Barco Series 4 Server options?

[Kirk Futrell]

We are looking at slowly moving from series 2 Barco 4K23Bs + ShowVault with IMB to Barco series 4 in our 2 auditoriums. My question is will I be able to use the Doremi with IMB in the new 4K series? If not, what are my server options?

Right now I am looking at the IMS 3000 (with no audio but WITH NAS option) I'm not a huge GDC fan and we already use Barco Alchemy in our small theatre with a 6S. So the learning curve would not be too high going with either the Dolby or the Alchemy, but I am not a huge fan of the Alchemy either. I just really like Doremi and hate to see it go. The IMS 3000 has a lot of Doremi legacies that I like too.

A little additional info. We have full time projectionists who start things manually, we are an ArtHouse that plays tons of different content plus "alternative" content so storage space is important we just upgrade our Doremi's to 4x4TB and are loving the space. Also we just purchased Trinov Ovation 2 sound processors and we play 35mm in one auditorium ( the one that will be upgraded last).
So can I (should I?) keep my ShowVault with IMBs in the series 4, if not what do you all prefer?

[Leo Enticknap]

Barco claims that you can put a Doremi IMB in a Series 4 projector. However, I've tried, once (in a SP2K-9), and it simply wouldn't recognize it. Lots of back and forth with Cinionic; tried a new ICP-D, tried a new backplane, etc. etc. Eventually I put an IMS2000 that we had spare at the shop into that projector, and everything worked perfectly. The IMB in a Series 2 projector also worked perfectly. But that Doremi IMB simply would not work in the Series 4 projector, and neither myself nor Cinionic could figure out why. But the official line in their documentation is that it should. If you decide to attempt to go this route and if I were in your shoes, I would ask your installation vendor for a written guarantee that either they will get the IMB to work in the Series 4 projector, or if they can't, install a replacement that you purchase at no additional cost.

If you're not going to have a separate TMS and decide to replace your servers, the fact that you're an arthouse with lots of one-off shows and a large amount of DCP content to wrangle makes it, IMHO, a slam dunk case for IMS3000s with the NAS. 3 x 2TB is the largest officially supported storage option available for the Alchemy (4TB NAS 2.5" SSDs are available, but are rhinof***ingly pricey and not approved by Barco for use in the Alchemy). I have one screening room customer who has 3 x 2TB and is constantly running out of space, to the extent of sometimes having to delete and reingest.

[Carsten Kurz]

Probably no one would actually do it, but, as it may be relevant for previous series 2 projector users needing an ICP replacement as well:

1. On series 2 projectors, starting from ICP-D software version 1.2.0.10, HD-SDI + Enigma as well as Quad 3G/ SDI + Enigma are now supported. All media server that connect to the HD-SDI + Enigma board and that don’t require CineCanvas are now supported.

[Steve Guttag]

I would question the idea of spending the money on S4 projectors (presumably SP4K-C or SP4K-B) and put in an IMB that is one failure away from facing the decision again (and in an inopportune time). With the IMS3000, you are starting with everything current and serviceable. I guarantee that from both parties, infinitely more time/resources will be spent getting those two items working better together than getting the SV/IMB, if it works at all.

[Kirk Futrell]

This is exactly what I was looking for and all from folks I trust! Thanks

[Elia Orselli]

For an ArtHouse I would consider the ICP-D + IMS3000 option. I'm not sure if the issue with audio sync if you don't play a content from the beginning in the ICMP has still been solved and that can be a problem in an arthouse.

[Sean McKinnon]

Did you get the license for it Leo?

[Leo Enticknap]

If you mean the SP2K, it didn't even get as far as recognizing the presence of the IMB in the option slot and saying that the 200 grace hours had begun. It didn't even register a DCI tamper. The projector behaved as if the option slot were empty. Once we put the IMS2000 in it (we eventually resolved things with the customer by giving them the IMS2000 and taking their SV/IMB in part exchange), it registered a tamper, and then when I cleared it, said that I had 200 grace hours left. I then got the license file from Dolby, uploaded it, and all was good.