Barco has announced the latest addition to their Cinionic Digital Cinema projector Series 4 portfolio – the SP4K-50. Like its predecessors, this model was designed in close collaboration with industry partners to consider content creation and exhibition needs. The entire SP4K projector family of models are 4K RGB laser projectors tailored for cinema. The SP4K models come in many different configurations with a range of lumen choices, compatibility with both Barco lenses and selected 3rd party lenses, and optional touch displays.
The Series 4 projectors bring native 4K resolution, higher contrast and enhanced uniformity to the movie screen. Barco’s Active Image Management and its patented precision brightness technology guarantees high definition images coupled with automatic white balances. The Barco Colorgenic technology opens up the full P3 color space and more than 98.5% of Rec. 2020 color space. SP4K projectors are fully enabled for innovations like 4K 120fps and High-Dynamic Range (HDR).
Further, the modular design of the Series 4 projectors allow for cost-effective maintenance. There are only six Barco laser plate spare parts to service and no tools are required change filters. The user interface is both web-based and available via touchscreen. Finally, the SP-4K models are quiet at just 51 dB and offer an Eco Mode which consumes as little as 3 Watts per lumen.
The SP4K series includes the SP4K-35 (35,000 Lumens), the SP4K-40 (40,000 Lumens) and the new SP4K-50 (48,000 Lumens) models, which all offer a 2,000:1 contrast ratio. The SP4K-27HC (27,000 Lumens), the series flagship model comes with a 5,000:1 contrast ratio and is geared towards premium cinemas.
Display market industry expert PMA Research collects worldwide sell-in data on projectors, including the Digital Cinema market. With most theaters closing amid the Covid19 pandemic in 2020Q1, their 2020Q1 Worldwide Projector Census showed sales of digital cinema projectors down nearly 40% when comparing 2020Q1 to 2019Q1. PMA Research will be closely monitoring this situation as the effects of the health crisis continue throughout the year.