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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!dicomed!papke
From: papke@dicomed.UUCP (Kurt Papke)
Newsgroups: net.graphics
Subject: Re: Film Recorders
Message-ID: <648@dicomed.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 12-Nov-85 08:36:44 EST
Article-I.D.: dicomed.648
Posted: Tue Nov 12 08:36:44 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Nov-85 08:08:43 EST
References: <471@sdchema.sdchema.UUCP>
Reply-To: papke@dicomed.UUCP (Kurt Papke)
Organization: DICOMED Corp., Minneapolis
Lines: 51
Keywords: film recorders, animation

In article <471@sdchema.sdchema.UUCP> sd@sdchem.UUCP (Steve Dempsey) writes:
>
>What's the latest and greatest in film recorders?
>We have a Silicon Graphics IRIS 2400 from which we want to make
>35mm slides and 16mm films.
>				
>				Steve Dempsey
>				Chemistry Dept., B-014
>				University of Calif. at San Diego
>				La Jolla, CA 92093
>				(619)-452-4016
>				...!ucbvax!sdcsvax!sd@sdchem

Well, I swallowed the bait.....

This is an incredibly broad question.  What are your requirements for:

	o Resolution (8k, 4k, 2k, screen res)

	o Geometric accuracy

	o Speed

	o Consistency, RAS (reliability, availability, serviceability)

If all you have is an Iris, and you need to take advantage of your Geometry
Engine you are going to end up taking pictures of the screen with a hood,
not exactly "latest and greatest" stuff !!

A brief overview of the Film Recorder marketplace:

	Manufacturer/model	Price	Comments
	Polaroid Pallette	$1500	1k res, limited colors
	Matrix PCR		$10k	2k res, newly introduced 4k model
	Matrix QCR		$15-20k	2k or 4k
	Celco			$150k	4k, newly introduced 8k
	Dicomed D48		$250k	4k/8k

There are a few others rattling around in the marketplace, but the list above
includes the majors.

There is obviously a wide discrepency between the price at the bottom of
the market, and that at the top.  This arises from the cost of pushing the
performance envelope in the 8k region -- film recorders are complex
electro/mechanical/optical devices.

	Kurt Papke
	ihnp4!dicomed!papke

"The views expressed herein are not those of Dicomed Corporation.  The only
views of Dicomed are those of downtown Minneapolis from the rear windows."