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Author Topic: Dafuq? (aka unimpressed with Ballantyne / Strong) Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 06-20-2013 01:14 PM                        I want to chime in here: /RANT ON The root problem lies in that fact that most (not all) companies that are selling the digital equipment to the independent theatres - are just selling equipment, period. Obviously some offer installation, etc. But if you are buying equipment from a company located in Omaha, Nebraska, and your theatre is located in New England - there are going to be logistical issues - whether it be in shipping, communication, and all that fine print in the paperwork that some people don't read. My point is: A lot of "Independents" are getting burned on their digital conversions (hidden shipping charges, unknown installation problems, PROPER TRAINING, etc.)Everything you have mentioned in your original post are issues that I have heard before (some experiences were worse than yours). I personally have spent the last, uh, 11 months cleaning up after a bad installs across 10 different theatre locations up and down the East Coast. Problems all over the board - faulty equipment, bad network set ups, equipment not properly aligned - the list goes on and on. All because some dude jumped on the "digital gravy train", made a few deals with some equipment manufacturers, and went across the U.S. slamming equipment in at mostly independent theatres - who are now 'hung out to dry' when it comes to the daily operation of their stuff. So welcome to the club. Oh, and if you think the major chains got off the hook on all this Digital B.S. - Wrong! They purchased bad equipment from the beginning, just maybe installed correctly though. Just wait a few more years - when it all starts going to crap - and we all got Series 2 projectors - and they are out there selling series 6 and 7 projectors. Betcha we'll have to pay for those upgrades, dearly. /RANT OFF  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-20-2013 05:29 PM                     Ok i will chime in Strong used to be a manufacturer now is basically nothing more than a dealer/reseller as they make nothing and compete with what was in fact other dealers/service companies In many ways one gets what they pay for often the lowest price doesnt include the value added engineering work that the local cinema equipment dealer would have provided We have taken maybe a unprofitable hi road in that if a theatre goes out and buys direct or from another dealer then it isn't my problem to service them or make it work one does choose who's bed one sleeps in all that rant said since strong is no nothing more than the largest equipment dealer then they are on the hook but i would not have accepted a quote unless it was FOB theatre  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 06-20-2013 06:26 PM                     This is where Film-Tech's approach to digital cinema is radically different than every other company out there. Sure we can sell you a similar package like you could find anywhere, install it, train and then wave goodbye like everyone else, but that isn't where we really shine. What we do that nobody else in the world does is manufacture and sell an entire fully automated solution, an I mean that quite literally. Literally, we take responsibility for your getting your content to your site, loaded onto your players, playlists, chasing down and validating KDMs and so forth...every...single...week. It is all wrapped around the most logical energy management system that exists too. In other words, we aren't "box movers" like your experience with Strong. We don't just sell, install and disappear (or perhaps hang around for servicing). We are there every day, every show for you...for the long haul. Like Dennis, I've heard this type of story so often it's well past the point of sad. It unfortunately doesn't stop where you are now. Once you have your first failure, just how long will it take for your NOC to answer the phone? How long will it take for them to get a tech out to your site to repair? How much is that hourly "travel time" and other various service call expenses? How many shows did you lose? And how often do you actually get a tech on the phone or on site that knows how the system is wired, configured? Odds are you will see a different face most of the time who is walking into the building cold. Sorry to hear of your bad news Gracia. Grab onto something because you're bound to have a bumpy ride in your future. This is just what happens when you buy from a Wal-Mart sized box mover dealer. It's like I tell everyone, don't trust a salesman...EVER (and yes that includes my own sales people). Be sure to do the math all the way down the road into the future. While price is important, it is what it COSTS you that should be the real decision-maker. And by the way, resetting the maintenance in a Barco IN NO WAY voids your warranty. That's somebody at Strong trying to FORCE you into using them as your service company or something.  |  IP: Logged Gracia L. Babbidge Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 709 From: Bowdoin, Maine Registered: Aug 2000 posted 06-20-2013 09:30 PM                        Well, it seems that a lot of the weird stuff happens on my days off, and I do work for someone who really is a good employer, he just happens to always jump to the worst possible conclusions. I do now know a little bit more now about the snags we've had getting in touch with our tech. For the entire time we were running film, if an issue came up that was beyond my capabilities to resolve, we called our tech directly, being that he worked indepently of any service companies. So, my boss was not expecting the procedure to be: call the service company, they call the tech, tech calls the cinema. Nobody had made that clear to him until after I saw some emails in cinema's inbox, which clarified the matter for me, so I clarified it for him. I figured I had not gotten all the details, and was right there. So, I am less annoyed now with the service end of this whole tale. I am mystified by the amount of time that lapsed before we were given the number to call for service. I realize that all the 'big picture' aspects of running the cinema are under the purview of the owner, however, I feel that he might need to run more details by me. I do have more years of experience in the cinema biz, especially in terms of all the day to day operations, which has given me some insight that could have helped to avoid some of the headaches. As for possibly skimping out on the whole installation process, I don't think my boss would have felt it was worth saving a few bucks by short-changing ourselves along the way. Now I need to not stay up all night tonight, so I can be awake and alert enough in the morning, when our tech will be in to show us what we need to know about the communicator software, and resetting the tail light after the simple routine maintenance tasks are done. When I say "us" and "we", I am technically referring to both my boss and myself, however I expect that I will be the one that retains and makes use of the knowledge. With the day to day operations of the cinema under my purview; I'd rather that the self-proclaimed technological Luddite simple stand by with his hands behinds his back, and just watch the lights blink!  |  IP: Logged Gracia L. Babbidge Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 709 From: Bowdoin, Maine Registered: Aug 2000 posted 06-21-2013 11:37 AM                        Just to be clear - I have no quarrel at all with the gentleman who is our tech. He really has endeavored to take good care of us. *knocks on wood* We have not lost any shows along the way. I don't blame him for not being able to immediately advise us on the subtitle matter we encountered - if I were traveling, and got contacted by someone half-panicked, odds are, putting all the information together from memory would be difficult, at best. I now also know that some information that would have been handy for me to have also, had been given to my boss when I was not present, and with so much on his mind, some just got lost in the shuffle, while the rest he must not have realized might need be passed along. At this point, I ought to have known that I wasn't getting the complete picture of the oddities that happen when I'm not present. Now if I can just figure out how to keep my boss from nearly panicking anytime something deviates from "normal", that would be super.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 06-21-2013 01:32 PM                        I think that Brad and film-tech have the right idea when it comes to full digital support. I am glad that you kind of started to get things sorted out Gracia. I think the transition to digital has caused everyone to have to change wether for the good or the bad. Installers, service companies, theatre owners, managers, and projectionists have all had to face the challenge of learning new technology and new ways of doing business. Some did it very early on and it is old hat now. Others may be just beginning. The people who are willing to adapt are going to prosper.  |  IP: Logged

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