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Author Topic: The negatives to booth less digital theater Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 12-15-2011 06:05 PM                        It's also a target. How many kids will be throwing popcorn at that projector....  |  IP: Logged Ian Parfrey Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1049 From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E Registered: Feb 2009 posted 12-15-2011 06:13 PM                     quote: Mike Blakesley there's just something about the beam of light coming from that little window high in the back of the auditorium that adds to the magic and mystery of the movies Spot on. THIS is what we are selling - the magic and mystery of movies. A popcorn target hanging from the ceiling just doesn't cut it.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 12-15-2011 06:57 PM                     Well, with a hanging Barco, there is still magic light coming through a little windows in the back of the auditory... And, I mean, how far can you throw your popcorn? Fan noise would be more of a concern for me. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Robert Grandrath Film Handler Posts: 5 From: san jose ca usa Registered: Aug 2011 posted 12-15-2011 10:45 PM                     I have several small boothless auditoriums that I service. I have a few that are an "attic" type set up and a few that are on lifts, suspended in the auditorium. The "attic" type set ups are fairly easy to service, its a pain to get up there but once the tools and I are up the ladder its really no big deal to do most things. As a bonus most tasks are accomplished siting as opposed to standing next to the unit. The lift projectors can be a pain, not because its hard to move the projector up and down but because no work can be done while the back few rows (and preferably the entire auditorium) are occupied. Also the issue of air flow is crucial if you plan to box a projector in. Besides the bulb extraction each of my systems that are suspended in a box have a fresh air supply and return to eliminate any whistling. Initially the inlet for the box air was fed from the auditorium HVAC unit. It ran fine this way until winter hit and the heaters came on... Needless to say that has been changed. The boxes have curtains and trim to match the auditorium decor and most people hardly notice them to my knowledge. It is nessecary to make a lens adjustment after using the lift some of the time but its not a huge deal because in most cases I would be touching up the image on screen anyway during the service visit. If you plan to use lifts invest in a few wireless access points for painless adjustment after lift use. We chose to put our racks in a single "server room" and run video and audio wire to each auditorium. I would reccomend using a panel in the auditorium for surrounds if you plan to do long runs like this. Also cooling of the countless electronic devices in our server room is a concern. I would reccomend a dedicated AC for this type of application. As for alt content i would imagine video over network gear would be sufficient. The downsides are definatly there for non-booth systems. I can imagine that a bare projector would be a target for youngsters looking for trouble though my boxes have yet to be targeted. Also with out the ability to push physical buttons in a pinch can be a disadvantage for some of the theatre staff. Many times I have had to remote in to strike a lamp because the staff are unable to navigate the software to do so. The "hey the light on the back is red" phone calls do not happen for these auditoriums so thats another layer of protection gone though with an NOC this won't be an issue (hopefully). Lastly i would say that the booth was not only a place to run movies from but really a nerve center of the building. Checking auditoriums from the booth is pretty handy. You can see whats going on in your theatres and in most cases, make a round trip much faster than if you walked the theatre from downstairs. To many times have I seen a total of 2 tickets sold for a remote auditorium and walked in on something more than PG-13 or had to clean up after a popcorn fight that ran unchecked for a long time... Lastly I would say that systems like this do lose out on some of the "magic". The booth has always been the place where the most respected staff work. New employees are always amazed by the booth. There will be no respite for those that are boothless, imagine trying to build a playlist with the typical managers office traffic, annoying. The booth is not only the nerve center of the theatre but the heart aswell. Until one of the major projector makers comes up with a system that can smile and wave at curious theatre goers through that tiny window on the box I will be on the fence about going boothless.  |  IP: Logged Mike Frese Master Film Handler Posts: 465 From: Holts Summit, MO Registered: Jun 2007 posted 12-15-2011 11:15 PM                        At this location, the projectors were not hanging from the ceiling. Instead they had their own mini-booths. To see a picture of one roughed in framing wise go to Facebook, search Sonic Equipment, it shows the small space being built in pictures from 9/20 (the first picture). Also in the "new theater builds..." album. access is gained from inside the auditorium. Maybe someone else could add the photo as I am not sure how to add it. 2 auditoriums at the end of the hallway shared a space and the mini-booth went into one of the auditoriums as there was not enough room for them both to be going into the hallway.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-16-2011 04:21 PM                     So in the boothless theatre...how does one boresight/Scheimphflug the image for uniform focus from the projection position? Even converging the projector has to be a pain. -Steve  |  IP: Logged Marin Zorica Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 671 From: Biograd na Moru, Croatia Registered: May 2003 posted 12-16-2011 05:07 PM                     I hated screen rooms with projector hanging from ceeling, okay for some presentation or so.....but barco 19 or 23 makes noise when you power on lamp because of fan's......and that can be anoing!  |  IP: Logged Robert Grandrath Film Handler Posts: 5 From: san jose ca usa Registered: Aug 2011 posted 12-17-2011 03:39 PM                     An even focus and convergance can be roughed out prior to putting the projector in its final position. This applies to any digital projector, not just booth less projectors. Often times the weekend before a digital conversion, with the film still running a few feet away, I have powered up my digital equipment ahead of removing the film equipment and shot an image at the wall to make these adjustments. Of course the fine adjustments will still need to be made once the projector is in its place but doing the rough work ahead of time means less time on a scaffold or ladder.  |  IP: Logged

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