Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Barco DP100

This is topic Barco DP100 in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Koroye Seitonkumo (Member # 10558) on 11-01-2019, 09:36 AM:

My friend in another city has a community cinema.. It isnt set up to make a lot of profit.. 2 screens that are 50 seats each.. He has been using Neo DCP for local content here(the big local titles are DCP only her) but his customers are demanding for the foreign titles..

He can't put out more than 7kUSD and somehow, we have seen a dp100 and a gdc server.. Both are in ok working condition I have been told by a technician and they fall within his price..

It's usually busy for Christmas and he is looking to purchase this..

We are in Nigeria..

Any thoughts.

Ps- I got a dp2000 and a gdc server in April and I have had NO issues yet with it..

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 11-01-2019, 09:52 AM:

It's hard to say if it's an OK price in your region. I'd only pay that price for it around here, if the DP100 would have very low hours on it.

How many hours are there on the DP100? I know quite a few DP100s that are still in service, but most of them have their liquid cooling reworked over time.

Posted by Koroye Seitonkumo (Member # 10558) on 11-01-2019, 10:03 AM:

I will get this information. To the dp100 and the server selling for 7kUSD

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 11-01-2019, 04:36 PM:

As Marcel notes, the gotcha with this model (and the DP90, 1500, 2000 and 3000) is the pressurized liquid cooling system. If you see light brown colored deposits on the cooling hoses (caused by UV exposure from the lamp), the hoses feel crunchy if you squeeze them lightly, and/or there are telltale deposits of blue goo (evaporated and crystallized coolant) around the quick release couplings, you are going to need to replace these components sooner or later. Check the manometer pressure, too. Unless you have documentation showing that it was done recently, I would suggest flushing, refilling and repressurizing the cooling circuit during the installation of the projector, too.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-02-2019, 09:40 AM:

The funny thing is Barcko could have avoided the hose deterioration by using simple, inexpensive UV resistant hose covers, very similar to flexible plastic conduit.

Similar problems in the Christie H series consoles and lamphouses and inside Every single Super Lumex.

Mark

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 11-02-2019, 05:54 PM:

The DP2000 is quite durable if basic maintenance is kept up to date. Replace coolant annually, replace air filters when dirty if paper, wash them rigorously if metal (remove any wax/grease/tar buildup - the mesh should look almost transparent). I do not know for sure why they have the pressurized coolant system... a Barco tech told me it's a legacy thing from the A/V projector they are based on so the thing can be mounted upside down. And that we should not worry about the pressure, no pressure is OK - just make sure all air is expelled when replacing the coolant. The tubing hasn't been an issue for me yet, and we have some with a lot of hours. I have replaced pumps and failed hose quick disconnect fittings but not the hose itself.

DP100 is a bit too old for me to advise buying one now. Possibly they can't do 3D at full resolution... the only one I have seen had a lot of macros for weird smaller image size 3D but I don't for sure know why. Parts are not all available, and won't get any more available.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 11-02-2019, 07:27 PM:

If I find any crunchy hose in one of those projectors, I just replace all the hoses. It doesn't take long in a 1500 or a 2000, because the light engine is so easy to take out. It's a bit more fiddly in a 90, 100 or a 3000, because of the sections that go to and from the radiator in the front. $50 will buy you a 20ft roll of UV resistant hose, which leads me to wonder, as Mark points out, why Barco didn't use it in the first place.

I've also been told by Barco techs that no pressure is OK. Personally I like to pressurize it just a little, so that the manometer reading is just off the floor (but nowhere near the full 1.0 bar as stated in the service manual). That gives you a quick and easy way to verify that no leaks have developed during future planned maintenance.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-03-2019, 03:29 PM:

A lot of them don't hold pressure any longer and I have run 100's and 2000's at zero pressure for years with no issues. The pressurized thing was totally stupid and unnecessary. I know at least one crazy Canadian that used a fish tank with pump to cool a Barco.

Mark

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-03-2019, 05:40 PM:

The only reason they pressurized it was a hold over from the R/S mentality of flying the projector inverted. Anyone flying their DP100 inverted? While it is certainly possibly to fly any projector and the DP1500-DP2000 would be better candidates...normally one can omit the inverted part on large projectors, particularly when there is no advantage to inverting.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 11-03-2019, 07:48 PM:

I've only seen trade-show setups with the DP100 inverted.

The machine was introduced at a time when almost every cinema still did have a proper booth for their 35mm projection equipment, so I guess nobody ever really needed to operate the machine inverted.

Posted by Marin Zorica (Member # 1716) on 11-07-2019, 06:08 PM:

Basicly engine, optics, power supply and frame came from Barco rental projectors (which need to work in all kid of possitions), so that is reason why is pressurized, probably when developing for cinemas, they did not do much different as they have design allready.