Bright and rugged with a single chipDLP-projector Barco CLM HD8Dieter Michel

In many areas of application it is no longer possible to make do with the normal brightness of conference-room projectors in the 4000 to 5000 lumens range. If the projection is to take place in a large conference-room with daylight interference or if the projection is for a large event with correspondingly large projection formats, greater performance is required. In the area of high performance this is normally the province of larger high performance 3-chip DLP projectors that provide the performance but at the same time severely stretch the user’s budget. Here is where the Belgian manufacturer Barco steps in with the new CLM series of single-chip DLP projectors that, with a brightness of 10000 ANSI-lumens (CLM R10+) and 8000 ANSI-lumens (CLM HD8) respectively, should stir the market. The opportunity to examine both projectors more closely arose again recently at Lang AG in Lindlar.

Both new projectors – the CLM R10+ and the CLM HD8 – differ mainly because of the picture format and the attendant slightly different light management geometry that consequently has a slightly different brightness. Common to both projectors is an extremely robust construction method based on an all-metal chassis with modular and very sturdily implemented functional sub-assemblies such as power supply, lamp system, light engine, etc. In this way the modules are readily accessible for servicing and, when necessary, can be replaced quickly. Again, hardly any

plastic is used, but rather almost entirely metal – even in the individual lamps. Incidentally, these are fitted with a chip, which – like the intelligent batteries of some portable devices – permits the recording of the identity of the individual lamp and important data such as usage time, the number of times it is switched on, etc. In conjunction with a service life guarantee for the lamps, the usage time for each lamp can thus be recorded. In the event of a premature failure before the expiry of its guaranteed service life, the customer can be compensated for the equivalent unused life of the lamp when

it is exchanged for a replacement lamp. In view of the not inexpensive price of the lamp, the customer can thus be sure that he always gets the lamp-life he paid for.

In order to attain the promulgated brightness of 8000 – 10000 ANSI lumens, the CLM series projectors do not use expensive xenon lamps, rather they work with a total of four of the afore-mentioned 300 W high pressure lamps. One advantage of this quadruple redundancy is that one lamp can quietly fail without necessitating a shut down because the light output merely drops by around 25%.

The projector chassis is based on a sturdy steel-tube frame, which firstly enables the fairly heavy 30 kg projector to be moved by two people and secondly allows two projectors to be stacked on top of one another to double the brightness.

For this purpose, and for installation of the projector at the event venue, there are corresponding rigging points on the upper and lower surfaces of the apparatus.Naturally, motorised lens shift adjustment is built into projectors of this class, as are interchangeable zoom and fixed focal-length lenses for the greatest range of applications. Less usual is the integrated soft edge blending, which allows several projectors to be combined using soft edge blending to produce a larger projection area.

CLM projectors also come with an infra-red remote control that can also be linked by cable to the projector for a more reliable connection. Unlike cables on other devices that are thin with 3.5 mm jack plugs, this one is a grown-up XLR cable with solid connectors such as those used for microphone cables at events. As to be expected, the usual remote control interfaces such as RS-232 and Ethernet are provided.

A special feature of the CLM series that relates to the important area of use of event technology is the built-in DMX interface, which is actually normal at light events. With the CLM projectors the user can, via the interface, control for example an optical dowser (dimmer) that can regulate the light output of the projector to absolute zero for true black and thus adjust the picture brightness of the application without sacrificing resolution by controlling the DLP-chip. Furthermore, the DMX interface permits remote control of zoom, focus, lens shift, input selection as well as brightness and contrast.The connectivity of the CLM projectors is modular in design, so that it is always possible to use the signal format required

by the application, including, in addition to analog and digital standard formats, special formats such as are common in the professional world – HD and SDI.

Picture quality

The finest mechanical workmanship does not of course help if in the end the picture quality is not right. Fortunately, the technical and spatial facilities at Lang AG allowed us to conduct a large part of our usual tests and measurements (ANSI- contrast was not measured) in the large projection hall. This enabled us to confirm the manufacturer’s published data for light output and contrast; the measured colour space corresponds in general to sRGB and to the very similar video colour space Rec. 601 (SD-Video) and Rec. 709 (HD-Video) respectively, so that colour shifts are unlikely. Anyone requiring a more precise adjustment of the colour reproduction can use the software provided.Using the Display Mate Multimedia Edition test chart, the projectors show no weaknesses; likewise when using the special video sequences for testing SD and HD video performance. The projectors also have a special manually switchable mode for reproduction of digitised cinematic films. All things considered, the reproduction quality of the CLM projectors is flawless.

Summary

The new CLM projectors represent a new approach to bringing high brightness and ultra-robust build quality to a market segment that to date has been dominated by expensive projectors in 3 chip technology. The prices - be compared with standard conference-room projectors are not bad either, but can only be fairly compared with projectors that have comparable manufacturing and build qualities. In that segment they ought to give the market a good shake up.

Manufacturer Barco

Type CLM HD8 (CLM R10+), 1-Chip-DLP

Picture format 16:9

Resolution 1920 x 1080

Light output (Manufacturer/mea-sured)

8.000 / 7.457 ANSI-lumen (R10+: 9.960)

Contrast (full screen/ANSI) 1271:1 / - (see text)

Video formats HDTV, PAL, NTSC, SECAM

Connections Modular system: inc. RGBHV, DVI-1, HDMI, SV, YUV, CV, RS-232, LAN, LAN, K-FB, DMX

Special features Modular input structure, DMX-control

Price (exc. VAT) EUR 22,500, - (R10+: EUR 17,500,-)

Abbreviations: RGB=VGA/VESA Sub-D 15 pin, S-V=S-Video DIN 4-pin, CV=Composite, Video, RF-FB=Radio-Remote, IR-FB=IR-remote, K-FB=cable remote.