Barco Thor 4K 6P Residential Laser Projector the best in the World?

[w.mayer]

Today I did number one on my "to do list" with the Barco and adjust the convergence.

I not do it almost since it was setup long time ago.
I always thing about it but it get delayed as I think it makes no sense to do it  before I change the screen.

As you can see in the first picture blue was out by almost one pixel red was also not perfect.
Second picture shows the same area after my adjustments that takes just about 15 min.
You can see how Barco have this easy to operate mechanical convergence adjustment.
Just about 6 knobs shift red and green (blue is reference) it to near 100% perfect convergence see pictures down.
A test picture on the screen show you what knobs you have to turn in what direction.
Sorry this was made via my mobile so not the quality you normally see from me.

In one picture you can see left side the V6 screen and right side a white paper I put as a reference inside.

[MrPixels]

Big improvement. RGB alignment is very important and harder to achieve with 4k, good work.

[w.mayer]

I am glad to report that I can do it even slightly better see this picture!
Now it was perfect.

All the test pictures I have displayed at 6.8 meter wide wearing my special glasses that my eye doctor especially did for me to see in the my home cinema every detail. He told me that he never ever do so much work for such a glass in his live  . Viewing distance was only 3.4 meter so 0,5 times the screen wide!
I cannot detect and see from this much much to short viewing distance to view movies anything.

To see it you have to open the full resolution 4K picture by click on it and dont forget this picture is a screenshot from a fabric V6 screen!

[w.mayer]

I got today the UHD Disc from 2001 and did some screenshots.

First the UHD Version looks better than I think after hearing some negative reports.

The old BD do not look this good.
The new BD looks almost as good as the UHD Version very hard to tell what is what so the biggest difference is between the old BD to the new BD.
But UHD Disc even if it show very little improvement in resolution compare to the new BD version show better color and HDR that I like a lot especially in some space sequences.

Warner and Christopher Nolan did a good job and thanks to Warner we can now look 2001 in a quality that may some 70mm do not have.
I watch 2001 in 70mm at least 6 times in my live but I cannot remember I see it in this good picture quality.

Also we must say thank you to Warner for not downgrade the new BD Version to made look the UHD even better.

See this following pictures in the full resolution.
This are real screenshots made with the Barco Thor.

Please see further down also some strange issue that some of the sequences had a red corner that looks like a convergence bug from the Projector.
So first thing I think was WOW my convergence is out again but I see that my test pictures show a very good convergence see my last post with the picture inside.
Later if found some more sequences that show this but also.
So it is in the source material not coming from the projector.
Strang that I never hear about it looks like no one saw it before.

I think we will re-watch this movie over the weekend.

But do not expect a quality that the latest Reference UHD like for sample Lucy have.
They are shot in 8K or 4K with today’s best large format Cameras like the Arri or other super good cameras with premium lenses that was simply not there in 1968 but
as I say the UHD Disc is by far the best version that is out and I doubt that a further version will be show a better quality.

I think what is on the UHD Disc is what is in best case today after 50 years Nolan and Warner can get out of the 70mm print.

What Quality  Nolan can offer from a todays movie that was shot in 70mm and IMAX go and get “Dunkirk in UHD Disc” and you can see how good UHD can get.

[w.mayer]

Here one 400% compare picture.

[w.mayer]

I like to share some feedback I got from my friend that buy my Sony VW 5000 in december 2016 some days ago.

He call me from time to time and ask me what is new at the market.
So I give him as usual my latest information’s I had.

I told him about how the new Sony VW870 looks how likely the upcoming JVC 4K projectors will look and off course the new Christie projector with infinity black and some information’s I have about it.

So after sometime he told me that it looks for him that nothing is at this moment there that can replace his Sony 5000.
At least not something  that he can afford.

But one statement from him shocks me in some way and I like to share it with you.
He say that he is looking for a brighter projector with more lumen!
I wonder as his screen is a 4.2 meter wide Steward 130 non perforated so he get around 45FTL at full laser with the Sony VW 5000 so very bright!
As the Sony 5000 have around 13.700:1 on off cr. at 45 FTL I told him black will looks not anymore black more a bit like a dark gray with this bright picture!

I told him that there will be possible some successor from the Sony 5000 that likely will have higher lumen output but may not much more cr.
And there he bring something up I really wonder.
He say that this will be worse for him an upgrade when he can do an even brighter picture especially with HDR content with a new projector.
I interrupt and say “do you know that in worst case if cr. will not get any increase but picture will be may 50% brighter that black will even looks worse than today”?!
And then he say “well this is acceptable for him black is not so much important for him and that he is fine if some new pr. offers more lumen and not increase with cr.”

WOW!!! hearing this from someone that always had a perfect black cinema and that comes from a Sony G90 CRT projector long time ago makes me wonder.

It will gets to long when I going in details what we discuss after but I realize that black is for some people is less important than for me.

I do care for a better on off cr. as my cinema is very black and there you can see the differences.
My Barco Thor had about half the on off cr. the Sony 5000 have but I sold the Sony as the Barco offers me in every other aspect in picture quality a big upgrade to the 5000.
As I had for several months both pr. side by side on the same screen I know why I movie to Barco Thor and I know what impact half on off cr. will do to the picture.
But there you need to know that the Barco had a 3 times better ansi cr. that compensate the half on off cr.a lot and even better in mix sequences with black and white the Barco show a better picture because of the high ansi cr.

The worse on off cr. is mostly only visible in a total black or near total black sequence that some movies not have at all or some more than other.

So I will still try to find some pr. with better on off cr. in future but it is a bit strange for me to hear from him that he did not care so much about perfect on off cr.
But it is a good sample that everybody are seeing things different.

[donaldk]

Yup I have had a preference for DLP and its bright images for a long time. I see the 'issue' of contrast, but i often do not like to be in the dark. So with ambient light... That's why I like deep Red, Black and Green tradeshow demo's of RGB LED walls even with their (just) below Rec. 709 gamut. When Mitsubishi showed its first generation(s) of 4 mm pitch LED walls and quoting 1000 and later 1500 lumens peak, but running them at 800 nits or so, I only knew this because I asked if it could do any brighter;-). Fairly dark part of the Rai Convention Center in Amsterdam, so most likely IBC, so long ago I have no clue if it is ten or fifteen years ago;-).

My rebuttal has long been Brightness is not the killer of blacks, it is the lacking contrast.

[w.mayer]

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/nhk-to-launch-8k-channel-dec-1-with-2001

A very bad decision about picture quality to use this film for this!
This original 70mm print contains not much more than 2K resolution as you can see in my picture where I compare the new BD with the new UHD.

There are many 2K BDs out that had a much better picture quality than 2001 in UHD Disc so 8k is nonsense when we talking about picture quality.

As a good film yes it make sense but not to show anything that is good in picture quality.

[w.mayer]

https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/nhk-to-launch-8k-channel-dec-1-with-2001

A very bad decision about picture quality to use this film for this!

This original 70mm print contains not much more than 2K resolution as you can see in my picture.
As you easy can see the BD is almost as good as the UHD Version!
There are many 2K BDs out that had a much better picture quality than 2001 in UHD Disc so 8k is nonsense when we talking about picture quality.

But the movie itself was a good one.
I plan when I had the new screen to use it for my own reopening from my cinema.

[donaldk]

Perhaps a marketing ploy? The story quoted below sounds good doesn't it;-).

Although the quality of 70mm films is comparable to 8K, there are a limited number of venues where they can be shown, so it was hard to enjoy them in the original quality. NHK was the first in the world to request this film be converted to 8K. Warner Bros., which owns the film, scanned the original film negatives, repairing scratches and restoring the color, to convert it into 8K. The result of that is the power and beauty of the 70mm original is fully captured in 8K, and the many famous scenes become even more vivid, with the attention to detail of director Stanley Kubrick expressed in the exquisite images, creating the feeling of really being on a trip in space<\q>

[w.mayer]

Dunkirk in UHD was shot in 70mm and IMAX.
Even only the 70mm looks outstanding good in picture quality.

2001 at UHD are not coming any near to this picture quality.

In theory 70mm can be very good but 2001 is not good compare what is today possible with 70mm or true 4K large sensor format cameras and best optics.

I am sure Ben Hure will be looking very nice in UHD when it will be out.

[w.mayer]

I did something today with my Barco Thor I think about long time but never try it.

I use my Isco Anamorphic Lens 1.25 so far only for 3D Blue Rays as there I had for my taste not a so bright Image after the cr. improve that kills about 45% lumen that I use this lens to gain about 25% lumen.

The result was nice it increase visible the brightness and I cannot see any decrease in picture quality at all with a 3D BDs.

I never did this with HDR 4K UHD Disc so far as I think the Barco Thor cannot scale up the picture vertically by 25% with 4K HDR Content but I was wrong the Barco Thor can do it.

So I find out how do to it and how to adjust all the files that are creating this picture : Lens File-PCF File-Screen File.

I was very surprised to see how good this picture was with the Isco Anamorphic Lens 1.25.
I have expected a little bit less picture quality but reality was I cannot found beside some distortion that I can blank via electronic blanking and lens setting to get a full flat picture any parameter that looks with the Isco Anamorphic Lens 1.25 less good.

I use the best UHD Disc for this test Dunkirk and Lucy but picture looks even better with the extra lumen.
Without the Isco 1.25 I have about 33 FTL with full laser power now I have good 44 FTL at full laser power.
Most about 24% increase comes from the Anamorphic Lens and some % comes from the bigger picture as I not use 3840 pixels I use now more pixels.
Most professional high end lens are had a fix F number so there is not any loss of lumen when you zoom to a smaller picture.

Also nice was that I use almost the full chip and therefore I do not have any black bars anymore for 2.35 format movies that hit my roof and floor.
They are gone and this increase somehow the visibly cr. ratio.

Last not least with the Anamorphic Lens I can fill the whole screen so my picture was bigger.
I will use this only when I playback some really good content bad UHD or bad BDs I project a bit smaller without the Isco.

I am happy to see this kind of improvement with the Isco Anamorphic 1,25 Lens and it was a big surprise to see how good it looks.
I will do a slider that made it easy to slide this lens out and inside.
I need this for flat content but I think to do all the scope content with the Isco Anamorphic Lens 1.25 in future.

[MrPixels]

The Isco 1:25 is the best of all anamorphic's. To this day they are still used and very common in Drive-ins who need as much light as possible.

[w.mayer]

Yes by far the very best!

If you need more lumen this is depending on the projector lens and how much lumen this lens lost by zooming to a smaller picture the best and easy solution you can do.

But in my case it is only an option as my 33 FTL I have at 100% laser power in HDR are looking very bright because I had no lumen lost in the corners.
Its opposite I have about 5% more lumen in the corners than in the center of the screen!

Together with the laser in general and the size of the screen this is the major reason why most people say this must be 40 FTL+ X when I drive 100% laser without the Isco Anamporphic Lens at 33FTL.

[w.mayer]

We watch over the holidays Mama Mia 2 on UHD Disc.

Nice picture quality very good color and very much details and supergood HDR.

This was one movie where the Barco Thor do not show any problem about black level.
I can not remember that I saw a sequence that was bad looking in black as the movie plays almost 99% of the time in daylight.
The may less than 1% with dark content looks (at least not so long that your pupil open up full) not that bad.

This movie is a good example that black level is only important for some very dark looking movies where a lot of sequences are near 100% dark.
A Infinity cr. projector will not show Mama Mia 2 at UHD Disc much better.

Maybe one reason was that I drive the Barco Thor at 90% laser power that show with the Anamorphic ISCO 1.25 Lens about 40FTL.
This show very nice the HDR Effekt.
I can not remember that I ever saw this big and nice HDR Effekt before with a other top UHD Disc.

If you have a good HDR Setup you should try this disc.