Barco leads the market adoption of laser projection by movie exhibitors around the world

Barco leads the market adoption of laser projection by movie exhibitors around the world

Las Vegas, Nev. USA, 29-Mar-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — Digital cinema leader Barco is driving the adoption of laser projection by movie exhibitors around the world, affirming its status as the technology and market leader in cinema. As the market has come to embrace laser-powered projection as the new norm, Barco has responded with the largest portfolio of laser projectors in the industry. Today, more than 50 theaters have become all-laser multiplexes – tripling the number in less than a year – by utilizing a combination of Barco Flagship Laser and Smart Laser projectors.

“Laser projection is proving to be a true game-changer in the cinema industry. Laser not only responds to the needs of exhibitors to streamline cinema operations and bring operational and maintenance costs down, but the technology also offers a tremendous upside opportunity for the cinema experience as a whole,” comments Stijn Henderickx, Vice President Cinema for Barco. “With our portfolio of 15 laser projectors, we have a perfect match for every screen and can fulfill all of our exhibitors’ needs, helping them bring to fruition the most successful and cost-effective all-laser multiplex.”

Forward-thinking exhibitors choose Barco for their all-laser multiplexes, IHS business analysts have stated that lasers were becoming a “dominant technology” in cinemas around the world. At CinemaCon last year, IHS cinema research director David Hancock shared his thoughts with James Gardiner, CineTechGeek, stating, ”We are now part of a digital media economy. What is going to happen now with laser is not a transition, but a migration of one lamp source to another source, this particular source is from xenon to laser.”

During the past year, many cinemas have selected Barco as their laser partner, outfitting their entire theaters with Barco Flagship and/or Smart Laser projectors. Below are just a few examples among more than 50 sites now fully deployed with Barco laser projectors:

National Amusements, Inc. has established a strategic partnership to convert its Showcase XPlus auditoriums to Barco Flagship Laser projection, bringing cinema immersion to never-before-seen levels. Duncan Short, Senior Vice President, U.S.A. & International Operations for NAI comments: “Barco is a dedicated partner who has mastered the laser projection technology. In addition to outfitting 6 of our top theater sites on the U.S.’s east coast with Barco’s Flagship laser projectors, we just opened the U.K.’s first all-laser multiplex with Barco Flagship and Smart Laser projectors in Westquay, Southampton.”

Kinepolis Group was an early adopter of Barco’s Flagship Laser projectors: in 2014, it was the first European cinema exhibitor to introduce Barco’s Flagship Laser technology. The exhibitor has deployed four all-laser multiplexes: Breda, the Netherlands, Kinepolis Utrecht, Kinepolis Fenouillet, and Kinepolis Granada. “We knew that our investment in Barco’s laser-illuminated projectors would help us bring the moviegoing experience to new levels. We’ve been proven right,” said Eddy Duquenne, CEO of Kinepolis Group.

The GRINN FILM multiplex at Kursk’s brand-new MEGA GRINN shopping mall in Russia will feature two Flagship Laser projectors and seven Smart Laser projectors. “We had great past experience with Barco’s xenon cinema projectors,” explains Pavel Greshilov, GRINN’s Deputy Director-General. “After visiting seminars and viewing Barco’s Flagship Laser projectors at work, we concluded that, once again, Barco technology really stands out from the others.”

Cinesystem Cinemas has outfitted its Morumbi Town cinema with both Flagship Laser and Smart Laser projectors, making it the first all-laser multiplex in Latin America. As a result, the exhibitor is elevating its premium showings while simultaneously spreading cost efficiencies across the entire theater. “With Barco, we can bring to São Paulo, one of the greatest Latin American cities in terms of economic importance, a modern and innovative option of entertainment,” comments Marcos Barros, Founding Partner of Cinesystem.

Barco has devised a two-pronged strategy to accomplish its laser roadmap aimed at fulfilling the projection needs of the cinema market: the Flagship Laser and Smart Laser series of projectors, which together, ensure the perfect match for every screen. In addition, over the last couple of years, Barco has deployed more than 10,000 Integrated Cinema Media Processors (ICMPs). This future-proof server platform, enabling unique features such as 4K HFR, has proven to be a key enabler for integrated and reliable cinema operations, as well as a driver for cost optimization through integration.

Flagship Laser – the ultimate visual experience
Barco’s Flagship Laser projector delivers the ultimate visual experience as a cost-effective PLF solution with the potential to generate significantly higher ticket revenues. It delivers unprecedented image quality, featuring outstanding 2D & 3D brightness, high brightness/contrast, constant light output, and superior color performance for a premium viewing experience. Research indicates that moviegoers give the highest image quality scores to Flagship Laser-illuminated screens, are willing to pay higher tickets prices, and convey that it will increase their visits to the cinema.

Smart Laser – bringing laser benefits to every screen
Exhibitors are also quickly adopting Barco’s Smart Laser projectors to fully outfit their multiplexes, reaping the benefits of lower costs and higher operational efficiencies with these flexible, future-proof solutions. With lower maintenance and air conditioning requirements, juxtaposed with higher brightness/contrast and long lifetime, these models offer a highly attractive Total Cost of Ownership.

See Barco laser projectors in action at CinemaCon!
Visitors at CinemaCon can experience Barco laser projectors at CinemaBarco at CinemaCon, Tuesday, March 28 – Thursday, March 30: Flagship Laser (RGB) projection & AuroMax® – Neopolitan 1 & 2 ballrooms; Smart Laser projection – Neopolitan 3 ballroom.

About Barco
Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops networked visualization products for the Entertainment, Enterprise and Healthcare markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and APAC. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with 3,500 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 1.102 billion euro in 2016.

SOURCE: Barco

For more information, please contact

Alison Maxson
Press & PR contact Americas
Barco nv
Telephone +1 678 542 3999
alison.maxson@barco.com

Stephanie Vlegels
Press & PR contact EMEA
Barco nv
Telephone +32 56 36 81 66
stephanie.vlegels@barco.com

Vickie Yueh
Press & PR contact APAC & GRC
Barco nv
Telephone +886 2 8771 0228
vickie.yueh@barco.com