Master Image - value?

[Dave Macaulay]

I know all the drawbacks, but can anyone give an estimate of what a near new upright Clarity unit is worth?

[Jim Cassedy]

. . . can anyone give an estimate of what a near new upright Clarity unit is worth?

The snarky answer is "Whatever somebody is willing to pay for it" - however I'll try
a more intelligent reply. A theater owner recently asked me the same question & if I
would try to help get rid of a unit he wasn't using anymore. (He's even taken out his
3D 'hot-spot' screen) I declined the offer, even though he was willing to pay me quite
a generous commission, simply because I'm too busy to handle that task right now.

But back to your question- - the best answer I can give you is that E-bay can often
be a rough barometer of what items are worth. and that there are currently two of
them listed on e-bay right now- - one for $995.00 & the other for $2,125 (US$)
Both listings also say 'or best offer' and buyer pays crating & freight shipping.
I know at least one of these has been listed for several months, so I'm not sure
if there is much of a demand, but with the new AVATAR coming out soon, some
fool may want to install one, or need parts to fix one they've already got. I gave
my theater-friend a slightly higher selling start point, mainly because his unit also
included a spare, new-in-the-box, never used, filter wheel, which, if my memory
is correct, cost him close to $1K.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I would never buy a Clarity. Those things suck all the crud in and it coats the filters very fast. If there was a reliable source of new filter wheels it would be a different story. Their front mount units basically do as good a job, possibly better than the Clarity...

[Marco Giustini]

There was an window option which installed on the openings of the MI preventing dust and dirt from reaching the wheel. That would be the only MI setup allowed in my cinema - if I had one

[Pete Naples]

I've put a couple back into comission recently. I'd forgotten how noisy those are!

But... HFR... I found a firmware version with HFR in the filename in my archives, I'm damned if I can remember if it was necessary for The Hobitt, I'm damned if I can fully remember how to apply firmware to them, and I couldn't get the monitor app to connect on my W10 laptop anyway.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

There was an window option which installed on the openings of the MI preventing dust and dirt from reaching the wheel. That would be the only MI setup allowed in my cinema - if I had one

Yes, I put the windows on all of them. That only slowed the dust collection down by about two months. Some of the famous towns in the western States have unbelievably dirty air, especially in winter with everyone using their fireplaces. I even had to change the filters in the NC-2000's every three to four months in some locations.

[Dave Macaulay]

A cinema sold and the seller terminated the Real-D contract, returning the adapters. New owner wants 3D probably for Avatar. Silver screens in good shape. So he now has 2 good used MI units. We have a decent stock of wheels and other spares.

[Juan Jose Garcia Calvo]

Hello.

Somebody recently offered us an used MasterImage MI-2100 unit asking for around €400...
Maybe it could be a good idea to install it with our old Barco DP3000 regarding to the new AVATAR2 release.
As we never had a 3D system, I'm not sure if this MasterImage needs somekind of licence to work together wit our projector, or If I need anything else (other than the master Image 3D googles, of course).

Is it easy to install?
Do I need a silver metallic screen instead of our white screen?
What do I need to check in this MI-2100 unit to be in good condition? (filter... etc...)
Is MasterImage system still compatible with newers 3D films like AVATAR2?

Thanks!!

[Dave Macaulay]

Is it easy to install?
Yes, not bad. Position it and set the 3D height to pass the beam through the wheel sectors. Don't put light through it for long (or at all) with it not spinning. Connect the signal cable. Set up the projector for MI 3D. Should work.
Do I need a silver metallic screen instead of our white screen?
Yes. That's the main expense of using it.
What do I need to check in this MI-2100 unit to be in good condition? (filter... etc...)
The wheel sections should be clean and not show a "burnt" spot or bar through the sectors. If it spins when powered up and run, the motor works. Without a projector supplying sync, it spins fairly slowly and I don't know of any way to test sync without seeing the image through 3D glasses.
Is MasterImage system still compatible with newers 3D films like AVATAR2?
Depends. MI had plans to run 60fps 3D but never actually did it as far as I know. It should do 48fps 3D unless it's on super early firmware.

Note that parts are not available. We have a few wheels and some electronic parts but likely have them available only to clients that purchased the systems from us.

Thanks!!

[Juan Jose Garcia Calvo]

Is it easy to install?
Yes, not bad. Position it and set the 3D height to pass the beam through the wheel sectors. Don't put light through it for long (or at all) with it not spinning. Connect the signal cable. Set up the projector for MI 3D. Should work.
Do I need a silver metallic screen instead of our white screen?
Yes. That's the main expense of using it.
What do I need to check in this MI-2100 unit to be in good condition? (filter... etc...)
The wheel sections should be clean and not show a "burnt" spot or bar through the sectors. If it spins when powered up and run, the motor works. Without a projector supplying sync, it spins fairly slowly and I don't know of any way to test sync without seeing the image through 3D glasses.
Is MasterImage system still compatible with newers 3D films like AVATAR2?
Depends. MI had plans to run 60fps 3D but never actually did it as far as I know. It should do 48fps 3D unless it's on super early firmware.

Note that parts are not available. We have a few wheels and some electronic parts but likely have them available only to clients that purchased the systems from us.

Thanks!!

Thanks for all this info, Dave.

AS far as we can´t change our screen now for a Silver one, we will continue with our 2D system

Regards