Digital cinema pioneer and world-record holder of the brightest DC projector, Barco publicly unveiled its laser projector technology, showcasing levels of brightness and color saturation never seen before to exhibitors and industry luminaries at the 2nd Annual Moody Gardens Digital Cinema Symposium in Galveston, Texas from January 9-10, 2012.
“The laser projection presented today by Barco is the best projection, truly the most stunning images, I've ever seen on-screen in my life,” said Douglas Trumbull, legendary film maker and visual effects pioneer. “This is where we need to go as an industry to save the movie industry from decline. If you want to get people into theaters, you have to do this. The level of brightness, color gamut and saturation that Barco's laser projector delivers is paramount to achieving the ultimate production value.”
Barco demonstrated its revolutionary 4K laser projection technology on a 70-foot screen, stunning a crowd of large-screen movie industry experts with its brightness and image clarity and providing a glimpse of where cinema is heading as an industry. Exceeding 55,000 ANSI lumens, Barco's laser projector prototype achieved even higher brightness levels than its world-record holding DP2K-32B digital cinema projector, the first time a laser projector has presented a 4K movie on a giant screen. Compared to traditional xenon lamp-based projectors, laser technology offers several advantages, including brighter images and a wider color gamut, longer lifespan (up to 10 times longer), and sustained brightness over the life of the laser light source.
Premiere Cinemas VP of Cinema Operations Joel Davis attended the laser projection demonstration, remarking, “The contrast ratio on the screen and full brightness are unbelievable.” Another exhibitor, Cinergy Cinemas CEO Jeff Benson, commented, “This was the brightest image I've ever seen on a screen that size – really impressive!”
David Keene, Executive Editor of NewBay Media's Systems Group, commented, “The most dramatic demo at the Digital Cinema Symposium was Barco's showing of a prototype laser projector. The audience saw a stunning display on a massive screen with a light output they have never seen anywhere: 600 watts of laser light into the 4K DLP (with a 1.38 inch chip), super high contrast, with amazingly uniform light output to the last inch of every corner of the screen. It's impossible to describe the combined, synergistic effect of simultaneous very high light output, higher contrast, and 4K resolution.” To read Keene's full review, visithttp://rentalandstaging.com/article/69340.aspx.
“What our customers want now more than anything is brightness. That's what improves the user experience right now in 3D,” said Todd Hoddick, VP Entertainment for Barco North America. “The key is to drive the combination of brightness and light levels up, while driving total cost of ownership down. Laser is going to help us make our customers more profitable and give them choices in content. Most importantly, it addresses the most important and frequent request we get, 'Can you give us more light output?' What we've proven today is a resounding 'yes, we can.'”
Further demonstrating its technology leadership in immersive cinema, Barco also showcased DLP Cinema® Enhanced 4K projection, enhanced by high frame rate technology, and including Auro-3D, a multi-channel 3D audio system. “This solution delivers the most true-to-life movie presentation by producing smooth, crystal clear imagery coupled with ultra high-fidelity sound,” commented Andrew Gaweda, Senior Product Manager for Barco North America. “Elevating the movie-going experience to new levels for all types of theaters, Barco's DP4K-32B is the ideal platform for large-screen cinema as well as traditional-sized auditoriums.”
To learn more about the Moody Gardens Digital Cinema Symposium and see reviews, visit www.barco.com/moodygardens.
