[18:59 Thu,10.July 2025 by blip] |
A new, IMAX-like premium cinema setup called Epic is coming to Europe. By the end of 2027, the large cinema operator Vue (responsible for Cinemaxx, among others) plans to equip over 60 large screens with HDR-capable Barco laser projectors and Dolby Atmos sound. The first Epic installation will open at the end of July in Nottingham, with further screens to follow in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands later this year. In Germany, cinema-goers will have to wait at least until next year for the Epic cinema format. ;)
Barco&s HDR technology is still relatively new. The first cinema projections with it have only been available in the USA since last autumn. "HDR by Barco" achieves a peak brightness of 300 nits and uses its own process called Lightsteering to specifically display brighter highlights, deeper blacks and an extended color space (DCI). The interference properties of the laser used are used to direct more light to where it is needed and at the same time reduce brightness in other areas. Apparently two lasers work in parallel for this. One of the advantages of this approach is the relatively low power consumption, which is only around 20% higher than a conventional SDR projection. Since the selective light distribution is calculated in real time, the Barco LS4K projectors also have considerable computing power. They are equipped with Nvidia server GPUs for this purpose, which can also be upgraded to future, more efficient hardware. ;) For HDR projection à la Barco, the films have to be specially mastered for it. To play HDR DCPs, a post-production toolkit is also provided, which should be easy to integrate into existing studio workflows (DaVinci Resolve and FilmLight Baselight are supported). With the new Epic halls, Vue wants to become more independent of IMAX and still offer its own, higher-quality cinema experience. The background to this is, among other things, a  cinema-political controversy surrounding Greta Gerwig&s new film Narnia, which is produced by Netflix and is to receive preferential IMAX distribution.  more infos at bei www.barco.comdeutsche Version dieser Seite: Konkurrenz für IMAX - Neues HDR-Premiumkinoformat Vue Epic für Europa |
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