many good high-fidelity pixels on the screen as possible. The architecture of Delta from day one has been uncompressed and every evolution of the product has stemmed from that baseline.

RB: The amount of uncompressed pixels we can process is our claim to fame. We believe our server is capable of processing the largest throughput, the highest performance and highest number of pixels on the market. Our niche is high quality image rendering, so the timing, the frame rate and the bit depth are core elements.

MB: For example, the use of Delta Infinity technology marked the world’s first ever live-action uncompressed 4K 120Hz per eye 3D test during previews of Ang Lee’s technologically groundbreaking film, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, in September.

Why is 7thSense a good fit with the attractions industry?
MB: It’s about the feeling of immersion through quality. The core team of 7thSense has a background in flight simulation, so from early on they knew that for an experience to really work, a fighter pilot has to truly believe he’s on a mission. To do that the simulation has to be so realistic and seamless that he can’t be distracted.

In a theme park ride, the audience has to be entirely immersed in the story from the minute they step into the queue. They will see the story in the theming, in the written text, on monitors, all the way through to when they load into the vehicle. Everything builds up to this point, so it’s essential that when the ride starts, the visuals are as immersive and believable as everything else they’ve seen. We’re ideally suited because we have that background of understanding what it takes to fully immerse someone in the experience.

How do you work with clients?
MB: We enjoy in-depth relationships with the most respected AV integrators in the world and with experience designers. We talk to them at a detailed level about the product and how it can be used.

RB: Some clients just buy what they need. They know how it works, plus 7thSense has a comprehensive support system, including a customer portal, live chat and trained customer support representatives.

MB: We often contribute to the project design and development process. We can get involved at the early stages of the big projects, to make sure that the configuration from architects is as good as it can be, consulting on how best to approach the configuration for a particular display system on an attraction. As well as working with leading-edge integrators, we also work directly with the large theme park operators in the US, China and Europe.

What other projects can you talk about?
MB: We work on big-budget rides, but also on unique or smaller scale experiences. For example, Madame Tussaud’s in New York is using a Delta Nano to create a Pepper’s Ghost of Slimer in the Ghostbusters Experience. We’re also involved in 3D projection mapping projects, such as New York’s One World Observatory. We support digital signage in Times Square. We’re upgrading some high-profile planetariums. And interactivity, whether gesture based, or through VR or AR, is something we increasingly deliver as part of a solution.

We’re involved in a new 3D LED computer game-based ride. Delta is ideally suited to projection, large format, high resolution LED walls – and pretty much any complex display environment you can think of.