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Author Topic: AMC to Install 100 Imax 3D Digital Units Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-10-2007 07:12 PM                     quote: Mark J. Marshall Light levels can be matched between two projectors, but light levels aren't the same across the screen with one projector. So can one assume that we'll be treated to a big image with a bunch of spots that are lighter than others? Or can they use some kind of a diffuser or beam splitter or whatever to smooth out the intensity & brightness of light across the image? Actually the light eveness of a D-Cinema projector is about 100 times better than even the best of film projecton systems. Every D-Cinema projector has whats called an integrator rod in the light path right after the lamphouse. It is made from either fiber optics or special optical glass. This integrator rod acts like a mixer or blender and causes the light falling on the DMD's to become extremely even... all the hot spots and such are essentiually eliminated. I feel this is one reason many prefer the look of digital.... the light is absolutely wonderful and super even... also flickerless... another reason in my book that gives it a pristine look. I would love to add an integrator rod into a film projection light path!! Since many of you have never seen the insides of a D-Cinema projector here is the light optical path of the Barco DP-100.... The integrator rod is the 10" long black circular piece in about the center of the image... the input aperature is at the right on the heat sink with the green hoses connected to it.. The integrator feeds light to the fold mirror at the left and up into the light engine which is enclosed in the obliquly mounted anodized box. The Constant Light Output sensor is mounted in the small box on the back of the fold mirror where you can see the orange wires.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-11-2007 07:03 AM                        So why aren't these available (perhaps as extra-cost options) for film projector lamphouses?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-11-2007 08:29 AM                     The integrators do eat up some light but not that much... they ar eexpensive... about a grand... Film lamphouse people have ALOT of catching up to do!!! Mark  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 12-11-2007 08:36 AM                    That's cool! I'd also like to see what that could do for a 35mm show. We have a couple of houses that suffer from somewhat uneven light distribution. My next question is, how good are the controls for the dimensions of the image on the screen? I'm sure lining up the images by pixels seems like it would be easy (although I thought we couldn't see pixels?), but the curvature of the screen, and angle of the projector and what not would make the shape of the images on the screen pin cushion and key stone in a way that would make them impossible to line up along every edge unless you have extremely precise control of those settings. And what happens if some boob bumps one of the projectors after you spent all that time lining them up?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-11-2007 09:07 AM                     When you adjust the screen image size you go to the exact pixel... there is actually "Digital RP40" for that adjustment... screen masking adjustment is also as accurate and these are digital adjustments... not some analog thing that drifts, set it and it stays for ever or until you change it again. I don't know if light measurements at many points within the projector is possible or needed since the CLO measurement units are essentially a box with a white interior to diffuse the incoming light that is read bby the sensor within. Throw money at something though and I suppose you could do anything. As it stands the Christie Lite-Loc automatic bulb adjustment is pretty darn accurate although a little on the slow side.... take about 3 to 4 min. to run it. It is also possible to manually adjust the lite-loc using something like the USL screen meter which does read the screen at many points simultaneously..  |  IP: Logged James. R. Deeter Film Handler Posts: 64 From: Belton, MO, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 12-11-2007 10:04 AM                     The IMAX Digital will use 2 projectors  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-11-2007 10:40 AM                     quote: James. R. Deeter The IMAX Digital will use 2 projectors Stacked I would assume.... R.I.P. IMAX!  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 12-11-2007 11:07 AM                     Note that if these are going into commercial theatres, they are likely to be of the "Imax Junior" variety. The MPX units I have seen use a screen about 50' wide and they are approximately 1/2 the height of a traditional IMAX screen. And, they will be running mostly commercial films that will not fill even that screen. I still don't see how 2-2k units can duplicate 15/70, but I'll wait and see when it comes out...Cincinnati Newport isn't a very long drive.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 12-11-2007 11:31 AM                    I have my doubts on this. We'll have to see if the general public thinks it's good enough.  |  IP: Logged David Graves Film Handler Posts: 38 From: Cocoa, FL Registered: Nov 2006 posted 12-12-2007 12:39 AM                     i'm confused- since they're converting what i assume are larger amc houses (big 4?), which are usually side masked if i recall, doesn't that mean the picture will actually be smaller, since they can't expand the ceiling up to make the screen taller? doesn't sound like much of an upgrade...  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 12-12-2007 05:16 AM                     The local AMC 30 put the IMAX unit in one of the center large rooms (#14). There is a new screen that is about as wide as the original one but somewhat taller. They also shortened the room by taking out the entire front section of seats. Now, only the stadium seating section remains, so they lost well over 100 seats. Imax sound system was installed, including rear corner speakers, although the side speakers remain. The screen is not wall-to-wall, as there is an aisle down the right side of the screen. The 35mm projector is still in place.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-12-2007 08:17 AM                     To me all this is an indication of just how desperate Imax actually is.... Mark  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-12-2007 08:33 AM                        If it's really just two "almost as good as 35mm" 2k Christies, then I agree with the others that this is a dumb idea and is destined to fail. It will also hurt the real 15/70 houses when people go to the AMC "Imax-lite" and then decide that Imax sucks, not realizing that there are different flavors of Imax. This is pretty sad, especially when the technology exists to do something really impressive, maybe even better (eventually) than 15/70 is now.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-12-2007 11:42 AM                     There is something else here if you read in between the lines... And that is the whole Sony aspect of this... Now if you stacked two Sonys there is no doubt that you'd have plenty of light for that size screen... although Christie's digital projector plant is literally and conveinently located right down the road a piece from Imax and is now one of Canada's largest employers... certainly an important aspect to the Canadian Government! Now the larger Sony 4K is capable of 16,000 lumens running on two lamps so two are going to get you 32,000 lumens with 4 lamps burning which is more than plenty of light. What that says to me is that no one is taking Sony seriously with their 4K stuff. The other obvious indication is the deal with AMC to install a bunch of 4K Sony projectors... Now no one believes that AMC actually bought any of those projectors.... Sony owes AMC ALOT from the SDDS debacle. At Show East neight Vince nor myself nor two of our customers could even get a real price out of Sony for the bigger 4K system... all we could get was a guess of around 130K. Indeed Sony seems like they are about to blow it again. Mark  |  IP: Logged Tristan Lane Master Film Handler Posts: 444 From: Nampa, Idaho Registered: Feb 2002 posted 12-12-2007 11:31 PM                     quote: Sony 4K is capable of 16,000 lumens running on two lamps [Big Grin] so two are going to get you 32,000 lumens with 4 lamps burning It was pointed out to me in another thread that the new Sony projectors use only one 4.5k lamp. It looks as though a 6K lamp is not an option. This is probably due to heat issues. But, the fact remains that the SXRD projector can only achieve 16,000 lumens at best. Either way, using any of the current market digital equipment to replace 15/70 will result in a compromise and loss of quality. But, there are a few positives: -No more dust showing up on the field flatteners to distract from the show. -Picture steadiness will be improved (MPX isn't rock solid when compared to a GT or even an SR system) -Overall cost of operation and ownership will be improved over the current systems, as well as less room needed to support the system.  |  IP: Logged

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