The Digital Cinema group at Texas Instruments has announced their new S2K chipset, optimized for theater screens up to 20 feet (six meters) wide in size for 2D presentations. Featuring the same core technology that powers DLP Cinema 2K and 4K chipsets, the S2K chip has been engineered for small screens and will meet DCI specifications for image quality, color, and security, allowing for greater versatility, including 3D and high frame rate capabilities for projectors used in conjunction with smaller screens.

All three of DLP Cinema’s OEM licensees – Barco, Christie and NEC – have agreed to develop projector models utilizing the S2K chip design. Pre-production versions of the S2K chipset have already been delivered to each licensee for product research and development, with production-ready chipsets currently scheduled for delivery later this year. S2K-powered projectors can be expected to become available to exhibitors for ordering and installation soon after. And, with select VPF models expiring soon, the S2K chip will offer an affordable solution for small screens to resourcefully make the switch to digital cinema.

At the recent CinemaCon tradeshow, projector market research firm Pacific Media Associates learned that 68% of US theaters have already upgraded to digital projection. Smaller chains still needing to convert will be helped by this smaller, DCI-compliant chipset from TI.