[Michael Osadciw]

Not knowing of many digital cinema projectors, if anyone can fire off a list of competing projectors, maybe from Sony or Christie (I don't always here good things of Christie). It's always good to know what else is available before dumping the cash into such a piece...


2K is fine for now, although I like the idea of being able to upgrade to 4K with this piece in the future. Investing in the 4K machine right away doesn't make too much sense except to keep pixels below the point of visibility at a closer distance...but then, who knows what source material will be available in a few years...??


I won't be using CIH and will do top masking.

 

[CINERAMAX]

Only Christie, NEC is not good.


Do not discount 4k for 2k, at all, with the right lens is totally loss-less.

 

[Michael Osadciw]

Ahhh...so you suggest go for 4K right away? Hang on though...don't these projectors have zero internal image processing? If so, what scalers offer 1920x1080 to 4096x2160 for BD content?

 

[CINERAMAX]

The projectors do have an excellent built in quadrupler. Most of the content will come in looking great (assuming you have the right lens-which is a huge IF). The first time I saw DLP 4k with Barco at Showeast it was not so great, at the DCI symposium it was unbelievably sharp, then at the demonstration of another Light Source Barco projector technology in Hollywood they also had a 4k B-32 there, it was dejavu all over (soft).


In my opinion it is the lens and possibly they brought in one of the very two first units that were floating around. I want the same experience I saw at the symposium, you could play a vhs tape on that system and it would look clear and sharp. I am exaggerating but they did show some great looking directv and ps3 stuff using their own internal scaler. Unless you want to go for the P where you will not reap the benefits of double the dci color space unless you get content in the dci color space, there is zero reason to go 2k (assuming you have the right lens-a big IF -repeat).

 

[Michael Osadciw]

Interesting...


Assuming I have the right lens... I have the Barco Digital Cinema Calculator that Barco sent me...for the screen size and shape I'm after, the distance from the screen, it's recommending either the 1.2" DC2K (1.8-2.8) or the 1.2" DC2K (2.15-3.6). The 1.2" is the size of the DLP chip...the calculator says it will work fine for both 2K and 4K...but maybe what they specify now will be different in the field? That would be a bummer...


Beyond this calculator, how would I know I'm using the right lens?


And are you saying that all "P" designated models do not have DCI colour space capability?

 

[CINERAMAX]

The right lens as far as i have been able to verify is a fixed .92 lens. The other presentations i have seen using the zoom 1st and 2nd zoom lens where not to my liking and I heard poor reviews as to the sharpness of a DCI 4k presentation for Cinema Owners in Germany a couple of weeks ago that was described also as soft.


I know TI is working on newer sharper lenses for 4k, although most of the 2k lenses are certified by TI they are nowhere near as good as to what was accomplished in Moody Gardens. Therefore the right lens for now is the Moody Gardens Lens.


Don't get me wrong I am sure the current batch of lenses performs ok with dci content, just not as good as the fixed non zoom lens.


The newer TI zoom lenses that will be better for 4k unfortunately will be in the medium to longer range, not the levels 1 and 2 where they are needed the most.


This Barco fixed lens commands a hefty premium but on America's Largest Imax screen (a Severtson) it performed flawlessly with everything they threw at it.

Isco Schneider will have 4 short throw fixed lenses in the .95, 1,1.15 and 1.2 TD to fit the Barco, the problem is the lenses are huge and may not be well supported structurally by the lens holder design.

 

[Michael Osadciw]

not sure what a Moody Gardens Lens is...


Barco doesn't list a .92 lens on this calculator.


Schneider -wow that's big.


So in your opinion, zoom lenses decrease image quality quite a bit...hmmm...with fixed lenses that's going to make projector placement vs. screen size even more critical. I don't have a calculator on this, but with a .92 fixed on a 14 or 15 ft constant width screen (top/bottom masking), that would put the projector in the room, won't it? ...which I want to avoid. hmmmm...

 

[CINERAMAX]

This issue is for dlp 4k. Not 2k.


here are some longer TD lenses perhaps 2-2.5 1 that although zoom are really supersharp, the problem is in the 1-1.6 range.


BTW shown is the Moody Gardens Lens not the Schneider. The Moody Gardens is 18k the Schneider is 25k.