If you do live events, the most frustrating compromise you’ve faced is getting high-lumen performance from a compact projector. “What all stagers and producers know, is ‘size matters,’” says Peter Pauwels, global director of strategic marketing at Barco. “If you do live events, now you don’t have to choose between the two things you need the most: a compact package, and 30K lumens of full color range. The best new projectors deliver both– but they do it with new technology that is not about compromise but about doing both, better.”
Both installed AV and live events AV professionals saw the obvious TCO benefits of laser projectors as they were first released a few years ago– but it’s now becoming clear that you need to look deeper into the different offerings, to separate the many me-too laser projectors from the road-tested, robust projectors that go beyond the delivery of only improved better TCO. The best-in-class, new laser projectors build on the DNA of market-leading live event/large venue projection technology. They deliver a combination of high lumen output, small footprint, silent operation, better color space, and superior 4K performance.
With laser phosphor projectors, it’s all about the details, and it’s about new generation technology breakthroughs that go beyond past compromises in laser projection. We all know about the TCO (total cost of ownership) advantages of lamp-free, laser phosphor projectors. But until now, that TCO advantage came with many compromises including those associated with legacies of large venue/high lumen projection in general. So even as we enter the laser projection age, event producers are having to compromise too much on the size/weight of large venue projectors to achieve greater color space for demanding clients. The goal is to deliver the best 4K and higher lumens affordably in a compact projector in a flexible way.
And if that were not enough, the best engineers now consider the new milestone of 30K lumens in a more compact laser phosphor projector to be table stakes. They challenge the industry to demand a high lumen/compact projector that also: 1) does not trade off color space for more brightness, 2) makes it easier to do blending and warping, and 3) gets the best 4K images and performance in that compact projector footprint, with no latency compromises.
A tall order, that. But it probably comes as no surprise to seasoned stagers that the engineers that have accomplished it are at Barco– the projector manufacturer that has been a pioneer in every major innovation for large venue projection in the past 20 years.
In September 2017, the ninth BRICS Summit was held at Xiamen Egret Island. The landmark sculpture Egret Goddess, surrounded by water, acted as the screen for a stunning pixel mapping application using 13 Barco UDX-4K32 projectors. Is it really possible to achieve all those specs and performance benchmarks today, in a high lumen laser phosphor projector?
The litmus test, in a way, for all those performance criteria, is 4K. Projectors based on the DLP 4K UHD chipset, combining the fast switching speed of the DMD with advanced image processing to create an affordable 3-chip DLP solution for 4K, are here. But not all DLP 4K UHD is created equal. Most of the 4K laser projectors that use pixel shifting for 4K will lose light output in the process, and increase frame latency– and that will compromise performance in demanding applications.
Barco’s technology is unique: Barco uses a native WQXGA chip to do pixel shifting – a higher resolution than WUXGA, allowing the system to get so close to native 4K that there is no loss of image content. And even better, it even matches native 4K quality when doing warping. Barco is the only projector can do this.
Barco’s Single Step Processing (SSP) technology enables their projectors to achieve 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) resolution in only one step (and with color that outperforms Rec. 709 at full brightness.) This results in a sharper image, less latency, and less dark time than comparable solutions on the market. And if you think these spec details don’t matter to your staging job, think again. You’re not losing as much light with Barco’s 4K UHD setup: so in the long run, you don’t have to drive lasers as hard: you get better performance, in a more compact footprint, with less heat. That means better TCO for your projection fleet.
The Barco UDX 4K laser phosphor projectors for large venues and events offer a unique platform that enables rental companies and AV integrators to provide stunning live event experiences on screens, while saving both time and money.
(Note, with the unique FLEX feature you can adjust your brightness to 22,000, 32,000 lumens, and anything in-between. As you need fewer projectors to cover a wider range of brightness levels, you can get the most out of your rental fleet.)
The UDX range combines high performance in a compact and rugged design. Five models deliver reliable, razor-sharp and high-brightness images for every type of event or venue.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
4K UHD is an affordable way to display a native 4K resolution image by making use of Texas Instruments' pixel shifting technology and Barco's unique Single Step Processing (SSPTM) image processing technique to display the input image on the screen without any artefacts and with the lowest possible processing latency.
Infographic: What if You Could Have Both 22K and 32K Lumens in a Single Projector?
What if the best choice for your next 20,000-lumen laser projector was actually a 32,000-lumen projector? Imagine that! Here are 5 ways you can benefit from choosing UDX.
UDX 4K Laser Phosphor Projectors for Large Venues and Events
- Barco's brand-new UDX platform enables rental companies and AV integrators to provide stunning experiences while saving both time and money. Choose for the future today − and reap the benefits for many years to come.
Download White paper: High-Brightness Projectors for Outdoor Projection
All around the world, projection mapping is bringing smiles to people's faces. Not only does it transform a city's atmosphere by adding gorgeous colours to famous or everyday buildings, it also shares compelling stories and enriches the lives of spectators. In this white paper, the focus is on projection and the elements required providing a stunning visual experience on any canvas, being it a building, waterfall or even a hot air balloon.
Download White paper: Pushing the Brightness Boundaries for Laser Phosphor Projection
In this white paper we will deep dive into the world of high-brightness phosphor (LP) projectors (10,000 lumens and up) and why this technology is suited for applications of projectors that produce brightness levels up to 30,000 lumens.
