Sony has launched its latest dual projection system, which the company says puts its industry leading picture quality within reach of cost-conscious theatre owners. The new SRX-R510DS combines two SRX-R510 projectors to deliver a total brightness of 18,000 lumens, which Sony says is plenty for smaller independent cinemas and boutique screens looking to impress their patrons with a premium entertainment experience.
With the addition of the SRX-R510DS, Sony now offers a complete range of DCI compliant 4K projection solutions for every size of cinema. The new system joins the SRX-R515DS dual 4K system for large format screens that was announced at CinemaCon last year.
“We’re seeing phenomenal interest from the market in our high-brightness dual projection systems that offer the unsurpassed clarity of Sony 4K – without the price penalty and high running costs of still unproven laser products from other vendors,” said David McIntosh, vice president, Sony Digital Cinema 4K Solutions for Europe and the Americas. “Fitting neatly into the line-up between our R515P and R515DS systems, this new dual projection solution hits a sweet spot for any cinema with big ambitions for brightness and picture quality.”
Customers for our existing SRX-R515DS include Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – “the world’s coolest movie theatre’”– and Latin America operator Cine Center that’s recently installed four systems in
Bolivia. They’re joined in Europe by Cinecitta Nuremberg and Broadway Kino Ramstein in Germany, Showcase in the UK, and Mars Cinema Group in Turkey that has added the dual 4K system to eight of its premium large format screens.
Sony says the SRX-R510DS and existing SRX-R515DS dual projection solutions both offer favorable ownership costs compared with conventional Xenon-based projectors. An energy-efficient HPM (High Pressure Mercury) multi-lamp array reduces electricity bills while effectively removing the risk of dark screen outages. Even if one lamp fails, presentation continues without impairing audience enjoyment of the show. Replacement of individual lamp cartridges is quick and easy. Theatre owners can also elect to run shows with a reduced number of lamps lit, in line with their operational preferences.
Like every projector in the Sony Digital Cinema family, the SRX-R510DS pulls audiences into the action with immersive 4K detail and rich, lifelike color. Industry-leading 8,000:1 average contrast ratio brings every performance to life with ultra-deep blacks and sparkling highlights.
The matched pair of two SRX-R510 projectors delivers a total 18,000 lumens light output, achieving 2D reference light levels on screens up to 15m (gain 1.8) and up to 17.8m wide for 3D on a silver screen, gain 2.4. Sony’s highly efficient HPM multi-lamp arrangement and advanced SXRD optical system achieves equal or superior on-screen 3D brightness compared with equivalent single-lamp 4kW xenon systems.
The SRX-R510DS also showcases Sony’s smoothly immersive 3D system, ensuring high on-screen brightness levels that other systems can only achieve using light doubler technologies. 3D movies released in 2K are up-converted to 4K equivalent resolution, with simultaneous presentation of left- and right-eye images. It’s quick and easy to reconfigure the system between 2D and 3D presentation without requiring lens swaps.
The DCI-compliant projector pair can be operated either side-by-side or stacked vertically to suit any projection booth. Set-up’s simplified by the smart auto alignment system that comes included.
The SRX-R510DS further expands Sony’s extensive range of projection solutions for every size of cinema and complements the SRX-R515DS dual 4K system for large format screens that made its public debut at CinemaCon in 2015.
The SRX-R510DS will be available this fall.
Sony Digital Cinema http://www.sony.co.uk/pro/products/digital-cinema