It has always seemed odd to me that for years consumers have been able to enjoy better picture quality in their homes compared to cinemas. It’s an observation that Gerwin Damberg, one of the brains behind the recently announced HDR by Barco system, agreed with. “It’s the wrong way round!”, he observed when I met him recently.
Previous to his role at Barco, Gerwin worked at Dolby on its Dolby Cinema system and thanks to a twist of fate, I was able to compare both on the same film, albeit a few days apart. Having recently interviewed Damberg about HDR by Barco I was keen to get to see it, and the opportunity soon came when it was announced that the projector was to be installed at the Cineworld Leicester Square Superscreen in London for the premiere of Gladiator II — to which I was invited. However, I had already made plans to see the movie in the only Dolby Cinema in London that I had not yet experienced — the Cinema in the Power Station, in Battersea.
I stuck to my original arrangement, knowing it would give me a great opportunity to compare both technologies in action only a few days apart. HDR by Barco: The Challenger..
. In order of viewing then: HDR by Barco. The Superscreen in Cineworld Leicester Square has a modest 375 seats and is wide, but shallow, with only 12 rows of seats.
This oblong shape is because it was previously the rear section of the huge 1300+ seater Screen 1 of the old Empire Cinema, which in 2014 was divided up to allow for the installation o.