Barco, a global leader in digital cinema technology, recently announced the inauguration of the world’s largest single 6P laser theater, the Barco Laser Theater, built by the Eying Group in Chengdu, China. Located on the Eying 1958 Cinema’s landscape-style campus, the first of its kind in China, the largest-screen theater is lit by Barco’s new DP4K-60L, single projector 6P laser 3D system and is proudly named after Barco. Strong support for the cinema’s upgradeEying 1958 Cinema is a film theme park developed by the Eying Group and supported by the Special Culture Funding Program in Sichuan Province. The new laser projection-enabled theater was renovated from an old detached studio on the former campus and named after Barco specifically to recognize its high standard of technology. In 2011, the group deployed Barco’s Auro sound format, creating the world’s first theater to use Bar-co’s dual 4K + Auro 11.1 cinema exhibition system. Relying on its close, long-term part-nership with Barco, the Eying Group continues to lay a solid technical foundation for im-pressive growth and development.
Thanks to the Eying Group’s ongoing support, Eying 1958 Cinema will set the pace for developments in the era of laser projection. Eying has paid close attention to new tech-nologies, as well as to strategic partnerships with global technology leaders,” says He Shiping, chairman and secretary of the CCP committee at the Eying Group. “This laser theater is our first attempt to use new technology and optimized solutions. We expect Eying 1958 Cinema to stand out among fierce competition and set a new standard in the industry with never-before-seen audiovisual performance. Barco is not only an excellent supplier but also a reliable partner who has provided great support during our long-term relationship. We trust in their products and their people, and that’s why we chose Barco.”
Superior 3D brightness for the ultimate cinema experience
The new theater’s 20m x 11m diffuse reflection screen with a gain of 1.4 is lit by Barco’s DP4K-60L commercial laser projector, creating an unmatched movie-going experience for the audience. According to a recent site survey, the projector achieves 3D images with 14fL of brightness, three times the standard 4.5fL in traditional 3D theaters. The DP4K-60L is the world’s first and most compact single projector 6P system with built-in laser sources. Equipped with Barco Alchemy, the industry’s first and only integrated cinema media processor (ICMP), this ultra-high brightness cinema projector is the world’s first and only laser solution to support all major industry 3D systems, and the first projector capable of showing 4K cinema content at 60fps and 3D movies in full 4K resolution. Thanks to its >50,000 lumen output, it delivers consistently higher brightness, a wider color gamut, and higher contrast in both 2D and 3D formats.
The 3D version of 2013’s The Grand Master was screened at the opening ceremony, demonstrating higher brightness than the 2D format. Thanks to the rich, accurate color display, director Wang Kar-Wai’s trademark action scenes—such as the rainy-night fight at the beginning, the railway-station fight between Ma San and Gong Er, and Gong Er’s snowy-day drill at the end of the film—delivered a truly immersive experience for movie-goers.
Barco technology leads laser projection
Today’s audiences demand an increasingly high-quality movie-going environment, which places higher requirements on cinemas while bringing opportunities to promote techno-logical development.. As the supplier of the world’s brightest projector, Barco has taken the lead in laser projection.
“Laser projection will help cinemas achieve constant and premium quality,” says Phil Chen, general manager at CFG Barco (Beijing) Electronics Co. Ltd. “Laser technology is widely recognized as the superior trend in movie projection, and China’s cinemas have become innovators (or pioneers) in the transformation to laser projection. The Barco Laser Theater at Eying 1958 Cinema has the most advanced single projector laser system in China, setting a new benchmark for China’s Cinema industry. Following this lead, an increasing number of Chinese cinemas will deploy laser projectors. As a global leader in projection technology, we will continue to enrich our product lines and services, with the goal of creating an even more compelling movie-going experience for Chinese audiences.”
Global shipments of the Barco 6P Laser 3D projection system have been growing rapidly. Barco will complete installation projects at 11 laser theaters in China in the first quarter of 2015, enabling more Cinema audiences to enjoy the world’s best visual experience. Barco will continue to announce updates on its installation projects in China throughout their laser roll-out.
