Barco SP4K Series 4 Projector Issues

[Dylan Forys]

As Steve has fully explained above, there were some significant teething troubles with the Series 4 line for the first couple of years or so after it was launched in 2019, sticky pixels on the "tilt 'n swivel" light engines being the biggest one. But a combination of hardware and software/firmware updates have made them pretty reliable, now. For projectors sold in the last couple of years, the only consistent issue I've noticed is that the red laser driver boards have a habit of burning out: I've had this happen on four projectors so far. The only other hardware failure I've seen in recent years was a backplane go bad after the projector was in service for only a month or so; but I suspect that this was a case of "infant mortality" as distinct from a systemic problem.

As for laser phosphor vs. RGB, this article explains it pretty well. The only thing it doesn't mention is that the phosphor wheels in laser phosphor projectors require periodic replacement. Barco suggests every 20,000 hours for the DPXK-BLP and CLP line.

Thank you for the article! Seems like a very good site for a beginner like me

[Leo Enticknap]

Those models [Barco DPxK-BLP and CLP] are not current/available.

The projectors themselves are no longer manufactured or sold new, but existing models in the field are still supported for spare parts availability. As they were on sale until 2020, I'd expect them to be supported for some time to come, too. Many will likely outlive their phosphor wheels.

When I did an overview of the new S4 product range, it was impressive that they have gone to the trouble of making all consumables rated to life of the projector. (Fans, closed liquid cooling loop etc) so I think the phosphor wheel was too.

All the components of the illumination system are designed to be field replaceable, and the diode plates have a design life of 30K hours (at least, that is what I was told in the Series 4 advanced training class). So Barco's expectation is that these projectors likely will outlive some of the components of their illumination systems and see them replaced. I suspect how many will depend on what the cost of replacing those parts is vs. replacing the projectors when the time comes. One thing that will likely work in their favor is that no part swapout in a Series 4 projector is particularly difficult, unlike (for example) with Series 2 NECs. Once these projectors get older, that will make them more viable to support, especially those in remote locations that cost more to get a "boots on the ground" tech to.

[Steve Guttag]

...For projectors sold in the last couple of years, the only consistent issue I've noticed is that the red laser driver boards have a habit of burning out: I've had this happen on four projectors so far...

Tomorrow, I'm off to change a Blue LDM! I forget if the other LDM I've had to change was Red or Blue/Green. Now, I'll give credit to Barco, they've always been about allowing the projectors to run with what they have left. So, losing one LDM is barely noticable on screen as it is one of, potentially, many (depends on the lumens of the projector as to how many laser plates/drivers it has).

As to the laser-phosphor from Barco on the S2 projectors...they still have LLU available, which can also have an extra-extended warranty.

None of the SP4K projectors have laser-phosphor. The SP2K do have laser-phosphor...just Blue on the smallest and RBB on the medium ones.

As for board replacement...the only other board I've had to replace (aside from ICP-D while they were working the software issues out) has been the Light Source Board (LSB). I've done 1 or 2 of them.

[Antti Näyhä]

The SP2K do have laser-phosphor...just Blue on the smallest and RBB on the medium ones.

Steve, James, and others with a good eye for these things: do you feel that there's a difference in color accuracy between Blue and Red+Blue laser phosphor systems? Comparing, say, Barco SP2K-7/9 to SP2K-11/15, where all other things are equal.

In other words, does adding a red laser gain a perceptible-by-eye advantage (regarding metamerism etc.) – or is it simply a matter of getting more foot-lamberts?

[Steve Guttag]

In a sense, you lose the metameric issue with laser-phosphor because the color is so imprecise. If you ever look at the response on a spectroradiometer of an LP versus an RGB you'd see what I mean. A key to color accuracy and overall spectrum is being able to precisely reproduce the color...you lose that with LP. With just a set of blue lasers, you get blue (which you are least sensitive to) and blue through a yellow phosphor wheel and then off to the prism for it to send the colors their respective ways.

I'm not saying that the LP images look bad but they tend to be less vibrant, to my eyes and greens tend to look mushy or off. I tend to see RGBs as shifted red so, in a sense, an all blue laser "fixes" that for me but it doesn't make red look more natural.

Again, if you want to see the color accuracy, shoot colors with a spectroradiometer and you'll see just how inaccurate the phosphor wheels are.