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Author Topic: Zion Canyon Large Format Theater Now Digital Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-16-2008 02:49 PM                     Again Steve you failed to read what I posted. I make no mention of the resolution or other things... just the 3-D capability and screen brightness. The difference in resolution isn't even a debatable subject with me, the owners of the theater, or anyone else on this site but I have to say that not one of the just over 40K people that saw 2-D 2K programs there over the summer months registered a single complaint. Many Imax theaters operate at very similar brightness levels. However most large format 3-D films are also mixed for light levels that are similar to single projector 3-D light levels. Both "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" and "Dinosaurs Alive" looked extremely good from both a color and 3-D standpoint at the 9fl light level and the producers of "Dinosaurs Alive" know what it looks like at much higher light levels then they mixed it at and thought it very good that we could run it that high. I have also watched several Dolby Digital 3-D systems in the last couple of weeks with higher than normal light levels(6 to 7fl) and the color does not wash out at least up to those levels. All in all the system has been very sucessful and has greatly increased the number of tickets sold as it has opened up a whole range of programming that is not even available in 15/70 format Imax or otherwise. Both full time projectionists there also prefer operating the digital system over the Iwerks. Other Large Formnat Theaters have already taken notice and we will be doing more conversion of Large Format Film Theaters over the next couple of years. Jeffery... Your calculations are pretty close based on pixel size and spacing between the pixels. Oh, Steve, because of the relavitely compact size of the 1.2" light engine it would be quite easy to build a single projector with dual Light Engines in it that has similar lens spacing as the GT peojctor does. If there were much of a market for it there would probably already be one. Now at the normal theater exhibition level take a pair of Christie "M" projectors and stack them... you will find the lens spacing very similar to the GT... Yes, I can't wait to stack a pair of "M"s.! Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-16-2008 09:28 PM                     Mark, I don't know how you evaluate the experience based on just one or two parts of the process. The whole shebang goes into the experience...the lack of resolution in 2K digital translates, as far as I can tell, into a lack of visual depth and that affects 3D too. Steve  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-17-2008 08:53 AM                     I guess you'd have to go see it for yourself. 3-D in your face or every bit as good as 15/70 3-D isn't what I'd consider 3-D that lacks depth by any means. My only complaint is the copy of "Zion Canyon" they are running... it's off a 2K D-5HD master that was encoded JPEG2000 and the image has some breathing to it... looks like they did not use a wet gate for the scan... It'll suffice until the new version is shown there starting next Summer. Mark  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 11-20-2008 03:43 AM                     Question: I'm sure that how the stacked system works great, but curious on the exhaust system for the lower machine with that crimped exhaust stack. Doesn't that hamper exhaust flow with that being crimped like that? That last shot of the audience-prob was during a performance and was shocked by the camera flash...pretty wicked stuff there..lol -Monte  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-20-2008 08:38 AM                     MOnte, That is a Christie supplied exhaust off-set for the bottom machine and it doesn't restrict the airflow. Alas Christie has discontinued everything to do with stacked systems since they are also in kahootz with Real-D. They were kind enough to supply us with both a set of plans to build the rack ourselves and the last exhaust offset they had in stock. Its something a sheet metal shop could also build easily and we intend to keep installing stacked systems where ever a customer wants to present the best possible digital 3-D experience. Please note that ALL studios want to see stacked 3-D and will bend over backwards to have their films play on them... except for Disney. One of their execs is also in kahootz with Real-D... but there is now a class action lawsuit pending regarding Disney and stacked systems. Mark  |  IP: Logged Dave Macaulay Film God Posts: 2321 From: Toronto, Canada Registered: Apr 2001 posted 12-17-2008 10:54 PM                     The actual polarizer element is plastic whether it's sandwiched in glass or not. The usual failure mode is from heat softening the plastic to where it loses polarizing ability, the glass doesn't eliminate this. The digital projectors have generally better light uniformity and better IR blocking than film projectors, so "burning" the polarizer may be much less of an issue - it's pretty easy to destroy a polarizer in a film system by misadjusting the lamphouse.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-18-2008 07:51 AM                     You are correct Dave... In this installation the polarizers are 11X14 inches so any heat, and there is very little of it I might add, is spread out over a large area. According to the manufacturer the use of glass helps to both spread out the heat and dissipate it better than plastic. This will insure many years of use out of them. We also did have a filter cooling system built up ready to use at the manufacturers reccomendation but this turned out to be un-necessary... the filters barely get just over room temperatureLF program after the typical 45 min LF program. Needless to say the UV/IR filters in the projector will have to be properly maintained to keep heat levels as low as they are... Mark  |  IP: Logged Fred Tucker Film Handler Posts: 90 From: Sugar Land, TX Registered: Sep 2007 posted 12-19-2008 09:09 PM                     The digital IMAX has 3 small cooling fans for each the polarizing filters to keep them from melting.  |  IP: Logged

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