Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: NEC NC900 for Color Grading

This is topic NEC NC900 for Color Grading in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Haider Rashid (Member # 8363) on 10-13-2014, 02:33 PM:

Hello everyone,
I've been reading through this forum for a while but this is my first post.
I am setting up a Color Grading studio in Italy and have been trying to pick the right projector for us. We have a 3,5 meters screen base with an 8 meters throw and had initially planned to buy a used Barco DP90, which has unfortunately fallen through. We were after a series 1 machine as we are on a rather tight budget but have now been offered to lease a NEC NC900. I have read a lot about it in this forum and others, and it seems some of you are strongly suggesting not to use this machine for color critical work, while others are suggesting the projector's color fidelity is quite solid over time. Could any of you guys expand on this or perhaps suggest a way to source a machine that could be had for our budget range?
Thanks a lot!

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 10-13-2014, 02:54 PM:

Well I guess you read this thread already?

http://www.film-tech.com/ubb/f16/t001994.html

There is little to be added. The NC900C is DCI compliant. But being DCI compliant does not mean the machine is 'suitable' for color grading. Technically, of course, it can be used for grading, as it supports the color space and connectivity.

Mentioned thread also deals with other aspects, e.g. not only grading, but also creating and testing DCPs. For grading alone, you would not need to buy a DCI projector + server.

Maybe the Barco 8Sx is a viable option for you as well?

- Carsten

Posted by Haider Rashid (Member # 8363) on 10-23-2014, 02:09 PM:

I have now been offered used NEC NC800, which should be suitable for our screen (3,5 meters with an 8 meters throw), and Christie CP2000 SB, which I was told would meet DCI standards if used with a 1K lamp. Does any of you guys know if this would work? I suppose they would both be feasible machines for us, but it's important that we get the right image for color-critical work.
Thanks for your help.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 10-23-2014, 02:53 PM:

What's the difference in price between the two?

- Carsten

Posted by Haider Rashid (Member # 8363) on 10-23-2014, 04:10 PM:

They have very similar prices and they both come from the same location so there wouldn't even be much difference in terms of costs to get it to us.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 10-23-2014, 07:50 PM:

Well I guess picturewise there is not much difference. Both series I machines. The NC800C weighs less than a third of the CP2000SB.

Lamps for the NC800C are expensive to replace.

Spare parts for both machines will become difficult to get very soon, I guess.

The Christie will be very noisy, and the NC800C is anything but silent. Are you prepared to put them into a booth?

- Carsten

Posted by Haider Rashid (Member # 8363) on 10-24-2014, 03:39 AM:

Thanks for all the information, Carsten.
As we had planned to buy a series 1 machine to start with, we soundproofed our projection booth when we built it.
The NEC seems definitely easier to handle because of the weight but there is indeed the issue of lamp replacement costs. Would you say the Christie would be cheaper to operate in general?