Prism contamination

[Gordon McLeod]

I would probably stay with NEC as they have be uber reliable and they are good at getting parts quickly to you something Christie is not good at

[Marcel Birgelen]

I would probably stay with NEC as they have be uber reliable and they are good at getting parts quickly to you something Christie is not good at

NEC currently offers only one Xenon model, their NC3240S. It's a clear sign they're also leaving the xenon market. Besides their flagship NC3540LS RGB laser, all other models are phosphor lasers. While Barco's SP4K series isn't a pure 3P or 6P RGB setup, it is an RGB laser configuration at a currently unbeatable price point, for it to be both 4K and RGB laser.

I'd say that if you want to stay on xenon, then Christie sure is your safest bet, like Mark indicated, they're a daughter of the larger Ushio conglomerate, which still has a big foothold in producing high-end xenon bulbs for several industries. No guarantees there either, obviously, but at least there is a strong connection to xenon there.

[Mike Blakesley]

I don't feel like there's much point to re-upping with xenon, considering the industry at large is going to laser. I've already had a few people ask me "do you guys use a laser projector?" I thought very hard about going the "replace the prism" route, but who knows how long the rest of the machine will last? Certainly not more than another couple or three years at best, I suppose.

Anyway now that Little Mermaid is gone, we felt like we needed to get out in front of the blue screen issue and just tell people about it when they come in, before selling them their tickets. So I made up a sign that explains what's going on, and also photoshopped a picture that approximates what's happening. (I couldn't get a phone picture of the actual movie that looked decent.) Tonight my wife was selling tickets and she explained the situation to every single person coming in -- she asked them to read the sign and then showed them the picture and said "We just want to make you aware that this is going on until we get our new projector."

The results? Not one person turned around and left; nobody seemed to think it was much of a big deal at all. Nobody has left in the middle of the movie either. So far so good.

[Mike Blakesley]

Update: We've had quite a number of people who came out saying the NEVER NOTICED the blue tint on the screen even after we told them it was going to be there. I suppose when you get into the movie and get used to it, it doesn't matter as much. We've also had a lot of nice compliments from people thanking us for letting them know. It's always best to get out in front of a problem if you can.

[Marco Giustini]

Good customer service is always appreciated. It can only pay off.
Your customers will return knowing that you're going to look after them. Well done.