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Topic: 8-Perf 70mm Print Availability

Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-12-2005 08:32 AM

quote: Adam Martin
What do you mean? The SR has the same masking plate setup on the spherical lens assembly as the GT and practically the same lenses.

By O.D. I do mean the outer diaameter of each lens element...... normally these are masked with a special black paint or coating. The SR lenses at Boise are not coated on the edges. This will effectively reduce the conrtast ability of the lens. LIke I said, I have a picture of it. I will post it if you guys think Imax won't have a cow.....

Mark

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John Lasher
Master Film Handler

Posts: 493
From: Newark, DE
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 03-12-2005 12:14 PM

I've seen one 8/70 presentation ("The Lion King") at REG King of Prussia (took my little sister as a Christmas present, this was between when Regal took over UA and when they converted this theater back to IMAX), it was a little jumpy/wavery during the first minute or so and there were a couple of dropouts in the sound during the first trailer.

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Richard Hamilton
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1341
From: Evansville, Indiana
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 03-12-2005 03:51 PM

quote: Adam Martin
Cheap companies didn't want to pay full price for a real Imax system, so Imax came up with the SR for those who wanted to drive a BMW and the MPX for those who would be satisfied with a VW Jetta. I'd say, overall, that Imax did a pretty good job within the constraints. (Evil as they may be )

So you are saying that the SR and the MPX are not a real Imax system? I don't know, I have never seen either system. I am assuming they run 15/70?

I'm curious how you would compare the competing 8/70 projectors to cars. I've owned BMW's and VW's, but never any canadian cars [Wink]

Would the Megasystems be compared to a Touareg because its a 4 wheel drive ?

I'm guessing that the MP75 and Mega 8/70-35 would be compared to some sort of convertable?

5/70 machines maybe a Bug?

35 machines a Mini Cooper?

Rick

[beer]

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-12-2005 04:43 PM

quote: Richard Hamilton
Would the Megasystems be compared to a Touareg because its a 4 wheel drive ?

Nothing personal Richard.... I know that you DIDN'T design it..... Perhaps the Yugo would be a better comparison of the Mega......

Mark

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Dick Vaughan
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1032
From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 03-13-2005 09:52 AM

Mark

We may be starting to focus down on problem here. Most SR systems are in new build specially designed, SR theatres. These are designed around the IMAX Prime 60 lenses.I would bet a buck or 2 that most ,if not all , the SR sites you have visited have these lenses.

Our theatre was converted originally from a live theatre to a 2D IMAX classic in 1983 and then to SR 3D in 1999. As our theatre is shorter and wider than the "ideal" we continue to use the original ELCAN (Leitz) 364 53.8mm f2.4 lenses.

Perhaps this is why our opinions differ on screen light levels and contrast using an SR system.

As for SR's being harder on new prints I have not seen evidence of this in 6 years of us running them here in Bradford
Darren Briggs wrote:

quote:
Must say that Dick's Bradford IMAX is the best one ive seen, not keen on the other UK theatre, think it is due to Bradford being alot steeper and you are closer to the screen, even thought the screen is smaller, also i believe that 100% of the IMAX frame is seen on the screen, other theatres have slight cropping, did you tell me this Dick!?

Darren you're making me blush! [Embarrassed]

People will talk if you keep writing nice things about me.

As I said above our theatre has a slightly different geometry than most and the throw is proportionally shorter and the seats more steeply raked.

We do show more of the frame than many other IMAX theatres with us going out to the 98% mark on width and about 96 on height.

Some theatres I've seen are nearer the 90% mark.

Richard Hamilton said:

quote: Richard Hamilton
So you are saying that the SR and the MPX are not a real Imax system? I don't know, I have never seen either system. I am assuming they run 15/70?

They both run 15/70 . The SR uses full frame and all 6 audio channels as on the classic and GT.

MPX has an aspect ratio around 1.75:1 and only uses 5 channels . No channel 6 " Screen Top Centre Speaker"

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-13-2005 10:34 AM

quote: Dick Vaughan
As for SR's being harder on new prints I have not seen evidence of this in 6 years of us running them here in Bradford

Don't know Dick, The machines in Boise damaged quite a bit of film when they were first brought on line. I had quite a bit of that film for a while, it actually looked ok though it would not run well. I finally gave it to a CDC 15/70 location that uses it for test and practice runs, there it runs fine on the clone of the classic Imax and I would suspect it would also run just fine on the actual Imax. Thats what led me to believe that the SR was a bit harder on film... perhaps its just a tad bit fussier though. Either way the smaller rotor had to be on the tricky side to get running at all and then tweeked properly. With the smaller rotor the angles the film is traveling over are a bit more extensive.

Don't know what to say about the lens but I suspect that your ELCAN lenses are alot better than the present stuff.

Below is the CDC lens albiet not a sharp photo but one can easily see the blackened out element O.D.'s.

Mark

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William Rouse
Film Handler

Posts: 2
From: Charleston, WV, USA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 02-14-2006 01:13 PM

I have been working with A Megasystems 8/70 for three years now. It has never given me any problems. It has never shredded any prints or failed during a show.
I think it is one fine little Yugo.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-14-2006 07:34 PM

Richard,

They was one here in SLC and they nicknamed it "The Mother"..... I would assume for certain negative reasons..... Actually the Iwerks Linear Loop is far superior and is also much more light efficient than the Mega although a little noisier in operation. The Mega has a mega number of belts in it which is do-do in my book. Iwerks is also a far superior and much more complete company to do buisness with on these sort of things.

Mark

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 02-14-2006 11:51 PM

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
The machines in Boise damaged quite a bit of film when they were first brought on line. I had quite a bit of that film for a while, it actually looked ok though it would not run well.

..where I was there during the intstalls at the EDW's IMAX palace in '99, they had a chief projectionist that they hired out of Spokane who knew IMAX and this fellow really took care of the equipment (I had a chance to work there at the IMAX, but not as chief projectionist due to my lack of knowledge of the system-besides I had more freedom at the 21 than I would have had at the IMAX..), and as for film problems, the SR system was actually running extremely well without any print damage. It was mainly due to the "other operators" there that caused some of the snafoo on the prints - like getting a lengthy scratch in the left eye print of "T-Rex" - due to not paying full attention of the threading procedures from the IMAX QTRU platter to the two SR units.

Yet, they did have a bit of a rough opening until they got things all settled in and aligned correctly. But afterwards, the place ran smooth.

-monte

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