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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » Digital Projectors at ShoWest convention (Page 1)

 
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2   
Author Topic: Digital Projectors at ShoWest convention
Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

- posted 03-15-2007 09:10 AM      Profile for Richard Fowler   Email Richard Fowler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Barco, Christie, Sony displayed new digital products. Barco has 3 different sizes of Digital 2K projectors which are physically smaller in size and weight due to using Texas Instrument's smaller DLP chip set. Power suppies are now part of the projectors and many parts are interchangable between the 3 units. The smallest unit is suitable for a 33 foot screen and the largest at 30000 lumen, suitable for monster screens. They have a sales contract for 700 of this new series to be installed in China [Cool]

Christie displayed a new smaller footprint model with an optional 19 inch rack width box for player installation.

Sony 4K machines are monsters size wise.....they announced a deal to oufit all 233 screens for Muvico over the next 18 months.

Prices are dropping; but talking to suppliers the short term is sales in the USA and China being the leaders with the rest of the playing "wait and see".

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 03-15-2007 04:46 PM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Of course no one amounting to anything in this industry will ever take Sony seriously after the SDDS debacle... Its going to take something like the Regal Consortium to make Sony fly and they've already said no to it.

The best thing happenning to the 2K projectors is the new T.I. Chip set that uses a black matrix coating between the pixels to give an apparent lower black level... of course the black level really isn't lower but it does improve contrast range of the image slightly just like the old black matrix coating of color CRTs of yester year. The Christie projector is identical inside to the first model except for the new T.I. Chipset and possibly xenon power supply changes.... This low production stuff is not going to change all that fast.

Mark
Still here in Vegas....

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Lyle Romer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1400
From: Davie, FL, USA
Registered: May 2002

- posted 03-15-2007 11:11 PM      Profile for Lyle Romer   Email Lyle Romer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Can you explain the new black matrix coating between pixels. What does it do? How does it work? How does it make the black level appear better but not really be better? How does it make the contrast ratio better?

Also, have they applied this new process to the old 1.2 inch DLPs or just the new .98 inch model?

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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

- posted 03-16-2007 11:56 AM      Profile for Richard Fowler   Email Richard Fowler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The concept is like flocking or painting internal parts on optical equipment to improve contrast and lessen flare. The new chip size falls in line with the majority of commercial (0.99 or less ) video/digital projectors so as to allow smaller packages and lens expensive lenses.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 03-17-2007 10:02 AM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
FWIW, here is the link to the announcement of the new chipset.

New T.I. Chipset

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Kenneth Wuepper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1026
From: Saginaw, MI, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

- posted 03-17-2007 11:15 AM      Profile for Kenneth Wuepper   Email Kenneth Wuepper   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Mark,

Thanks for that link. That is a remarkably simplified explanation of how the DLP projector works.

I can't help thinking back to the original CBS color system where they rotated a large celuloid color wheel in front of the B&W TV screen to get color. (I think it rotated at 3,600 RPM)

I can see how this system really can work since the area of color in the light path is much smaller and, no doubt, Dichroic filters are used.

KEN

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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

- posted 03-17-2007 05:52 PM      Profile for Richard Fowler   Email Richard Fowler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
NED annouced their new projector using the same chipset....the horse race is on [Wink]

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Mark J. Marshall
Film God

Posts: 3188
From: New Castle, DE, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

- posted 03-17-2007 10:58 PM      Profile for Mark J. Marshall     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
So if I own a projector with the old style chip, am I able to upgrade to the newer chip?

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Kevin Raisler
Film Handler

Posts: 52
From: Warsaw, IN, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

- posted 03-17-2007 11:03 PM      Profile for Kevin Raisler     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Is NEC still working with fiber optics for data transfers between the server and the projector?

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Darryl Spicer
Film God

Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

- posted 03-18-2007 01:31 AM      Profile for Darryl Spicer     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I know of two locations that have been having convergence issues and apparently there are others out there having the same problems. Now that's one thing you don't have to worry about with film. I just hope the one we have installed does not give us those problems. I have seen a DLP unit running with convergence problems and it looks terrible.

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Stephen Furley
Film God

Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002

- posted 03-18-2007 06:14 AM      Profile for Stephen Furley   Email Stephen Furley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Kevin Raisler
Is NEC still working with fiber optics for data transfers between the server and the projector?

Our recently installed NECNC800 has four iputs, all copper,no fibre; 2x SDI on co-ax with BNCs for server and 2x single link DVI-D for connection to other things.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 03-18-2007 09:43 AM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Richard Fowler
NED annouced their new projector using the same chipset....the horse race is on
Exactly! But I also think its VERY wise to stand back and see how the betting goes for another year or so...

quote: Mark J. Marshall
So if I own a projector with the old style chip, am I able to upgrade to the newer chip?
Don't know for sure... but a light engine costs around 30 grand to replace....

quote: Kevin Raisler
Is NEC still working with fiber optics for data transfers between the server and the projector?
Well have you priced copper lately? Its gone up X3 in the last year or so. In a small install copper is feesable but in a large plex having all the servers networked fibre is now the less expensive route.

quote: Kenneth Wuepper

I can see how this system really can work since the area of color in the light path is much smaller and, no doubt, Dichroic filters are used.
Yes, Dichroic filters are used and it will be interesting to see what the fade rate is on them. The following is a picture of the Christie light engine I stole off their web site..... pricy little beast!

-

Mark

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Tristan Lane
Master Film Handler

Posts: 444
From: Nampa, Idaho
Registered: Feb 2002

- posted 03-18-2007 08:16 PM      Profile for Tristan Lane   Email Tristan Lane   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Mark,

Let's hope the dichroic coatings hold up over time.

I was speaking to a Dolby rep about their 3D technology, and where the main cost was. He stated that the dichroic filter used is manufactured using a multiple coating process that is very time consuming and expensive. I can't remember the number of coatings he specified, but it was a very large number. He also said that the filter coatings have held up to testing very well. I believe it was placed directly before the integrator rod in the light path, so the light is very concentrated at that point. I'm assuming this is where the majority of the equipment cost is.

I would think that the prism in the light engine was coated using a similar process, hopefully they don't fade or flake before the entire engine is obsoleted by new technology.

Time will tell.......

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Darryl Spicer
Film God

Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

- posted 03-18-2007 08:24 PM      Profile for Darryl Spicer     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
by the time the light gets to the light engine all of the ultraviolet light has been eliminated. So basically you have cool light hitting the light engine and I would suspect that fading would not occur since the damaging light would not be there. What you have to watch for is the light at the reflector around the bulb. The bulb position has to be in a certain range when setting up each new bulb so that the reflector is not damaged from misalignment.

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Tristan Lane
Master Film Handler

Posts: 444
From: Nampa, Idaho
Registered: Feb 2002

- posted 03-19-2007 02:02 AM      Profile for Tristan Lane   Email Tristan Lane   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Kevin Raisler
Is NEC still working with fiber optics for data transfers between the server and the projector?
I doubt they every did use fiber for transferring data between the server and the projector in the d-cinema field.

Christie/Barco/NEC all use the SMPTE 292m standard for the video signal. The document specifies coaxial copper and BNC connections. I believe this is best suited for HD-SDI in the cinema.

Perhaps other lines of NEC projectors used fiber, but not any DCI compliant ones.

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