Barco’s HDR projection technology has powered Vue’s EPIC by Vue premium large format screens past 400,000 admissions across the cinema operator’s European estate, as the format approaches its first anniversary, the manufacturer has announced.
EPIC by Vue is built around Barco’s HDR by Barco projection and Dolby Atmos sound. The format is based on Barco’s patented Lightsteering technology, which redistributes light across the screen via a Series 4 LS4K laser projector. According to Barco, this produces highlights more than six times brighter than traditional projection while retaining detail in darker areas, resulting in greater depth, clarity and range alongside a wide colour gamut and high-contrast images.
Since the first EPIC screen opened at Vue Nottingham last year, the format has expanded to 14 sites and 15 screens across the UK, Italy and the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Milan, Silea, Bristol, Castleford, Islington and Leicester Square.
Tim Richards, chief executive and founder of Vue, said: “The success of EPIC by Vue shows that when we invest in the very best cinema experience, powered by the latest and greatest technology, audiences respond. Barco’s technology has been central to delivering that, and the strength of the response gives us great confidence as we continue rolling out EPIC by Vue across Europe.”
Gerwin Damberg, executive vice president of Barco Cinema, added: “Cinema is at its most powerful when nothing stands between the audience and the story. Our role is not to put technology on display, but to remove every barrier so filmmakers can fully express their vision and audiences can feel every moment as intended.”
He continued: “Together with Vue, we are shaping a new benchmark for premium cinema where the craft leads, the experience feels effortless, and technology quietly does its job in the background.”
Vue is the largest cinema operator in the UK and Italy by market share, and the largest privately owned cinema operator in Europe, with 225 sites and 2,001 screens across eight countries. Barco, headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, reported sales of €964m in 2025.
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