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Author Topic: Lenticular Silver Screen Does it Reduce Hot Spots? Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 12-20-2005 08:38 AM                     The Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, NY has a 30' wide silver screen, and I have never seen a hot spot.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 12-20-2005 08:47 AM                        Again, a silver screen acts almost like a mirror, so ideally ray tracing should be done to properly curve it to reflect the projector's light evenly back to the center of the audience. In a relatively narrow theatre (seating area not much wider than the screen), proper screen curve and tilt can usually achieve reasonable light distribution. But wide seating areas are likely to have uniformity issues, especially in the seats closer to the screen that are away from the centerline of the theatre.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-21-2005 04:11 AM                        quote: John Pytlak You need to be very careful when using a lenticular screen with any fixed pixel array digital projection system --- very easy to get into moire pattern problems as the pixel pattern interacts with the vertical ridges of the lenticular screen. Digital? We don't have no stinkin digital! And Mitchell, I guess it's about time I took a trip out to Suffern to have a look-see.  |  IP: Logged Andrew Lee Film Handler Posts: 99 From: Oakville, Ontario, Canada Registered: Jun 2002 posted 12-21-2005 09:59 AM                     Hi All, I'm baaaack! As most of you know, I am no longer at MDI. I am now with Franklin Designs. I would love to chat about any aspects of 3D presentation and/or screens and could do so for days on end. Unfortunately I am in a position whereby I can't say anything that relates directly to a company's particular product. Otherwise I would be most happy to help out with general questions and concerns as they relate to 3D or screen issues. Feel free to e-mail me directly as I don't go to this site as often as I used to. I hope all of you are well and have a very Merry Christmas. Cheers, Andrew  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-02-2006 11:13 AM                        OK, here's the updated poop. They installed a silver screen at the museum. The woman who was gunghoe about running 3D in this venue, convinced the powers that be, after considering my caution about the possibilities of hot-spots, to go with a silver screen. Screen is now installed; she got another job and left. Unless I can whip up the same enthusiasm I did in her, we may never run a 3D movie in that theatre. As for the specifics of the real-world use of the silver screen -- I ran my first film and video on the new screen there last night and I must say, I walked all over the theatre, top to bottom, side to side - no descernable hot spotting -- none. I will test it with a light meter as soon as I get the chance, but at least with a picture running, if there is any variance in light, I can't see any and I am sure the average moviegoer sees a perfectly acceptable. The fact that the seating area pretty much is only a few feet wider than the width of the screen and the height of the booth puts the projectors on a very slight angle to the screen, seems to make it an ideal configuration for a silver screen to serve dual purposes of standard and 3D presentation. That said, the advantage in terms of increasing the brightness of the image is remarkable. I may even have to have cut back the 35mm lamphouse amps or perhaps even go to a smaller wattage bulb. Color saturation is demonstrably improved. As for the improvement in the video projection, well, that's day and night. I would almost bet the video projector will easily reach 16fL and if not, it will be damn close. Video image, except for all that is bad about video images, at least looks as bright as 35mm presentation. It also will bring 16mm up to snuff as well. Because we switch from one format to another, sometimes back-to- back in the same program, at the very least I will be able to match screen brightness across them all. To bad silverized screens don't work in more situations. I pitty all those venues that are going to be expected to show 3D when the 2D into 3D craze takes hold, as Lucas, Speilberg et al seem to be salivating over. How much you want to bet most of the theatres will not have the advantage that I lucked in on and they will wind up being stuck using the silver screen for their 2D presentations as well, and then suffering with all its very real disadvantages when used in the wrong configuration. BTW, MDI claims they are perfecting a new silverizing technology that does NOT produce hot-spots if seating is kept within certain perameters; they are still restrictive to width of seating area and angle of the projectors, but it is claimed that they are significantly broader than other manufacturers' silver screens.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 07-02-2006 01:56 PM                        Frank: your theatre was actually engineered. prob. a real architect....most are cookie cuttered with an architect that may have lots of cinemas, but no real idea of what he is doing. My short hand for these guys is "lobby artist." Rarely are the auditoriums proportioned correctly or well; usually just boxes. The silver screen problems just disappear when the angles are correctly calculated; yours must be right. Louis  |  IP: Logged Stephen Furley Film God Posts: 3059 From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England Registered: May 2002 posted 07-02-2006 04:31 PM                     quote: Mitchell Dvoskin The Lafayette Theatre in Suffern, NY has a 30' wide silver screen, and I have never seen a hot spot. Neither have I; I've seen for or five films there, and the first time I din't realise that it was a silver screen. This is in stark contrast to many other places where I've seen them. quote: John Pytlak In a relatively narrow theatre (seating area not much wider than the screen) This is the case at the Lafayette. I normally sit towards the front of the rear section of the auditorium, close to the axis, and about two-thirds of the way back. Frank: do go and see the Lafayette; it's worth a visit. Mention my name to Peter Apruzzese, and he'll probably have you thrown out. Only joking! It's in New York, but only just; a few hundred metres to the South is the border with New Jersey. The classic film shows are on Saturday mornings, and, depending on the date, it's sometimes possible to see one of these, and then catch an afternoon or evening show at the Loew's Jersey. The Lafayette does run 3-D shows from time to time, but I've never seen one there.  |  IP: Logged Bernard Tonks Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 619 From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England Registered: Apr 2001 posted 07-06-2006 09:35 AM                     When I saw a demonstration of digital “Chicken Little 3D" on a MDI screen, the gain was 2.8, compared with about 1.8 for a normal Perlux screen (source Cinema Technology). I never noticed any hot spot or fall-off on a picture size of at least 35 feet in a fairly large auditorium.  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 07-06-2006 10:58 AM                     I saw Chicken Little in a stadium house of which the brightness varied greatly from top to botom of room and less so from side to side. screen frame was curved but not angled upward toward the audience per SMPTE specs...so some people had a great show and many a fair show. MDI screens vary in gain quality and spray pattern issues to the point I can walk in room that they are installed and I know what is on the frame  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-06-2006 11:11 PM                     I agree Richard, This can be actually be seen on the USL light meter at the 15/70 CDC system at Thanksgiving Point. I don't think MDI is doing as finely controled a spray job as Harkness does. Mark  |  IP: Logged

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