Prism contamination

[Marcel Birgelen]

Are the SP4K-C projectors available in your part of the world? They've been on "pause" around here for quite some time. I've had them on order since December and until the stuck pixel issue is resolved, they aren't shipping. What Barco did do was quickly come up with the SP4K-15B through the SP4K-25B to have something to offer in that lumen range and 4K. The lower-lumen SP4K-B do not show up on the products page and show as discontinued on the support page (Barco's) (I've seen different messages, including "not available in your area" on the SP4K).

I haven't checked the Barco site in a while, but you're right, according to it, the SP4K-15C currently is only available in China. The SP4K-15 to 25 models listed, are the "B" models. Maybe the "C" suffix in Barco's marketing is now the C for China

I know one smaller theater that ordered a SP4K-15C back in november, which has been told that their order has been delayed and they're still waiting. The integrator offerred a Christie model as a replacement, but they declined that offer, because there was a substantial difference in price, compared to the initial offer.

Last time I asked (about a month ago), the "C" (model with the .98 DMD) could still be ordered, with an expected lead time of about 3 months. The "B" had a similar lead time, but had a more expensive list price...

To add to the confusion, Barco itself decided to call the SP4K-15B just the "SP4K-15", like Leo already indicated. But a few months ago, the "SP4K-15" was still the "C" model by default (at least around here). Everybody else, including all the integrators around here, refer to them as the SP4K-15B and the .98 TRP model as SP4K-15C though.

[Mike Blakesley]

Mike, why not claim that the cyan or "aqua tinting" was done for "theming" on Little Mermaid! Or, explain the issue and assure people that you have a replacement projector ordered. I like the idea of an "invitation" to see the new projector in action.

So far the only person who has commented to us about the discoloration has been one of our concession workers -- not one civilian has said a word yet, which surprises me since the blue tint is now on about 1/3 to 1/2 of the screen. But, as mentioned, Little Mermaid is mostly blue anyway (even in the "above water" scenes, often the blue tint looks like the sky).

I thought about promoting the laser arrival but I'm going to wait and see how much better the picture is before I start crowing about it. I'd hate to make a big "thing" about it and then have people coming out going "eh." After all, there are probably still some folks around who don't know we aren't still using film.

[John Eickhof]

i feel for you mike, its sad that in a situation like yours, in a small town, running one or two shows a night, basically low operating hours, hours, that the technology only lasted 13 years or so....imagine if the old motiograph or the simplex lasted only 13 years each! it makes me wonder what exhibitors are experiencing in the grind run house? i wonder if there are similar problems but they go un noticed not only by customers but the poorly trained staff as well! i will be interested in what you think of the laser machine too! good luck with that, john

[Marco Giustini]

An sudience will seldom complain about anything but they won't be impressed by the show, whether they actually notice the issue or not. No complaints doesn't mean that the audience is happy.
I've heard of a full house watching a 3D show with the projector set to the wrong channel, that was when SDI was a thing. So picture was pink and green Nobody complained.
Doesn't mean they'll feel like going back

[Mike Blakesley]

An sudience will seldom complain about anything but they won't be impressed by the show, whether they actually notice the issue or not. No complaints doesn't mean that the audience is happy.

I've had times where I've told people about some problem we were having... such as a film being really scratched or whatever. As they come out they always say "Oh it wasn't the bad, we barely noticed it." I guess I am in the habit of telling people how much it bothers ME.

I'm thinking about whether we should charge ahead with the movie schedule as planned, or save a couple of the summer biggies like Mission Impossible until after the new machine is in. (I know what'll happen to those grosses though.) Whatever we do, as soon as Little Mermaid is done we're going to start telling people about our issue. I think we will just issue passes if they choose not to stay for the whole movie, rather than just giving a free one to everyone.

[Darin Steffl]

Just keep your schedule and tell people you're getting the latest 4K Laser projector to replace your 13 year old one that is failing. They'll be excited you're investing in your theater. If anyone complains, offer a free pass.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I'm thinking about whether we should charge ahead with the movie schedule as planned, or save a couple of the summer biggies like Mission Impossible until after the new machine is in. (I know what'll happen to those grosses though.) Whatever we do, as soon as Little Mermaid is done we're going to start telling people about our issue. I think we will just issue passes if they choose not to stay for the whole movie, rather than just giving a free one to everyone.

Personally, I probably wouldn't give them a free pass if they're warned beforehand. I would highly consider to give them some form of reduction, anything between 25% to 50% off for a show once the new projector is in.

As for the upcoming summer hits... It's a hard thing to judge as always, but you're the only theater in town, so I guess that should reduce the damage somewhat of opening a movie like one or maybe even two weeks later. Are people really flocking to out-of-town destinations those days to see that one movie?

So far the only person who has commented to us about the discoloration has been one of our concession workers -- not one civilian has said a word yet, which surprises me since the blue tint is now on about 1/3 to 1/2 of the screen. But, as mentioned, Little Mermaid is mostly blue anyway (even in the "above water" scenes, often the blue tint looks like the sky).

Like Steve hinted... promote it as something special. I'd call it AquaVision™
Mario also has a good point... people often don't complain. Sure, a lot of people will not notice anything (although you have to be a special kind of color blind not to notice those pink and green images...), but many also make a habit of simply not returning, at least not for a while. Sometimes you may read a bad review on-line.

I thought about promoting the laser arrival but I'm going to wait and see how much better the picture is before I start crowing about it. I'd hate to make a big "thing" about it and then have people coming out going "eh." After all, there are probably still some folks around who don't know we aren't still using film.

I personally think you're way too humble. People will be paying $20 to $24 for a PLF experience and not even all of them feature laser projectors, heck, if they're watching Xenon IMAX for that same price, they'll be looking at an oversized 2K picture.

We here all know that the picture will not suddenly look 20 times better than before AquaVision™ struck, but it doesn't look 20 times better in any odd PLF presentation either. Still, there will be subtle improvements and while many people will not see it and will not care about it, I'm pretty sure that there will be people that do. Also, people often tend to be more proud of what they have in their own little town than you might think. Next time someone gets around in a big city and sees an advertisement for "Laser 4K" on a marquee or poster, they may just say... ha, we have that at home too, no need to go see it here.

Again... just my personal 2ct, you do what you think is best for your business, but since you're asking those questions here, it seems you're looking for some shared opinions...

[Sam Chavez]

If you can't fix it, feature it! Movies are an event, people will show up and get absorbed in the film. On the other hand, a scraping speaker is hard to ignore.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Before you spend the big bucks I would certainly check the rest of the optical system. I once had a S-1 Christie with similar discoloring, and it turned out that a tiny fragment of glass had let go from the face of the Integrator. You also have Dolby 3-D, so is the spinning wheel fully retracting when in 2-D mode? It's hidden under a cover. Are the 90 degree mirrors clean? You can see the first one when you open the lamphouse. Other mirrors below the light engine...

[Mike Blakesley]

I did take the lens out and got a good look inside the front and back.... everything looks clean as a whistle. We haven't had a 3-D movie since Avatar 2 at Christmastime and everything's been fine until about 2 weeks ago, so I hesitate to blame the 3-D unit.

Here's a pic of how it looks today.

Screenshot 2023-06-07 170946.jpg

[Marcel Birgelen]

It's almost a pity the rest of the image isn't colored orange, because you could have marketed it as BayVision™ for the new Transformers movie.

trans_two5.jpg

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

That's progressed enough since the original post that in another three weeks, it's going to be all blue. If you replace it, I agree with Sam. Get the Christie xenon machine, Christie's are made in Canada. Since Ushio and Christie are more or less one and the same company, getting lamps should not be a problem. With solid state laser diodes you risk the semiconductors (lasers) going obsolete. Much the same as critical parts in everyone's server have gone obsolete. Manufacturers may be able to supply an updated laser kit, but that might involve replacing them all at great expense.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Manufacturers may be able to supply an updated laser kit, but that might involve replacing them all at great expense.

It's not all black and white. While Christie is tied to Ushio, there is no guarantee they'll keep producing xenon machines for the next 10 years. Although, there will be sufficient xenon machines around in the foreseable future, so I'm not really worried about the availability of xenon lamps, but the costs may increase if suppliers decide to leave the market.

I'm not sure if Cinionic is offering the same, but over here, Barco still offers SmartCare with 10 year guaranteed output warranty on the light engine. If you're running five screens or less, I'd really factor in the cost of those support contracts into the price of the projector. So, even if the original diodes go extinct, Barco has to come up with some kind of replacement if the light engine fails prematurely. Their "laser plate" design also should allow for some leeway to change underlying components over the years.

And in this age of digital components, I'd say 10 years is your target for a full write-off anyway, unfortunately...

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

It's not all black and white. While Christie is tied to Ushio, there is no guarantee they'll keep producing xenon machines for the next 10 years. Although, there will be sufficient xenon machines around in the foreseable future, so I'm not really worried about the availability of xenon lamps, but the costs may increase if suppliers decide to leave the market.

I'm not sure if Cinionic is offering the same, but over here, Barco still offers SmartCare with 10 year guaranteed output warranty on the light engine. If you're running five screens or less, I'd really factor in the cost of those support contracts into the price of the projector. So, even if the original diodes go extinct, Barco has to come up with some kind of replacement if the light engine fails prematurely. Their "laser plate" design also should allow for some leeway to change underlying components over the years.

And in this age of digital components, I'd say 10 years is your target for a full write-off anyway, unfortunately...

Marcel, I wasn't worrying about them supplying entire xenon projectors for the next ten years, just the lamp and underlying parts. They likely kept the one for those fussy colorists that hate Laser. There are so many other xenon based pieces of gear out there that pretty much guarantees lamp availability... Eventually all xenon will be phased out, but it will take a decade of more... As far as write offs go, over here, the theaters that got VPF's didn't really have to since they got ~80% back. No idea if they wrote off the other 20%. Single screen customers did write them off.

[Mike Blakesley]

I'd say 10 years is your target for a full write-off anyway, unfortunately...

In 10 years I'll be going on 77 years old, so I'm kinda figuring this will be the last projector I'll be buying. Although, who knows, I still may be kicking around the industry in 10 years, but I've kind of targeted late 2030 as a possible "exit year" for me since September 6 of that year will be the 100 year anniversary of my theater. But who knows?