Volfoni Limited recently announced an upgrade program for legacy 3D cinema systems. In order to get more details on the program, I got in touch with Allen Schoonmaker, recently appointed Chief Marketing Officer for Volfoni. This special upgrade program, which will run from the announcement on September 1st through the end of December, 2017, provides special incentive pricing on a wide range of Volfoni products. The program will allow theater owners with legacy 3D systems from MasterImage, Dolby and XpanD to upgrade to state-of-the-art 3D cinema systems from Volfoni. The program does not cover RealD systems.
According to Schoonmaker, these legacy systems have low light efficiency, in the 10% to 12% range. Volfoni’s triple beam 3D polarizer, the SmartCrystal Diamond, provides efficiencies in the range of 26% – 28%. The entry level single beam SmartCrystal Cinema Neo is also covered by the program and offers 18% efficiency. Higher efficiency translates directly to higher 3D brightness for the cinema’s customers.
Volfoni SmartCrystal Diamond three beam 3D polarizer (Left) and the SmartCrystal Diamond installed on a cinema projector (Right) (Image Credit: Volfoni)
Volfoni’s single-beam SmartCrystal Cinema Neo (left) and in use with a digital cinema projector (right). (Image Credit: Volfoni)
Both the SmartCrystal Diamond and the SmartCrystal Cinema Neo are designed to work with silver (polarization-preserving) screens and passive 3D glasses. While a theater owner with a MasterImage 3D system will already have a silver screen, theater owners with legacy Dolby and XpanD systems will have white screens that do not preserve polarization. To upgrade to a Volfoni system, these screens must be replaced by silver screens. Volfoni does not make silver screens but will work with potential customers and screen makers to get the proper screen installed. According to Schoonmaker, recent innovations by the screen manufacturers in the quality of silver screens have greatly improved the performance and reduced some of the historical issues with silver screens, such as hot-spotting.
Theater owners upgrading Dolby or XpanD systems will also need to replace their 3D glasses with passive polarized 3D glasses. These 3D glasses are available from Volfoni and other sources. According to Schoonmaker, “passive glasses technology is much simpler and has a lower cost of operation as compared to active glasses technology. This economic reality has driven the widespread penetration of passive 3D technology in cinemas today, which dominates new cinema installations. Active 3D technology is more commonly used in the “professional” market, outside of the cinema industry.”
Both the SmartCrystal Diamond and the SmartCrystal Cinema Neo are capable of running at field rates of up to 240Hz to support high frame rate content and are usable on cinema projectors that use lamps up to 7kW and have up to 32,000 lumens output. The SmartCrystal Diamond is usable with short-throw projection lenses with throw ratios down to 1.37:1 (flat) or 1.25:1 (scope). The SmartCrystal Cinema Neo is also said to be compatible with short-throw projection lenses, although the minimum usable throw ratio is not specified.
Volfoni supports all DLP cinema projectors from Barco, Christie and NEC and the Volfoni upgrade program does not require any modification to the projectors. Schoonmaker said, “for Sony projectors, it depends on the type and model of the projector. Interested customers are encouraged to contact Volfoni to confirm compatibility with their specific projector to ensure optimal performance.”
Optics of the Volfoni triple-beam SmartCrystal Diamond system. Left: The central beam produces an image on the entire projection screen. The top and bottom auxiliary beams illuminate the top and bottom halves of the screen respectively. Right: Schematic of the optical arrangement of the system. (Image Credit: Left: Volfoni, Right: US 9,594,255)
The Volfoni triple-beam SmartCrystal Diamond system is covered by US 9,594,255 B2, issued March 14, 2017 and assigned to Volfoni. This system is, at least superficially, similar to the MasterImage Horizon 3D triple beam 3D system which was the subject of a patent dispute in the US between RealD and MasterImage in 2015. (Full disclosure: I was an expert witness for MasterImage.) The patent dispute was ultimately decided in favor of RealD and MasterImage was prohibited from selling the Horizon 3D system in the US. On February 23, 2017, RealD announced it had bought all of MasterImage’s assets, including its Intellectual Property.
When asked about the legal status of Volfoni’s SmartCrystal Diamond system, Schoonmaker replied,
“Volfoni is very careful and respectful of other manufacturers’ IP. Volfoni has now been selling its triple-beam products for over five years, and there is no litigation against Volfoni for alleged patent infringement anywhere in the world. Moreover, Volfoni’s triple-beam technology is significantly different from other manufacturers. For example, Volfoni’s triple-beam product is half the size and weight of other competing products, proving there is significant technical difference between Volfoni’s innovative products and the products supplied by competing manufacturers. Furthermore, Volfoni currently has ten different patent families as well as two additional patent applications under examination in order to protect the substantial investment made by Volfoni in R&D over the past decade.”
Since the RealD-controlled patents that cover the single beam system have expired, it is not likely that there will ever be a patent dispute about the single-beam SmartCrystal Cinema Neo.
Schoonmaker told me the initial customer response has been quite strong already but he is not in a position to talk about any specific customers yet. He expects that by the end of September he will be able to announce specific customers. He added that Volfoni has already received inquiries from Europe, the Americas and Asia. –Matthew Brennesholtz
