We had a chance to stop by the Digital Projection demo room at NAB to get a background presentation and see some images on the 8K projector we first saw last December at the I/ITSEC trade show (and ISE & PL&S! – Man Ed). DP and Delta began collaborating in 2003 on 3-chip DLP projectors and in 2009 started work on 1-chip DLP projectors. In 2010, they agreed to share some engineering resources. Now, DP is listed as a Delta Company.
The new Insight 8K laser projector is based on the Insight 4K laser projector platform. The major difference is the addition of an image shifting element and software to manage the display of these four fields of information.
Light output is specified at 25K lumens but the color gamut is only 74% of Rec. 709 because it is a laser phosphor engine. What was on display was not HDR content and the screen was rather large so peak luminance was around 400 cd/m². However, we were told that the projector would be HDR capable when it ships in August. HDR in projection is a slippery slope. In order to determine the best tone mapping curve, one needs to know the peak luminance on screen. This requires knowledge of the screen type and size – which are often not known by the projector maker, so they must guess. That’s not a good way to show HDR in projection.
The Insight 8K laser projector will support screens from 100 to 500 inches, it consumes 3.5KW of power and will retail for $399K.
In development is an RGB laser engine that will achieve 98% of the BT.2020 color gamut. That’s two years away. For 2019, DP/Delta plans a 35K lumen laser phosphor model in 4K and 8K and for 2020 a 60K lumen laser phosphor model in 4K and 8K. – CC
