Barco trains and certifies over 200 digital cinema engineers

http://www.digitalcinemainfo.com/barcodigitalcinema_12_12_08.php

December 12, 2008

Source: Barco

As part of Barco’s industry-leading digital cinema certification program, over 200 technicians have successfully completed the rigorous training courses held at Barco’s North American facilities in Rancho Cordova, CA.

Digital cinema pioneer Barco announced today that over 200 technicians have successfully passed and become certified through Barco’s distinguished training program in North America with additional certifications completed in Asia and Europe throughout 2008. Not only is the number a milestone for the pre-eminent training program in digital cinema, it also represents the certification of more digital cinema technicians than any other digital cinema projection manufacturer worldwide.

These trained and certified engineers represent empowerment and flexibility for theatre owners, as theatres are no longer bound to using one specific service provider. Barco’s approach to customer service allows many choices for theatre management to meet their circuit’s unique needs. By offering Barco engineers, certified service partners, and certification for each theatre’s in-house staff, Barco allows each theatre owner to choose their own solution for technical support.

“Our digital cinema certification program is the culmination of several years of work, based on our expertise with image processing training,” said Chris Gregg, Barco’s head of digital cinema training. “We provide the most hands on time, the best instructor to student ratios, and the most rigorous benchmark testing. When a certified technician leaves Barco, they’ve demonstrated to us, both in written form and in terms of practical applications, that they’re able to properly install and maintain a Barco projector to spec.”

“With over 20 of our technicians having completed certification, we are extremely impressed with the strength and comprehensiveness of Barco’s digital cinema training program,” said Pat Moore, Vice President for Strong Technical Services. “The classroom and hands-on experience our technicians receive in this rigorous program prepares them well for our customer’s installation or service needs, and is in keeping with our intensive focus on customer service and training across all brands of digital cinema equipment.”

Barco’s digital cinema certification program is offered as two separate classes, each of which is presented in a classroom plus hands-on format. The first class, which focuses on projector installation, is specifically recommended for those technicians wishing to provide installation support on site. The advanced class covers projector maintenance and service, and is a requirement for those technicians wishing to provide warranty service for Barco digital cinema projectors.

Upon successful completion of each class, every technician is tested on both the theoretical and application-specific aspects of Barco Digital Cinema projectors. Ultimately, in order to gain certification, each technician must successfully install and operate a projector.

“Barco’s training program has allowed us to be more efficient in our installations and service calls. Additionally, the improved web and e-mail updates for documentation and software allow us to support the Barco product lines better.” says Kurt MacFarlane, Director of Field Services, Moving Image Technologies.