The presumption is that a projector will be delivered, set-up and fit to the screen. But as the woman pointed out, more and more facilities are getting the projector dropped of, the picture is aligned to the screen and everything else is good to go…no colorimetry calibration.
She mentioned that many maintenance contracts lacked this initial colorimetry calibration. The odd part is that many of the maintenance agreements preclude engaging a 3rd party for this calibration.
The installation groups on the panel did point out that they include a yearly calibration.
[Fill in your own comments about DCI and SMPTE specs and how often light obeyed annual rules. How many bulbs are changed in that period of time? Did any of the bulbs get put in off-kilter? How often are higher rated bulbs swapped in to support 3D? Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) – DIGITAL CINEMA SYSTEM SPECIFICATION, VERSION 1.2]
Your author has been hearing this story for 5 years, at least. The first time he heard it, it really struck him as odd since all the systems that he was involved with setting up in the 2002-2006 era were all set up with an expensive spectroradiometer and a skilled operator. The digital world brings a lot of advantages, but in this area there are many things that are not objective.
Perhaps everyone is using the SMPTE DProVe system? DProVe | Digital Projector Verifier
This article is a work-in-progress since it is simple to go to a thousand tangential problem areas from these few facts. There is even talk of a breakthrough on the CNC silver screen problem.
There may be a lot of overtime for the SMPTE Police.