Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DP2K-6E - no picture - stuck in color calibration

This is topic DP2K-6E - no picture - stuck in color calibration - need help in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Peer Tritz (Member # 10855) on 04-29-2019, 11:17 AM:

Hello,

I have sold a client a Barco DP2K-6E with ICMP. Everything was working when I left, the client works in post production and only required the projector for DCI colour grading.

So I gave them access to the service technician and left them too it.

the end client was going through the colour calibration process they got to spatial color calibration, loaded some values, created a scc file and somewhere along the lines broke off the process....

Im not an expert at reading the logs... however the projector now will not give out any picture what so ever, no test pasterns, no alternative content, just a black picture. The self diagnostic revealed everything is ok. Resetting the ICMP hasn't fixed it. At the moment the only way to get a picture out of the projector is by clicking on the spatial color calibration button, which will show the SDI A input... Myself and the client forgot to make factory clones of the projector settings. How can I quickly factory reset all the control settings? what steps can I take?

Best regards
Peer

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-29-2019, 11:50 AM:

If you have access to the my.barco site, in the support>documents section, you can get the base-clone files

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 04-29-2019, 03:59 PM:

Stephan just had a possibly related issue with a 10S over the weekend. Looked like an ICMP issue that would not clear. He worked with staff who followed all his instructions to no success, Turned out when he showed up on site, the projector had been put into 3D mode, a format they don't use. The was a line missing on the 2D macros to yank it back to 2D so a reboot would just put it back into the last mode used, 3D.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 04-29-2019, 05:51 PM:

Maybe the LUT-SCC file is corrupted, which could explain why the projector refuses to operate like expected.

Like Steve mentioned, you can download the base files from the my.barco site. If you don't have access to that site, ask your Barco reseller or service tech if they can get you those files.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 04-29-2019, 07:48 PM:

The factory-created SCC file can be retrieved from Barco by using the light-engine serial number. That SCC file is not part of the clone files, as it is light-engine specific. There is a section in the service manual about this procedure.

I would restore that SCC file, restore the original base-clone files, then do a full backup as a starting point for the client. They should not mess with the SCC calibration in my opinion.

However, the SCC file/calibration process is not necessarily the issue with the black picture. I have seen similar things when I played with partial macros on our DP2K-6E. They should try different factory set full macros in Communicator to see wether one of them reestablishes a picture. If for some reason they did a clean sweep, they should again reinstall the current clone package. The base clone file contains a range of input options that may not be present/working on a specific projector (depending on the board set). Make sure they use the ones for the ICMP. MyBarco has different base clone file sets for ICMP and Enigma/ICP boardsets in the DP2K-6E section.

- Carsten

Posted by Peer Tritz (Member # 10855) on 04-30-2019, 03:23 AM:

thank you very much for you help. Turned out all it needed was to repeat the steps from the client and then the communicator crashed... the crash restored all normal functions, go figure.

thanks again.

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 04-30-2019, 07:06 AM:

Communicator for DCTP is really buggy and crashes regularly, sometimes quite predictable: delete a file and then close file manager, for example... too many new features stuffed into it to over the years?
The PC version is more reliable but also crashes occasionally.
I'm surprised that what you describe fixed the problem, but there are many mysteries in the projector.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 04-30-2019, 10:52 AM:

For their "Series 4", they're moving to a web-only based Communicator environment. Let's see if they backport this for the Series 2/3 and what happens to the DCTP. I guess it would be a somewhat wise decision, in order to only to have to maintain a singular code-base. You still would need something to set the initial IP configuration, but that could be handled by a much less complex program than the Communicator.

quote: Carsten Kurz
The factory-created SCC file can be retrieved from Barco by using the light-engine serial number. That SCC file is not part of the clone files, as it is light-engine specific.

Yes, that's true, but I was under the impression there was a "vanilla" SCC file in the base-clone files, but I can be wrong.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 04-30-2019, 11:45 AM:

the base clone file contains a "default" scc file where there is no correction.

Posted by Sascha F. Roll (Member # 9043) on 04-30-2019, 12:22 PM:

Using a DP2K-6E for color grading!?
Holy cow...

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 04-30-2019, 02:32 PM:

One of my customers uses a DP-1500 with 70,000 or so hours on the clock for color grading with a Da Vinci Resolve system, and finds it to be perfectly OK for that purpose. The color calibration has to be done frequently, but apart from that they're happy with it. In fact, they are one of only two regular service customers we have left still running Series 1 Barcos.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 04-30-2019, 03:03 PM:

The DP1500 is not optimal either but still better than a 6E!

I'd say from best to worst in terms of colour grading you can consider (non-laser projectors)

P-series
B-Series
C-Series/DP1xxx
S-series
E-Series

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 04-30-2019, 04:33 PM:

We're using a DP4K-23B on a "screening room sized" screen.

I'm aware of the "P" series, which sells at double the price, but as long as we keep our 23B fully calibrated, it's more than sufficient. We also need to be able to screen 4K content, hence the 4K machine.

I'm currently looking at the Barco "Series 4" projectors as a possible upgrade path, but I'm not sure how good a 3P machine is for color grading purposes.

I don't think any member here can judge if the DP2K-6E in this story is being used correctly. It might not be the best machine for color grading, also due to the usage of UHP lamps, but without further knowledge of the use of this thing, we might be too judgemental.

If it's being used by some indie producer, who didn't even have access to properly calibrated DCI gear until now, even this DP2K-6E is a big step-up. At least they now also have a proper platform to test if their DCPs will actually ingest on a normal DCI machine. [Razz]

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 04-30-2019, 05:09 PM:

Indeed it's better to grade with a 6E than with a home theatre projector. But DCI rules for post production are clear on contrast ratio and gamut so I wouldn't use the words "it's more than sufficient".

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 04-30-2019, 05:34 PM:

You don't see me using the words "more than sufficient" in combination with the DP2K-6E and DCI color grading. [Wink]

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 05-01-2019, 03:34 PM:

In fact I was referring to the B series. I like those machines but they won't be able to reach what DCI asks for PP so unfortunately they can't be "more than sufficient".

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 05-02-2019, 04:25 AM:

We're not a DCI Post-Production house, although some have used our services for that, due to lack of alternatives (which, unfortunately, are often far worse around here). For our purposes, the setup is perfectly fine.

Also, I doubt that even any trained professional would see the difference between our setup and a similar setup with the "P" version of the projector.

We're also using a high-contrast lens, as the unit offers about 5x the amount of light we need to light up our screen.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 05-02-2019, 06:12 AM:

Marcel,

I don't mean to be rude or negative but you mentioned colour grading and that your projector is also used for post production. If your setup can reach the PP DCI requirements, then it's "perfectly fine". Otherwise, it is not. I am not suggesting that the picture will look awful and that you should throw away the projector, just that there are very clear standard for post production which shall be followed.

That said, a high contrast lens may give you the extra contrast that you need - but again, you should measure your ANSI contrast to find out.

Posted by Tom Bert (Member # 5719) on 05-02-2019, 10:40 AM:

quote: Marcel Birgelen
For their "Series 4", they're moving to a web-only based Communicator environment. Let's see if they backport this for the Series 2/3 and what happens to the DCTP.

We are not planning that: Communicator will continue to exist for S2/3. Web Communicator will be exclusively for S4.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 05-02-2019, 12:27 PM:

Maybe your development guys will start a revolt a few months down the line, once they discover the joy of maintaining yet an extra codebase. [Wink]

quote: Marco Giustini
That said, a high contrast lens may give you the extra contrast that you need - but again, you should measure your ANSI contrast to find out.

The contrast meets and even exceeds PP requirements, even though PP is not really our business and the projector wasn't acquired for that purpose initially. Also, I'm pretty much a perfectionist when it comes down to calibrating the thing... even to the point that I personally refuse to watch anything on it, until the temperature on the machine is stable...

Still, I'm not entirely happy with the contrast, to be honest. That's why I'm currently exploring 3P solutions that fit both in size and budget. [Wink]

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 05-02-2019, 02:40 PM:

You should ask Alan Gouger how he improved contrast on his Barco considerably using a custom iris. If you have enough light, this is probably an easy modification.

- Carsten

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 05-02-2019, 06:05 PM:

Light budget is really not a problem at all. We're also not too picky on lamp running hours. A custom iris might be an interesting idea. I'm not sure how compatible it is with (extended) warranty though, but maybe Alan can explain that. [Wink]

Posted by Peer Tritz (Member # 10855) on 05-03-2019, 05:12 AM:

Would anyone be able to provide me with some reference material on Post Production DCI requirements?

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 05-03-2019, 05:29 AM:

While SMPTE took over formal specifications, most of it is still contained in the DCI spec:

https://www.dcimovies.com/specification/DCI_DCSS_Ver1-3_2018-0627.pdf

This document also indicates the proper SMPTE standards to consult. Older revisions of the DCI spec contain the actual numbers.

- Carsten

Posted by Peer Tritz (Member # 10855) on 05-07-2019, 11:23 AM:

thank you Carsten.