quote:

---

Cinemation.
Don't know if the current unit that goes by the name is capable of two projector though.

---

I found out from Bernard Bentley, that the last Cinemation series that had changeover facility between two projectors was the Cinemation 2000. Two were installed in Empire 1 & 2 Leicester Square, London, and hundreds were installed in the USA by RCA.

All the later Cinemation series have been for single projector operation in conjunction with platter systems, as is the current 2005.

If you're doing change overs then you have a projectionist to hand.
It's not the most difficult thing to learn so why automate it.

Up until a few years ago the Cinecenta, now Odeon Panton street, was changeover in four screens with FP20's dual manning. The change overs were automated using Philips own change over module.
The boxes were very small, one on each level and there was just enough room for four projectors, 4 westinghouse rectifiers and a rewind bench in each box. The lamphouses were the early AEI/BTH Xenon using 2k three electrode lamps. Talk about sweat shop.

Change overs should be done on a one to one basis. One man per show... encourage automation and I can see one man, or is it person now-a-days, running a mixture of long run and change overs.

The application that I could see for this would be in home theatres (where the projectionist is also the audience) and in (ugh) manager-operated theatres. "Showplace" single-screen houses and screening rooms have real, live operators, of course, and most of the other changeover houses are older singles where there will be a projectionist in the booth anyway and management doesn't see any need to spend money on automation.

For what it's worth, the vast majority of places where I have worked are changeover houses, but none have automation. I'd like to see how that type of setup works, but I can't see it being a huge market, either.

 |  IP: Logged

quote:

---

I don't see much of an application of a single screen automated changeover unless you are a mom-n-pop single where the projectionist is the manager and the ticket seller and popcorn seller......but those are few and far between.

---

I worked at a twin (with c/o's) where I ran Monday & Wednesday nights by myself for a few years, you learn to run fast.

 |  IP: Logged

As an example, let's say there are 2 trade screenings to be ran at 10am. Both reels 1 and 2 could be threaded up and the shows started. All it takes for an automated changeover is a tiny cue at the end of each reel. So big deal, that's no problem. I would never run a print if I did not check to make sure that things were in order anyway, so that would require winding the print. Then as each reel finishes, the cue could be removed before packing it back into the cans. Meanwhile, each screen can run for a good half hour without operator intervention, without buildup and without even having to worry if the projectionist misses a changeover.

For a scenario like this, 6000' reels would not be of any use. 2000' reel changeovers and a platter would suffice for everything.

------------------
Ray Derrick
President/Chief Engineer
Panalogic Corporation Sydney, Australia
Phone: 61 (0)2 9894 6655 Fax: 61 (0)2 9894 6935

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged