Gizmodo: Sim2

$12,000 Domino 80E Promises a Projector "Evolution" (and Empty Wallets)

Sean Fallon — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:40:37 EST

If you are the kind of person who is willing to drop $12,000 on a projector, Sim2's new Domino 80E may be worth checking out. What does $12,000 buy you? Naturally, you will get 1080p —but the 80E also features UNISHAPE lamp technology that promises a "revolution in the reproduction of color and huge increases in both brightness and black levels" when combined with BrillantColor from Texas Instruments.

Other features include: a DarkChip3 DLP chipset, tons of inputs, and the option of using a 2.35:1 anamorphic lens adaptor that doesn't require an external processor to change the aspect ratio. Sure, the price tag seems high, but it could be worse. Check out what other Sim2 projectors can run you. [Product Page via SmartOffice]

Ultra High-End Sim2 Grand Cinema C3X 1080 Projector to Ship in November

Charlie White — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:35:53 EDT

Sim2, maker of high-end fancy pants projectors, will be one of the first manufacturers to release a model using the new DLP DarkChip 4 from Texas Instruments. And get this—three of those chips will be shining inside Sim2's Grand Cinema C3X 1080 projector, set to ship in November. Besides bringing you what the company calls "benchmark quality" 1080p video in all its glory, the thing looks pretty damn swank, too, reminding us of a fine Italian sports car. No surprise, since Sim2 is an Italian company with sophisticated Neapolitan designers. The projector's other specs are not exactly shirking their duties, either.

Even though it's packing all that impressive performance, it's still just 17 inches square and weighs 22 pounds. And those .95-inch DarkChip 4 digital light processors (DLP) inside are kick-ass, said to deliver a contrast ratio of greater than 10,000:1. Available in these gorgeous red and gold colors you see here as well as gunmetal or black, its most stunning spec is its price: $29,995. [Sim2]

SIM2 HT3000E Projector Modulates Light With Millisecond Precision

Addy Dugdale — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:37:05 EDT

Here's the new HT3000E 1080p DLP projector from home cinema gourmet house SIM2. Beyond looking great in Darth Vader's private screening room, the HT3000E comes with a technology called Unishape, which modulates the light intensity according to the image content "with millisecond precision, similar to a waveform generator." Jump to see what this means for image quality, its price and one image of its back.

Combined with a new color wheel, SIM2 says that Unishape also makes the HT3000E 40% brighter, with 60% less dithering and 15% more colors than their previous generation. For the stunning $20,000 price tag, it better come with an unlimited life supply of fresh popcorn and a foot massage with each movie. – Jesus Diaz

Product page [SIM2 via AV Forums via T3]

SIM2 Cinema Flex System Gives You True Cinemascope Pix, No Pixels Wasted

Charlie White — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:30:00 EDT

Here's an attachment for high-end projectors from SIM2 that will keep you from wasting pixels when you're displaying those ultra-wide letterboxed images. The Cinema Flex system uses a combination of lens and projector settings that let you see that whole 2.35:1 aspect ratio, using those pixels where they can do some good rather than wasting their time projecting those black bands at the top and bottom of the screen. Now you can use every pixel your projector is capable of displaying.

How does it work?

It does that by first electronically stretching the picture vertically, covering those pesky black bands at the top and bottom. So far, the image is distorted, so it takes it a step further and stretches out the image using an anamorphic lens. That way, it's the perfect 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Neat trick, but it's not cheap.

The SIM2 Cinema Flex is $3195, and $5995 for the motorized version, and it only works with SIM2 D80, Grand Cinema HT3000, and C3X projectors, starting at around $6000.

Plus, it's making that image wider and less tall for those glorious 2.35:1 images, and that might be the wrong shape for your screen. If that bothers you, you can get screens that automagically expand and contract with the aspect ratio. So this is a high-end endeavor, no matter how you slice it. But there's nothing quite like seeing a movie projected in a darkened room, perfectly replicating that cinema experience. – Charlie White

Product Page [Sim2, via Sci Fi Tech]

Sim2 Grand Cinema HT5000 1080p MoFo Projector, Cinema Scope, Too

Charlie White — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 12:45:29 EDT

Sim2 is teasing us with its three-chip Grand Cinema HT5000 1080p DLP projector, on its way to some ritzy home theater near you, if you're lucky. The three-chip monster is packing three Texas Instruments .95-inch 1080p DarkChip3 DLP chips that Sim2 says are capable of a 5000:1 contrast ratio, and you can order it with either single or dual 300-watt lamps. No word on pricing for that projector yet, but the company says it'll let us know about that and ship date sometime in the next few months.

In the same breath, Sim2 announced its Home Cinema "Scope" which lets you project movies shot in that directors'-favorite 2.35:1 aspect ratio in their full width without any letterboxing. With this system, you're not wasting about a third of the projector's resolution on pixels dedicated to that black letterboxed part of the screen. It'll be selling for $8,995 for the manually-attached lens or a cool $11,995 for the lens and a motorized sled that moves that lens into place via remote control. – Charlie White

SIM2 Grand Cinema HT5000
Home Cinema "Scope" [Sim 2 Multimedia]

1080p Projector, Under $16K

Charlie White — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 09:05:30 EST

If you've been waiting for only the highest of HD resolutions before you spring for a projector to grace that luxo-sport home theater of yours, here's one that brings the price down to just $16K. British projector maker SIM2 Multimedia is getting ready to ship its Grand Cinema HT3000, a single-chip DLP projector that delivers the coveted 1920x1080p resolution, which amounts to the highest pixel count available on the HDTV standards list. Better yet, this monster offers 10-bit processing, which will result in noticeably smoother gradated colors than the industry-standard, old-fashioned 8-bit technology. Add to the mix two HDMI ports while still offering all the usual analog connections, and you've got a complete package. Now we just need to find something worthy of watching on such a highly-capable projector. Look for the HT3000 to be available in April.

SIM2 Projector Shoots Super Hi-Def [Stuff]