3 mins - November 2023
Barry Sheldrick, Director of Sales at DbM and Bart Devos, Business Development Manager EMEA at Barco Residential recently sat down to discuss the topic of laser projectors and video processors. Here’s what they had to say.
There’s a lot of talk about video processing and the need for using external boxes. There are definitely advantages to using a processor like Lumagen for more enhanced versions of tone mapping and video signal quality. Reducing jitter in the audio and video signal makes a huge difference to audio and video fidelity, both of which are immediately noticeable.
Having frame by frame analysis of the video content for correct HDR tone mapping is also essential to ensure that all content is rendered to the correct NIT value, something that the Lumagen does a superb job of.
In terms of geometry and geometrical challenges, the platforms that are built into the Barco projectors are super-advanced and eliminate the need for adding a video processor to the set up.
This means that if you are working with a projector that is not parallel the screen and you end up with like a sort of trapezoid effects or otherwise, as long as the image is larger than the screen, you can use the Barco Pulse Platform Warp Engine to crop the image and fill it. This allows you to very easily manipulate the picture to take out any installation imperfections.
The other advantage with this is that you can place a projector completely offset from the screen. With other projectors, you wouldn’t be able to stretch this as far as you can with Barco as there wouldn’t be enough lens shift available and you wouldn’t have the Warp Engine to correct the image on screen. We’ve got an internal calculator to work out how far we can put the projector off centre but the flexibility this gives integrators is incredible!
Ultimately, you’ve got the most powerful video processing in projection land in every single residential non-DIC projector. This is a game changer, because a house is never square, and there will be times when the set location of the projector won’t work due to pipes or whatnot, and this is where Barco provides the flexibility to engineer around installation challenges.
There are a handful of integrators who comment that Barco projectors don't start until around £25,000 and they can buy a different system for £5,000, which surely isn’t five times lower than the Barco system. Well in fact, Barco projectors are more than five times better than these other products because of all these added features – the installation is made so much better, the installers love the flexibility of it and the clients are blown away by the end result. It highlights why you shouldn’t just compare specs on paper – you’ve got to look at real world installation and performance.
While we are on the topic of pricing, it is so important for dealers to be confident in presenting the correct projection solution for their client. We see customers who shy away from talking about systems that are £50,000 - £70,000 as they think the client will laugh at them or walk away. When it comes to Barco, we want our dealers to fully understand the benefits of its projection systems and they will then know that its really good value for these products because they are top quality and tick so many boxes for the clients. Price shouldn’t be a barrier to the dealer – if it is for the client, that’s fine, but you’ve got to give them the opportunity to see that these systems exist and how they can transform their home cinema project. So, don’t be embarrassed about selling expensive projection systems, as they are one million percent worth it. They will massively enhance the entire experience.
To experience Barco projectors alongside other brands such as Meridian and Lumagen, book a visit to the DbM HQ to immerse yourself in true AV excellence.