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The big rig
Barco's Cine 8 projector
by Max Christoffersen
January 2002
Barco Cine 8 video projector. $45,000
Christmas
came early for me this year. Fact is, it came early last year too. Twelve
months ago the formidable Barco Cine 7
projector. Now the Barco Cine 8 arrives and confirms that CRT at its best,
remains the home theatre standard to beat.
The Barco Cine 8 is the second to top in the Barco Cine range. And like the Cine 6 and Cine 7, the Cine 8 is a dedicated home theatre projector designed for those who really want the best in colour fidelity, contrast ratio and image resolution from their home theatre projection systems.
And make no mistake; the Cine 8 is a genuine contender for outright best in class. On paper it specs at the top of the performance envelope for CRT. And given its 8” guns it handles 1600x1200 with a full 1200 lumen output (220 Ansi) making it one of the brightest CRT projectors with outstanding resolution capabilities.
But to get such performance you need big tubes, big power supplies and quality video processing to make it all gel. And there is no getting around it: this is a big rig. And I mean BIG (1,076mm x 590mm x 362mm lxwxh!)
If you are going to ceiling mount this unit you will need
the All Black tight five or a hydraulic lift to get it safely in place.
Floor mounting is really out of the question unless you have a lot of
spare real estate!
But despite its large size it was quiet in operation with low fan noise
making it something of a gentle giant of a projector.
Processing the Limo
To round out the emphasis on quality images, the Cine 8 comes stock with Barco’s Limo line processor. And after using the good looking but ultimately fiddly Quadscan Pro with the Cine 7 a year ago, any improvement over the slow syncing times and ergonomic problems of the Quadscan is welcome. In contrast, the Limo syncs immediately when changing source or signal and the near film-like result and easy on-screen menus made for a thoroughly convincing demonstration of an onboard processor for the first time.
But one family trait that was missing is the Cine 8 does not share the use of colour filtered lenses as does the Cine 7. All theory suggests this is a small but significant compromise that could lead to uneven colour fidelity on small screen viewing with reds leaning more towards an orange hue. In operation the Cine 8 did not suffer any obvious signs of being worse for their omission, with colours being fully saturated and vibrant as any I have seen from CRT.
Another difference in the family way, is the Cine 8 uses the theoretically superior electromagnetic focus instead of electrostatic employed on the Cine 6 and 7.
The review set-up included my Toshiba 5109 component feed directly to the Cine 8 via Canare cable, a high gain 4:1 Draper screen and the on-board Limo was used to do the necessary upscaling.
The range of temperature options that controls the ‘tone’ of the image is always a subjective call and for the first time on CRT I chose 3200 degrees instead of the more correct 6500 degrees. The very warm and softish image was the equivalent of a winter fire on a cold night. The hues were very appealing, with a sense of smooth lush colour and substance. The 6500 setting was more clinical and when switching between them, the 3200 setting won out every time.
The upscaled image c/o The Limo again showed just how deep and impressive CRT at its best can be with a creamy film-like image and depth of field that presented a sense of real space and real place!
Keys to the Ferrari
But asking the Cine 8 to show its best with a DVD signal wasn’t going to tax its considerable abilities. The video performance envelope of the Barco Cine 7 and 8 are wider than that of standard DVD and with the extra resolution capabilities of the Cine 8 inch guns it’s a like being given the keys to the Ferrari but only being allowed to ride it up the drive.
Not that was going to stop me. It’s not every year
to get to have $45,000 worth of projection to tinker with - so hand me
the keys!
As a means of being consistent, A Bug’s Life was used again to good
effect. The deep, rich colours combined with such a smooth line-free image
is always a sensory delight. And again with the Cine 8 the depth of field
with small background details popping out of overly familiar scenes is
hugely engaging and impressive.
The portrayal of true deep inky black provided a backdrop to a very wide contrast ratio that digital projection has yet to achieve and this alone brings a true sense of realism to the DVD image.
The Cine 8 is a big performer in every respect. It is the finest CRT image I have seen, and the most engaging home theatre image I have experienced. It does so many things right that there appears to be little left (at least with DVD as a source) to exploit.
Some
suggest the CRT days are numbered. But Barco continue to manufacture CRT
as a benchmark of home theatre projection performance.
Seeing the Barco Cine 8 provides ample evidence as to why.
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