I did the trade a paper clip into a house, but with projector crap

[Guest]

This is why I had to go to LA last week and then to the Tampa area this week for .

A VERY high brightness 6P laser system. The thing with the Barco label is the projector head with all the electronics like the DLP chips, the larger box is the laser rack. Essentially, this is the same setup as what digital IMAX runs.

 

But in a tiny semi-rural Texas town 😂

[GeneticBlueprint]

Eggplant emoji

[Ghost_MH]

I give this story a 2/10 without details on what you began with and how you came out on top.

[silentbob]

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Ghost_MH said:

I give this story a 2/10 without details on what you began with and how you came out on top.

 

I started with an audio processor ($2.5K) that I traded for DCP playback server ($7.5k)

 

DCP playback server ($7.5k) for different DCP playback server ($11k)

DCP playback server 2 ($11k) for Barco projector ($17k)

 

Barco projector ($17k) for Christie projector ($26k)

 

Christie projector ($26k) for Barco projector ($39k)

 

Barco projector ($39k) for Cinemaccanica/Barco laser projector ($150k new...maybe $90k used in most cases?)

 

This was all kinda accidental where I happened to have something somebody NEEDED and they had something I wanted.

[Ghost_MH]

1 minute ago, sblfilms said:

 

I started with an audio processor ($2.5K) that I traded for DCP playback server ($7.5k)

 

DCP playback server ($7.5k) for different DCP playback server ($11k)

DCP playback server 2 ($11k) for Barco projector ($17k)

 

Barco projector ($17k) for Christie projector ($26k)

 

Christie projector ($26k) for Barco projector ($39k)

 

Barco projector ($39k) for Cinemaccanica/Barco laser projector ($150k new...maybe $90k used in most cases?)

 

This was all kinda accidental where I happened to have something somebody NEEDED and they had something I wanted.

 

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, sblfilms said:

 

I started with an audio processor ($2.5K) that I traded for DCP playback server ($7.5k)

 

DCP playback server ($7.5k) for different DCP playback server ($11k)

DCP playback server 2 ($11k) for Barco projector ($17k)

 

Barco projector ($17k) for Christie projector ($26k)

 

Christie projector ($26k) for Barco projector ($39k)

 

Barco projector ($39k) for Cinemaccanica/Barco laser projector ($150k new...maybe $90k used in most cases?)

 

This was all kinda accidental where I happened to have something somebody NEEDED and they had something I wanted.

 

[Boyle5150]

What’s the timeframe?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Boyle5150 said:

What’s the timeframe?

 

I believe the first transaction occurred in around July 2021, so a little over a year of these random swaps?

[Chris-]

19 hours ago, sblfilms said:

 

I started with an audio processor ($2.5K) that I traded for DCP playback server ($7.5k)

 

DCP playback server ($7.5k) for different DCP playback server ($11k)

DCP playback server 2 ($11k) for Barco projector ($17k)

 

Barco projector ($17k) for Christie projector ($26k)

 

Christie projector ($26k) for Barco projector ($39k)

 

Barco projector ($39k) for Cinemaccanica/Barco laser projector ($150k new...maybe $90k used in most cases?)

 

This was all kinda accidental where I happened to have something somebody NEEDED and they had something I wanted.

Is theater equipment typically depreciated at an accelerated level? 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Chris- said:

Is theater equipment typically depreciated at an accelerated level? 

 

Oh yes

[Reputator]

23 hours ago, sblfilms said:

 

I started with an audio processor ($2.5K) that I traded for DCP playback server ($7.5k)

 

DCP playback server ($7.5k) for different DCP playback server ($11k)

DCP playback server 2 ($11k) for Barco projector ($17k)

 

Barco projector ($17k) for Christie projector ($26k)

 

Christie projector ($26k) for Barco projector ($39k)

 

Barco projector ($39k) for Cinemaccanica/Barco laser projector ($150k new...maybe $90k used in most cases?)

 

This was all kinda accidental where I happened to have something somebody NEEDED and they had something I wanted.

 

I need the skills and luck to turn $2.5k into $90k.

 

Are you going to use this system to send movies to distant planets?

 

Imagine Casablanca projected on the moon! 

[Chris-]

4 hours ago, sblfilms said:

 

Oh yes

 

Is that based on the original bulb's life expectancy? 

[stepee]

19 hours ago, Chris- said:

 

Is that based on the original bulb's life expectancy? 

 

@sblfilms

WELL

[silentbob]

19 hours ago, Chris- said:

 

Is that based on the original bulb's life expectancy? 

I think I can even answer that. No the bulb really doesn’t matter as they are changed out (in my case when I worked) 2-3 times a year. We were originally not allow to let the bulbs play any longer then 1500hrs (boosted to 2000hrs when I left) because of their glass reflectors. Those glass reflectors would shatter in a bulb explosion and they costs thousands of dollars. Although the proj automatically centred for an even screen brightness and glass reflector might be that factor too. For 35mm projectors, the bulbs could last 2500-3000hrs (had one go 4000+) The big difference is that they used a metal reflectors and could survive a bulb explosion (we had a couple, one at just over 1100hrs) Bulbs were a bit odd too even the screen brightness and had a small hatch on the back to access the spoke move the bulb around to find the sweet spot. Digital projectors were replacing me just before I left, but we were 12 Christie projectors but had 3-4 different models present. Even though they were different models, they still used the same bulb from our 153 seat theatre to our 366 seat 3D theatre. Brighter bulbs could be bought for the much bigger theatres out there, as we used both Osram and Xenon branded bulbs.

[Ghost_MH]

22 hours ago, Chris- said:

Is that based on the original bulb's life expectancy? 

 

I don't know about theater equipment, but I was an audio engineer in another life and the value of everything I worked with seemed to drop by half the second I unboxed them. I say that begrudgingly, but I also treated anything second hand like it was about to fail so I certainly wasn't helping the second hand market. This stuff is expensive, it's niche, the people willing to take stuff off you're hands is tiny, and if you're anywhere close to retail there's zero point to not going retail and getting in on the manufacturer's warrantee. I've found pro audio gear has actually useful warrantees unlike anything you'd find in the consumer or even prosuner space. Also, stuff like amps run hot and you never know how much something was used or abused or how much life you have left in these caps before something blows and you have zero desire to be electrocuted trying to replace it yourself.

 

Thinking back, I think monitors and furniture were the only things I ever bought second hand. Speakers and amps for the venue were always new and if you're spending that much, there's no reason to go used on like a mixer or control surface when the needs of the venue may be very specific while the second hand market rarely is. Actually, I think I have bought some FX boxes second hand. Those can normally last for a generation and aren't really an electrocution risk if you need to crack one open. They also, generally, hold their value longer than any other audio gear I've ever bought.

 

Not sure if the theater equipment world is the same, but I figured I'd give some insight from this perspective.

[silentbob]

The audio processors and amps are pretty much there forever until the theater wants to upgrade them. We had 2 theatres equipped for DTS but had no Dolby Digital reader/receiver. The DTS was finicky and so was the reader with many audio pops trying to read the DTS track and then dropping to analog Dolby sound. They were changed out for the digital projectors and are pretty much taken from another closed down theatre and moved to another. We replaced all our theatre seating after years and years of customer complaints. No real comfort, really stiff and no real tilt for the lower seating area. So we closed down one auditorium and junked all the seats there. A little giant pile up and down the room with our seats, but some were being saved for replacement parts for other theatres. New ones we got I think had too much reclining motion but they sure were nicer on the ass. Anyways back to sound. We had our speakers calibrated by our Cinematronix team 1-2 times a year. Before Attack of the Clones, THX came in to make sure our Dolby EX was working in all our theatres to order to get Attack of the Clones/Revenge of the Sith. My favourite thing was that they are known as the R2-Unit Setup manuals 😂 My teacher/trainer helped open the first IMAX screen in Toronto at Ontario Place. He said for sound , it was provided  (at that time) he said by a ton of Glass Tube Amps from a local electronics store in the Toronto area. That part wasn’t planned, said setup looked odd but it worked

[Guest]

On 9/14/2022 at 9:08 PM, Chris- said:

 

Is that based on the original bulb's life expectancy? 

I don’t handle the tax stuff myself, but I think the standard practice in the industry is to take the 10 year expected life cycle of the equipment based on manufacturer support plans and use that to figure out the depreciation schedule. Good question though