Barco’s new addition to the family – DP2K-10Sx

This article looks into the newest Barco DLP Projector the DP2K-10Sx, provides a case study of the projector in use, and offers a review of the machine.

I’m sure that most readers know the Barco name, although may not know the full history and size of the company. Since the introduction of Digital Cinema Projectors, Barco have become fairly well known within the cinema industry. The company dates back to 1934 when it was founded as the Belgian American Radio Corporation, now it has a presence in 90 countries, employing more than 3,500 staff and sales in excess of 1 billion Euros in 2012. Barco, has become a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. And while now much of the company is about visual technology from medical and military equipment and simulators through to large LED screens for the entertainment industry, the cinema industry remains one of the most important areas for the company.

The new Barco Projector (DP2K-10Sx) is a machine designed for the last of the cinema venues who still haven’t been able to convert to digital yet. The projector is designed for

  use with screens up to 10 metres wide and is aimed to be in the smaller price bracket. Barco have tried to balance quality with price, after all to make something cheaper you normally have to find something in which to compromise on, but Barco have worked hard not to compromise on the quality of the product. In part this has been achieved by reusing some of the technology and designs which have already been used in other projectors, so for instance the projector has the same footprint as the compact series of projector. Nor has the brightness of the projector been compromised, it uses the same technology as the brightest projector in the world.

Designing a new projector a while in to the conversion to digital has allowed Barco to develop some new features, which are going to prove to be very useful in the long term. This has seen the full integration of a Media Block and server within the projector itself through the partnership which Barco has with Doremi. This means that the machine comes with a 2TB of raid storage, which is likely to be enough for most small venues.  One of the best of these features is the ‘Communicator Lite’ which can be used from any device which is connected to the same network and has a browser. This allows the basic control of the projector from pretty much anywhere, along with the Doremi server. This is a very powerful new feature and one which I can see being developed further over time, it would be a great feature if it could be made a backwards option for the other projector classes.

And like the rest of the digital projector family, all the machines which enter the European market have been lovingly built by hand in the Barco factory in Kortrijk, Belgium. Great care is taken throughout the manufacturing process by Barco, with an equal amount of care being taken with the testing of each machine, through to the point it leaves the factory. Of course while on a tour of the factory it was not possible to take photographs, but Jim Slater has written a very detailed account of his tour of the factory in Cinema Technology Magazine, and you can read me about it in the back issues, available from: http://www.cinematechnologymagazine.com

 

The motivation  for building the DP2K-10Sx for Barco to make sure the small theatres should not suffer an inferior cinema experience just because it is not as big as the larger cinemas. Barco also set out to make the projector as simple to operate as possible, using the .69 DLP chip system from Texas Instruments. Barco aims to make this projection easy to use, cost effective and the best in its class. The projector is easy to install with a “Plug n Play” approach, and given that the projector comes with a factory installed Integrated Media Server, embedded screen management system and the ability to run High Frame Rates right out of the box which goes a long way to achieving this desired approach.

 

If the out of the box ‘plug n play’ approach isn’t enough there are a few new features which would be really good to add the other projector ranges, namely the introduction of “Communicator Lite” which is accessible via any web browser connected on the same network as the projector. While you cannot currently save any of the changes which are made within the Communicator Lite you can make changes, thus allowing the projector to be run from a smartphone or tablet in the auditorium. There is a similar option for the Doremi server. There is also an additional feature which provides the projector with a 15w “Sleep Mode” feature, where the projector can be woken up and managed remotely as necessary and then put back to sleep again.

Like all the other Barco Cinema Projectors the DP2K-10Sx has deliberately been designed and built in a modular way, allowing for commonality of spare parts, and making things like replacing the lamp safe and fast.

And Barco aimed to have the absolute brightest projector it could within this class of DLP, opting to have manual convergence to produce the sharpest and most colourful of images, along with a sealed Light Engine for continued Image Quality over time (we were not allowed to visit the clean room area of the factory where these were built as it requires the environment to be completely dustfree. The lenses are motorised so that the correct image format can be selected, and the range of lenses available for the DP2K-10Sx overlap so that the correct one can be selected for the screen in the venue.

Like all the other DLP machines in Barco’s range the new small projectors are still using the Short Arc Xenon bulbs. Barco

argues that these provide a better colour and brighter image over the life of the bulb compared to UHP bulbs. Whether this is true or not is difficult to say, the arguments are reasonable, but without independent testing it would be hard to prove. Barco designers argue that with mercury vapour lamps it is much harder to dim (only 20% compared to 50% on Xenon) while 35 to 40% of the light output is thrown away when the required filter is added to balance the mercury lamp’s  output to DCI white point; and say Barco, the colour output remains brighter and more stable throughout the life of a Xenon compared to UHP. And the colour and brightness of the DP2K-10Sx as with all of Barco’s projectors is very important to them.

Unlike the projectors from other brands, the DP2K-10Sx has reusable filters which can be washed. These are made from a rugged plastic, unlike the metal ones in other Barco models. The idea, along with the Sleep Mode mentioned earlier on and the use of Xenon’s is to allow for the lowest total cost of ownership – it is all very well having a cheap projector if it is expensive to run it.

And of course it goes without saying that the DP2K-10Sx is DCI compliant and has DCI complaint image format switching and coverage built in. Also making sure that the hard-drives in the server are designed specifically for the heavy duty job of running cinema content, something which is very hard-drive intensive, and there is a storage warranty on the drives.

The projector is designed so that it can run without needing special air conditioning but use the old 35mm air extract system. It also comes with an option to change the top extract exhaust with a rear one and in that configuration it requires no air extraction. Other optional extras is the touch panel control screen which is seen on other machines, and finally rails can be attached to the projector to allow for it to be easily maneuvered, the idea being that it makes life easier for mobile cinema users who maybe moving the projector in and out of village halls and the like – something which I think is a really simple but useful feature.

As has already been mentioned, this new projector is aimed at smaller venues, with screens up to 10 metres in size. To prove this, Barco have been working with a local cinema, Cinema de Keizer, reported to be the oldest continuously working cinema in Belgium; although the building itself dates back to the 1700’s and was a tearoom/brewery in its former life. Cinema de Keizer was established in 1924 by Gerard Debaillie  and taken over by his daughter Debaillie Agnes ran the cinema until her death in 2012. Debaillie changed very little in the cinema over that time, and as a result it became a legend across Belgium. When Agnes passed away, the future of the longest running cinema in Belgium – which was still mostly in its original state – seemed uncertain. Recently, Flemish Vice-Minister-President Geert Bourgeois decided to protect the cinema as cultural heritage and seven locals invested in the cinema. “I’d seen hundreds of movies at Cinema De Keizer and dreamt of installing a 21st century theater in the original 1920s décor, to bring back that ‘community feeling’ that the cinema inspires,” explains Hans Maertens, who leads the Cinema De Keizer non-profit organisation while Sofie Eeckeman, who was the right hand of Agnes Debaillie for many years, took over the operation of the cinema.

 

And so it was that the change in hands, also became an opportunity for Barco to work with Cinema de Keizer by installing a DP2K-10Sx at the cinema. Cinema De Keizer pre-opened, in the presence of a host of Flemish top actors and Minister Hilde Crevits, on 18 December. On 21 December, the theater opens its doors to the general public, showing a restricted selection of today’s box-office hits (at weekends and during the holidays). In addition, the cinema team plans to show screenings of additional content such as concerts, sports events, etc., gathering the local community around the big screen, like in the olden days.

 

But this cinema needs a bit more description, than just the above paragraphs above about the new digital projector, as it will help to provide some context to the benefit of the DP2K10Sx has to the cinema. On approaching the cinema, you wouldn’t know that it was one from the outside, it is a grey building on a street. However, the moment you walk through the front door you are transported to an entirely different world, and for me there was an element of the cinema in Cinema Paradiso. This is a cinema which has managed to stand still in time, and not in any negative way. The front area of the cinema feels like the inside of a tea room, and is where the refreshments are sold. Off of this is a space available for hire. Also off of this area, is the box office, and it is the original one. In fact it is more of a box kiosk, where a sample of all the tickets over the years have been pinned up, currently a cinema ticket is €5. Through beyond the kiosk is a cloakroom, which is a set of pegs on the wall, which many people in the UK would remember from their days at primary school. There is also the steps up to the balcony and projection room, but more about that in a second.

 

Inside the auditorium, is a traditional cinema from the late 1920s. The floor sloops down and then back up again slightly, a bit like one of the screens in the Prince Charles, Leicester Square. At the front of the auditorium is a stage with the screen, still with red tabs. Lighting is from beautifully crafted lamps along the wall. Most of the seats are the originals, except the first few rows. Upstairs is the balcony – proving additional seating. From walking around the cinema it was obvious that there wasn’t a bad seat in the house, and it just ousted with history, character and stories, in away which you just don’t get experience with modern ones.

There is a room outside of the projection room, which has some old posters, and film equipment in it, this

room also had a history of its own, and I am told was a playroom of sorts in the past. When we were there the sun was shining into the room, in such a way that it gave a magical sense to the room. Then there are a set of wooden steps up actually into the projection room. The entrance wasn’t quite as bad as the projection room at the Arts Centre in Maidenhead, but it was getting close. Inside the projection room it was ever cinema romantics dream, full of traditional items of equipment, switches, and other ‘memorabilia’. It was like time had forgotten it – but it was beautiful. And then of course you had the new next to the old – one of the newest projectors on the market, next to the old 35mm film projector.

 

But the image from the DP2K-10Sx provided an outstanding image on the screen, and it was bringing in the audiences from the local area to the cinema. And it shows a range of films (see the website: http://www.cinemadekeizer.be/). But the cinema and its audience are emphasizing the new technology and all it has to offer, and of course Barco are offering it assistance to do this. The cinema is definitely a highlight, and goes into one of my favourite cinemas of all time.

It is not just old traditional independent cinemas where this small projector is being used, Berlin International Film Festival, which ran 7th till 17th February 2013 also made use of the projector. The public program of the Berlin International Film Festival shows about 400 films per year, mostly global or European premieres. Films of every genre, length and format find their niche in the various sections. Around 300,000 sold tickets, almost 20,000 professional visitors from 130 countries, including about 4,000 journalists: art, glamour, parties and business. This year, the Berlinale will première Barco’s DP2K-10Sx projector on the German-Austrian-Swiss market. In 2013, around 90% of the films will be projected digitally at the festival.”

I have my own personal case study which, if the funds can be raised, will make use of this DP2K-10Sx projector and I think that the projector will work perfectly for the venue, a student cinema. The images I saw from the projector while it was running in Cinema De Keizer looked very good – clear and sharp. There has been a lot of thought and care put into the design of this projector by Barco, and while there always has to be a certain amount of compromise when making a product cheaper, Barco have been careful not to skimp on quality. In fact there are a number of design improvements on this projector which I think will be seen on other future projectors. Being a company who are involved in other areas of projector design and manufacture, not just cinema, Barco have been able to access how other technology responds and works; and whether it would provide a suitable alternative within the very demanding world of cinema. And it is the simple things like the optional carry handles for the mobile cinema market, which I really like. So having been asked by Flix, my former student cinema in Loughborough about what I thought about the projector, I think it will work very well for them. It is small, portable, easy to setup and operate, energy efficient and affordable. As the projector is modular and comes setup for high frame rates out of the box, and of course most importantly is DCI compliant this is a very nice projector to add to the Barco DLP range.

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One of the new questions which people ask now that the majority of cinemas across the world have converted to digital, is what is next. The conversion of the medium is of course just the beginning and Barco are working on creating a new opportunity for audiencecentric exhibition models. But rather than just rewriting material here, I will instead provide a link to ‘Shaping the Cinema of the Future‘ which is a Barco white paper.

The following links provide further information about the Barco projector:

The DP2K-10Sx pages on the Barco website.

Wider News Stories about the Smaller Projectors: