Sony Europe has announced the European introduction of two SXRD 4K projectors using Silicon X-tal Reflective Display technology. Developed specifically for cinema exhibition, the SRX-R220 and SRX-R210 deliver 18,000 and 10,000 ANSI lumens respectively. The additions extend Sony’s SXRD digital-cinema range for cinema operators.
According to Sony, a prototype SRX-R220 was used successfully during test screenings of “The Da Vinci Code” in 2006. The production model was scheduled to become available to European customers in July 2007. Its 18,000-ANSI-lumen output supports 2K and 4K content on screens up to 20 metres wide.
The SRX-R210 uses the same chassis as the SRX-R220 and supports several screen sizes through interchangeable lamp types. Sony says a 2kW lamp produces 48 cd/m² on screens up to 14 metres wide, while a 3kW lamp provides 48 cd/m² on screens up to 17 metres wide. The SRX-R210 was scheduled for August availability.
“Both projectors were developed for existing projection rooms with conventional booth windows. They can be used in the same projection room alongside an analogue film projector,” said Eric Siereveld, Head of Digital Cinema at Sony Europe. He said the high-resolution models were intended for operators seeking the highest on-screen resolution.
The SRX-R220 and SRX-R210 retain many functions from Sony’s first-generation SRX-R110CE and SRX-R105CE projectors while adding single-xenon-lamp operation, keystone masking for flat and curved screens, and an integrated secure enclosure for the playback system.
Siereveld said collaboration with customers had shown that no single projector could meet every cinema’s requirements. Sony therefore expanded the range to cover different screen sizes and projection distances.
Both models were designed for compatibility with Digital Cinema Initiatives specifications. Sony designed the projector chassis to meet FIPS 140-2 security requirements. It includes rack space for a Sony LMT-100 D-Cinema server and connected RAID storage, or for a compatible third-party server.
Sony’s D-Cinema server includes the components required to ingest, decode and play digital content with 16 audio channels. Feature films, trailers and associated metadata, including age-rating information, are stored on connected RAID drives. Functions include JPEG 2000 decoding, Key Delivery Message management, extraction of video and audio from MXF files, alpha-channel insertion for subtitles and image watermarking. Operators control the system with Sony’s LSM-100 Screen Management System.
The projector’s 4K resolution comes from a 4,096 × 2,160-pixel matrix, totalling 8.8 million pixels. This is roughly four times the resolution of contemporary HD home-cinema televisions. Sony said 34 SXRD 4K projectors were already installed worldwide in cinemas, studios and production facilities. Outside cinema, SXRD projection was also used by government, production and educational organisations and in presentation applications.
