This is topic Barco DVI 3D & 4K in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by John Roddy (Member # 7348) on 03-20-2013, 02:36 PM:
 
Not too long ago, Barco released an update for their communicator software. Among the changes, I noticed that there are now DVI 3D and DVI 4K input options. I don't recall seeing either one of those before. After checking the manual, I saw that it requires both DVI A and B ports to be used for either one. This got me curious.

Does anybody know anything about this? I can't seem to find any clear documentation about this outside of the communicator manual, and that doesn't give me enough info to actually try this out. I have a DP4K-32b on site, and I'd like to see if I can connect a Windows PC to it and get a 4K output. In the past, I've been certain that wasn't possible, but these new options are promising. So now what? How can I get two separate DVI ports to output to the same display? Or rather, how does the projector handle that so I know what to look for on the PC-software side?

I'm also curious about the 3D option. Provided I can find the right drivers for it, should it be possible to get a 3D output from this PC and get 60Hz per eye? I'm at a loss here. I want more info, but I don't even know where to start looking for it. This is all just too new.
 
Posted by Gregg Hart (Member # 7261) on 02-11-2014, 10:00 PM:
 
I know this is an old topic, and I've never actually posted to anything on here, but I thought this might help.

I just finished setting up a Barco DP4K running solely off a PC as the 4K source. It took a little bit of work, but looks amazing. The customer is a non-cinema high tech company that wished to play content and presentations in the highest resolution possible.

Essentially, the DVI-4K option splits the screen into two (2) 2048x2160 screens and plays them side by side. The AMD Eyefinity card with Dual Link DVI-D connections was required. In addition, a little bit of tinkering with the registry and EDID files was required. Not for the faint-hearted.

My sincerest thanks to our friends at Barco for giving me a hand with this.

I haven't tried 3D, since there's no color wheel. It was explained to me that Dolby3D is the only way to playback 3D content from a non DCI server source. I'm curious to find out. I'll be experimenting with it soon enough.

If anyone is adventurous enough to want to try this on their own, please PM and I'll do what I can to help as others did for me.

Next step, true digital AES from a PC and I'll have essentially built my own non compliant playback server.

For the record, the cost on this project was phenomenal. The Sound and Graphics cards each cost over $1K, and the playback server is a high-end 12 core HP server with Win 7 x64. I don't even know what the cost is for that offhand.

-Gregg
 
Posted by Alan Gouger (Member # 543) on 02-11-2014, 11:41 PM:
 
Interesting topic, please keep this going.
 
Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 02-12-2014, 01:28 AM:
 
Gregg,

that's very interesting, I asked Barco for advice on 4k alt xcon earlier this year and got a firtm 'it cannot be done via DVI' response. Same from Christie.
 
Posted by John Roddy (Member # 7348) on 02-12-2014, 02:58 AM:
 
A-ha! I suspected it had something to do with eyefinity and multiple sources stitched into one. Thanks for the confirmation!

Any word on what kind of refresh rates you can get with this setup? I'd like to see if it's possible to run a game or something at 4K, but the standard 4K monitor these days seems to be stuck at 30Hz. If it could scale up to at least 60Hz, that would absolutely perfect! (provided I can get all of the graphic hardware on my end, that is)

As for the 3D, I'm not too sure about that color wheel limitation. The settings in the 3D section on the communicator give quite a few options for the source and how it's interpreted. I think the real key would be finding a way to get the 3D output from the PC to something that the projector can interpret. To my understanding, it's stupid hard to do 3D properly on a PC in the first place. Lots of proprietary garbage being thrown around that limits the availability and stuff. Bleh.
 
Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 02-12-2014, 07:42 AM:
 
At least in cinema mode, the 4k Barcos can not go over 30Hz in 4k. Don't know wether the same applies to Dual-DVI 4k. A lot of current cheaper 4k monitors have HDMI 1.4 compliant inputs, and these max out at 4k/30Hz. Only real HDMI 2.0 inputs will support 60Hz.

- Carsten
 
Posted by John Roddy (Member # 7348) on 02-12-2014, 02:37 PM:
 
quote: Carsten Kurz
A lot of current cheaper 4k monitors have HDMI 1.4 compliant inputs, and these max out at 4k/30Hz. Only real HDMI 2.0 inputs will support 60Hz.
True. But don't forget, this is treated as two separate 2048x2160 inputs, not one constant 4096x2160. Whether or not that could handle 60Hz per signal is what I want to find out.
 
Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 02-12-2014, 04:16 PM:
 
Yes, I was only referring to those monitors.

Dual-DVI could carry 4k/60Hz, but I am not sure wether the input section or the non-cinema signal path in the 4k DLPs will support that.

Wolfgang Mayer has a dual 4k Barco stack in his personal screening room, fed by 4 Display-Port signals from a graphics card to two Barcos in 3D. But I can't find any reference regarding refresh rates. Maybe Alan knows something?

The Barco Whitepaper on HighFrameRate states some limits of the hardware, to my understanding so that 4k/60Hz is out of the question with the current hardware.

http://www.barco.com/projection_systems/downloads/HigherFrameRates_FINAL.pdf

Wether that has changed or can be changed/upgraded on existing machines, who would know. There are rumours that Barco is working on 3D at 4k and probably also HFR, but these will be new machines. Certainly Barcos laserprojectors for IMAX will include that capability.

Christie offers the D4K2560/D4K3560, which is capable of 4k/60Hz, and it seems it shares the same platform with Christies DCI machines. But it has a massively beefed up input section.

- Carsten
 
Posted by Alan Gouger (Member # 543) on 02-14-2014, 10:45 AM:
 
quote: Carsten Kurz
Wolfgang Mayer has a dual 4k Barco stack in his personal screening room, fed by 4 Display-Port signals from a graphics card to two Barcos in 3D. But I can't find any reference regarding refresh rates. Maybe Alan knows something?
Last time I was in contact with Wolfgang Mayer on this topic he confirmed the Barco b32 can take via Dual DVI 3840x2160 up to 30P and 4096x2160 up to 24P and possible even 25P which he never tried. That is today's maximum but soon Barco will have a 4K that can do 60p in 4K.
 
Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 03-21-2014, 05:11 AM:
 
And now the rumour become fact:

Barco is launching their Alchemy projector series:

http://www.dcinematoday.com/dc/pr.aspx?newsID=3572

---
Kortrijk, Belgium—Mar 20, 2014
The Brightest Cinema Projectors Are Now More Powerful Than Ever:

Barco Delivers 4K 3D and 4K at 60 FPS for its Entire Lineup of 4K Xenon and Laser Cinema Projectors
Barco, the global market share leader in digital cinema projection technology, is proud to introduce a groundbreaking update for its market-leading digital cinema projector families. Named ‘Barco Alchemy’, this new generation of integrated and future-proof projectors combines media server functionalities with cinema processing electronics to further increase reliability and ease-of-use in the projection booth. The Barco Alchemy technology is fully compatible with all new and installed Series 2 Barco projectors.

By fusing media server functionalities with the projector’s cinema processing electronics, Barco is once again delivering future-proof modularity at unparalleled levels while offering a low total cost of ownership. The powerful 4K Barco Alchemy projectors are the first to show 4K movies at 60 frames per second and 4K 3D content on a single projector. Thanks to the projectors’ modularity, customers who already own a Barco Series 2 projector can easily upgrade it to benefit from the revolutionary Barco Alchemy technology. To offer exhibitors the widest choice, Barco will continue to support the integration of GDC and Doremi media servers into its projectors as well. All Barco 4K projectors will be capable of 4K 3D and 4K at 60 fps when the Barco Alchemy technology is added. The current Barco S-, C- and B-series with integrated Barco Alchemy technology will be readily available as of Q2 2014.

Continued innovation
“We’ve delivered on the promise of modular and future-proof solutions with many benefits for our customers over the years. The introduction of the Barco Alchemy technology continues to deliver on this promise,” comments Todd Hoddick, VP Digital Cinema at Barco. “As the global projection market share leader in the digital cinema industry, we have a responsibility to continue innovating for our current installation base and we are excited to be launching more groundbreaking projection technology that enables 4K 3D and 4K at 60 fps. While many told us this was not even possible, we are launching the technology not just for new Xenon and laser projectors, but this technology is fully available as an upgrade to all existing Barco Series 2 projectors.”

Increased reliability
Offering superior image processing, the Barco Alchemy projectors combine the functionalities of an integrated cinema processor (ICP) and a media server into a single projector module. The required hardware is reduced to bring more simplicity and reliability into the projection booth. To minimize the risk of mishaps, the Barco Alchemy projectors have been designed to detect potential operational errors and alert users if, for instance, a scheduled show is missing assets or KDMs. What’s more, the on-board media server allows for integrated storage and fast content ingest.

Easy operation and maintenance
The Barco Alchemy projectors have been designed to greatly increase the level of operational efficiency. Projectionists can now enjoy an intuitive user interface that seamlessly blends projector control with a full-fledged screen management system. Named ‘Barco Web Commander’, this user interface is readily available on the projector without any additional software installation. It is accessed via a web browser and is also fully supported on iOS and Android tablets thanks to the free ‘Barco CineMate’ iOS and Android app. To facilitate installation and maintenance, the ‘Barco Communicator’ application has been extended to make the configuration and update of all modules in a Barco Alchemy projector a breeze.

Future-proof for an enthralling movie experience
The upgradable Barco Alchemy technology makes the digital cinema projectors fully future-proof and extends their lifetime. When coupled with new or existing 4K digital cinema projectors, the Barco Alchemy technology truly elevates the movie experience by enabling 4K 2D content to be shown at 60 fps and by delivering 4K 3D images with a single digital cinema projector. Moreover, the Barco Alchemy projectors can also readily show uncompressed alternative content in 4K at 60 fps for crisp and razor-sharp images. “We have enabled all current and future Barco 4K projectors with brand-new paint brushes and canvases for storytellers to use. I just can’t wait to see what they will come up with to enchant audiences,” says Theodore Marescaux, Product Manager at Barco.

Discover CinemaBarco at CinemaCon
Barco is introducing its new CinemaBarco theater-wide entertainment concept at CinemaCon 2014, by showcasing numerous immersive technologies that bring showmanship back to the cinema and renew the magic of the moviegoing experience.
Discover Barco’s new vision during the CinemaCon demonstration sessions from 25 - 27 March, at the Cinemark Century 16 South Point and XD theater in Las Vegas (USA). And visit Barco’s booth #2313A at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas from 25 - 27 March.
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Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 09-08-2016, 07:14 AM:
 

It has been 902 days since the last post.


 
Posted by Ian Callahan (Member # 9172) on 09-08-2016, 07:14 AM:
 
Has anyone else had luck with building a PC capable of delivering 4k over the DP4K DVI inputs? Dual DVI video cards seem to be harder and harder to find. I'm looking toward using cards marketed for use with legacy medical technology, but if anyone has had any success with this I'd really appreciate getting in touch.
 
Posted by John Roddy (Member # 7348) on 09-09-2016, 02:40 PM:
 
AMD and nVidia both seem to prioritize display port connectors over DVI. I know AMD went for all mini-DP on one of their more recent enthusiast cards, and that's slowly becoming the norm. That, or an HDMI-variant connector. DVI has kinda started to be phased out. But there are plenty of converters available to switch between just about every size of HDMI, DP, and DVI for whatever application you want. My current PC offers a DVI and HDMI out. I could easily make that dual-DVI and connect it straight into the projector. It's something I've wanted to try for years, but this build is just too difficult to reliably transport anywhere.

That being said, it's barely even worth trying that anymore. Not too long ago, we experimented with running 4K content over the HDMI port on the GDC IMB in that projector. Much to our surprise, it worked. And it worked incredibly well. If you have a device that can output 4K over HDMI and an IMB with an open port, you might already be set. I don't believe GDC advertises 4K-HDMI support or even confirms its compatibility, but I can. We've tried a handful of different devices and all of them were almost plug-and-play after the initial battle to make the first one work.

*EDIT:* Just to clarify, you don't need to look into legacy anything for proper DVI support. HDMI and DisplayPort both directly convert to it with effectively no side effects. You only need two digital outputs from the primary video card to make it work. And yes, I emphasized that word specifically for multi-card setups, since I actually happen to have one. My PC has two AMD Radeon HD7970 cards in crossfire. One of the interesting things to note about this setup is that the secondary card is intentionally crippled. Even though it has the same ports as the primary one, they aren't available. And that seems to be the standard on all video cards these days.
 




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