NEC NC2000C How to Update projector

[Sergej Glazar]

Greetings fellow cinemaoperators,

i have a question about an update, i need to update the projector to a newer firmware otherwise subtitles does not work on a movie. Can someone guide me through it, i manage everything myself basically on projectors but not updates, i don't find the right firmware update. If someone has the will to explain this process to me i would really appreciate it.

The projector is:

NEC NC2000C (NP-90MS01)

I was searching updates on this website: https://www.sharpnecdisplays.eu/p/ee...oardtool.xhtml

And was searching the firmware by that number NP-90MS01, but i did not find nothing for that, is it possible that i missed something

Please help

Thank you and kind regards
Sergej

[Marco Giustini]

NP-90MS01 is the media block.

May I suggest you engage with your service engineer and have the projector updated/serviced? There is probably a reason why Digital Cinema firmware is not available online but only to those who are qualified to operate those machines.

And out of all brands, you probably don't want to tinker with the firmware of an NEC

Firmware should really be kept up to date regardless so I feel you should have a plan to do that regularly anyways.

[Leo Enticknap]

Agreed with Marco. Some older NECs will let you upload the wrong firmware components into them (i.e. ones intended for other models), thereby buggering up the projector, and the check version/update windows on the old school version of NEC Communicator are not particularly intuitive.

The NP-90MS01 is the NEC-badged version of the Dolby IMS1000. License files are needed to update it, which are obtained by asking NEC for them. There are actually three components to update, and they have to be done in a specific order: as with the projector, equipment damage can result if it's done incorrectly.

If the projector is on very old firmware and ICP versions, it's possible that they will need updating to get subtitles in SMPTE DCPs working correctly, too. Again, I think it would be worth having an NEC-trained tech take care of this for you.

[Jim Cassedy]

One other potential issue I'd like to add about the potential risks of "do-it-yourself" cinema system
upgrading Several years ago one of the smaller screening rooms I sometimes work at decided to do their
own NEC projector software upgrade. It was a private facility and used mostly for press screenings and
rental events. I'm not sure what they were trying to 'fix', since I was away that summer, but the first thing
they found out was that, nothing had been updated in a while, so they couldn't go directly from "Software
Version 1A" (or whatever it was) to "Version B2" , without first doing one or two intermediate updates.
Then once they upgraded the projector, there was incompatibility issues between the new projector
software and their server/media block.- - and their audio processor. . all of which wouldn't operate unless
they too had some newer software installed. It took several days & two techs to untangle it all and get it
all working normally again. As anyone who has ever done a software on their home computer or even
their phone knows that - - sometimes it all goes very smoothly, with no glitches or 'gotcha's" but then
also sometimes strange things start happening that take a lot of effort & head scratching to figure out.
There are so many variables in different digital cinema systems and installations that the best thing to
do is to 'get a professional' to handle it, as others have advised.

(Additional Anecdote: On Monday of this week, my mobile phone provider forced my phone to do
a "mandatory' software patch/upgrade. I'm still trying to get a couple of my apps to work again after
they did that)

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I'm glad you brought that up Jim! When I update a projector that hasn't been touched in a year or more, I always do all the big updates and do them in the order they were released. This would mainly encompass updates that include the T.I. system and anything else major such as lamp ballast. Seems like the latest updates lately are pretty much just to add new lamp types to that list, so even if the projector took these updates the stuff that really needs updating might be passed by. One needs access to the Sharp / NEC ftp site to determine this. So it is for sure best to have an experienced tech come on site to do this.

[Leo Enticknap]

On the issue of software/firmware updates in general, there is an inherent tension between the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality of many end users, and the "we want you to install it as soon as it's released" mentality of OEMs, the helpdesks of which will often ask you to update to current before they're willing to talk to you about whatever fault you're troubleshooting.

The risk of breaking something during the update process has definitely reduced with successive generations of equipment. If you compare the process of updating, say, a Series 1 NEC (projector and TI boards have to be done separately, using separate apps, and there is no safeguard against trying to upload firmware for the wrong model) and a Series 4 Barco (give it one file, and it takes care of everything except a third party server in the option slot), it is clear that this now a much less risky and traumatic process than it once was. But nevertheless, I like to give it a couple of weeks after an update hits the streets before offering it to customers, unless it addresses a bug that a customer is actively being inconvenienced by.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

<snip>

(Additional Anecdote: On Monday of this week, my mobile phone provider forced my phone to do
a "mandatory' software patch/upgrade. I'm still trying to get a couple of my apps to work again after
they did that)

Would that happen to be the "T-" provider? I am still trying to sort out issues on my Galaxy after that forced update.

As for the upgrade to the NEC I am firmly in the camp of let an NEC certified tech do it. Many years ago I was part of an attempt to update an NEC 900 that failed, and it was a train wreck. The room was down for several days until we got an NEC tech in to sort out what happened. Like Leo said, it was a case of the wrong firmware going in without warning.

[Ioannis Syrogiannis]

Sergej, if you are to update the projector and server software, I would strongly advise you to have a look on the forum thread "Dolby/Doremi Legacy products cert expiration and year 2024 issue".
It has to do with your server as well and needs to be done, sooner or later.
I am not sure if NEC has updated the software on their site, but Dolby was very helpful to me. Software and DLMs from their (Dolby) site eventually worked for the NP-90MS01s I had to service.

Those DLM files have a limited time span, by the way.

[Dave Macaulay]

There may be several step versions required if you havs a projector on quite old software. Not every version in between is needed.
Contact NEC, Strong is kinda less than perfect on this stuff.
I had one on very early software, NEC gave me about 5 versions to step through. Strong told me 15 or so but "we are not sure".
And there was a Christie 2210 on something like v0.8 software, Christie tech took 8 plus hours to get it current. He said no projector should have shipped with that preproduction version. Sh!t happens.

You should have a certified NEC trained tech do this unless it is within a major version, like 4.3 to 4.4 (made up numbers).

[Fraser Falconer]

Hi Guys,
Don't forget there is an importance to be using the correct version of DCC as well. If the update is newer than the version of DCC problems can happen.

Cheers Fraser

[Dave Macaulay]

I believe DCC is backwards compatible, the latest version works with all firmware versions. Only a problem with an old DCC version and newer firmware.
Definitely take a full backup before updating. Odd things happen in some major versions that mess up presets etc. but a backup will restore to what you had.

[Gordon McLeod]

I have had several updates where the backed up settings would work after the update so I always allow lots of time

[Dave Macaulay]

My point on backups came from an experience with a NC2000 that needed a stepped update, it hadn't been serviced in a long time. I pulled a full backup before starting updating, that had become my habit with all makes mostly because of previously being bitten by a Barco ICP crash requiring recovery. After the system was on current versions, several things were screwed up: not sure what all, but 3D was no good and the colours in both 2D and 3D were crazy.
After applying the backup all was well. Definitely saved my ass that day. So mostly an FYI to habitually pull a backup - it might be needed.

[Marco Giustini]

that's assuming and old update works 100% with the new software, Dave
I'm not saying it won't, just saying it might not.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Who remembers the days before automatic update when you loaded the 8 or 9 different software platforms one at a time. I often had levels fail to load or stop loading because an error popped up. Then, about a year after the NEC S2 was released the DCC with auto update appears and saved the day.