BARCELONA, SPAIN – 2ND JUNE 2025 — Hugo SR, the world’s first engineered laser screen from Harkness Screens has been chosen as the screen of choice for Cine Europe 2025.
The 26.35m x 7.5m Hugo SR screen installed in the CCIB Auditorium will be used to showcase both 2D and 3D content from major studio partners. Hugo SR technology replaces Harkness’s previous generation Clarus XC screens which had been a permanent fixture at Cine Europe since 2014.
The result of more than five years of research and development alongside projector manufacturers, educational institutes, global exhibition and the Hollywood community, Hugo SR has been designed to support and leverage the benefits of all types of laser projection including RGB.
Since its launch in 2024, Hugo SR has been installed by leading cinema exhibitors around the world, and in particular Europe, by those seeking to deploy laser projectors (including RGB and phosphor) to help manage the challenges these present (including speckle) as well as the opportunities, such as higher brightness and contrast).
The unique optical properties of Hugo SR have been specifically engineered to reduce visible speckle by as much as 30% compared to traditional gain screens. Hugo SR allows exhibitors to deploy higher gain surfaces without the requirement for expensive transducers whilst creating a level of assurance that laser speckle will not interfere with the viewing experience for the majority of movie-goers in the auditorium.
Although a polarised 3D screen, the underlying technologies in Hugo SR create a truly whiter surface which looks more similar to Harkness’ industry leading white gain (Perlux HiWhite) screens on axis. This optically whiter surface helps to diffuse visible hot-spotting and create the appearance of a more uniform finish from centre to edge.
With much industry attention currently surrounding HDR, the unique coating technology of Hugo SR provides a game changing solution for all types of projection helping to improve contrast by up to 15% compared to traditional silver and white screens creating more vivid colours with blacker blacks and whiter whites – something which has substantial benefit both to new laser deployments as well as ageing xenon projection systems.
“This is a landmark moment for our Hugo technology and the enormous step change it offers in terms of presentation quality. For more than a decade, Clarus has been the screen of choice for every major industry event around the world, so to have received so many endorsements and support from industry partners, peers and movie studios to change the CCIB screen to Hugo is testament to the quality of the screen and the benefits it has” says Mark Ashcroft, CEO of Harkness Screens. “Since we launched the product in 2024, we’ve seen a rapid growth in the install base of Hugo screens with a growing number of enquiries and orders ahead of the release of Avatar: Fire and Ice. We expect audiences to be wowed by the combination of leading projection technologies, amazing studio content and Hugo SR at Barcelona,” he adds.
For further information on Hugo SR, visit www.harkness-screens.com/hugo