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2024 I am thinking about investing / buying this projector. Any advice or words of wisdom? OR maybe I should just fixup the old BARCO 3000 and run out the clock to retirement on this "ugly step child" in the Barco series one lineup.
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The SP2K-25C is relatively new and I have not used it. It features the .98" imager (as does the SP2K-20C), unlike the smaller versions of the SP2K line which use the .69". That is a pretty tried and true chipset.
Is the DP-3000 giving you any issues? I'd say that the biggest fear of any S1 projector now is the lack of parts. The DP3000 shares parts with the DP100, an even older and more obsolete projector. As such, it can be just one failure away from unrepairable. If you plan to keep in the biz for any length of time (or the theatre is) then looking to a new projector/server is probably a good move. The SP2K-25C, if the light is correct, makes sense. Also, there won't be any more lamp changes and the electric cost should drop to maybe ⅓ of the DP3000, if not more. Personally, I'd consider the SP4K-25C to move up to 4K. It's not like every home TV is 4K or better now. Additionally, a LOT of movies are now being released in 4K. -
Two related points.
Firstly, if the DP3000 fails in a way that is not fixable (e.g. one of the TI boards or the light engine borks), there will be a significant lead time to get a new projector ordered and then installed (even if the vendor has it in stock, figure a few days for wire transfers, shipping, scheduling a tech to install, any wiring or other preparation that has to be done in the booth, etc.), during which time your theater could be down. Even if you can come up with a temporary solution, e.g. a short term rental, that's another outgoing. And there will still be some dark days on which business is lost.
So a planned retirement of the DP3000 while it is still alive is potentially a sensible insurance policy, compared to running the thing until it kicks the bucket. The last DP3000 I replaced was at a drive-in: the cooling system kept leaking (the Schrader valve on the pressure vessel was buggered), and there were repeated incidents whereby the lamp would shut off because of overheating. I wanted to buy a new pressure vessel and replace all the hoses and quick release couplings, but the owner wisely decided that enough was enough, it was over a decade old, anything else could go wrong with it at any moment, and that therefore it was time for a new projector. So we kept filling the old girl up during the month or so that we were waiting for the new projector (a DP2K-36BLP), which bought us just enough time to avoid the place having to go dark for days on end.
Secondly, if you jump from Series 1 straight to Series 4, you will almost certainly need to replace your server as well. You can now put an Enigma board into a Series 4 Barco, but whether they still have any in stock I don't know, and doing that would likely be an insignificant saving (in the context of an entire projector replacement) relative to buying the projector with an ICMP-X in it.
But replacing the server will also be disruptive and a bit of a learning curve.Comment
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I missed that notice. Really? Where would it go?You can now put an Enigma board into a Series 4 BarcoComment
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My bad; sorry. Enigma with ICP-D is Series 2 only:
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I remember them announcing that Enigma compatibility had been added to the ICP-D, but not that this is only when the ICP-D is in a Series 2 projector.
So replacing a DP3000 with a Series 4 projector will mean having to replace the server, too - this is not optional.Comment
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