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Author Topic: Small theaters struggle as Hollywood goes digital Michael Gonzalez Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 790 From: Grand Island , NE USA Registered: Sep 2000 posted 09-06-2012 07:57 PM                     Now I honestly don't know but, haven't some theater chains already started pulling older Digitals such as early Christie 2Ks? Isn't it not possible for some of those to be had on the cheap (relatively speaking)? You don't have to have a server especially if you only have one or two screens. Just wondering if it is something that is possible.  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 09-06-2012 08:04 PM                     Always possible but then your buying someone elses problem with little or no warranty.  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-06-2012 09:22 PM                        quote: Michael Gonzalez Isn't it not possible for some of those to be had on the cheap (relatively speaking)? It's literally buying a used computer. It may be ok for a transition, but it's not going to last long and probably never pay for itself either.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-06-2012 10:58 PM                        quote: Michael Gonzalez You don't have to have a server especially if you only have one or two screens. I think you're thinking of an LMS (Library Management System) which you don't need unless you're a multi-screen and/or on a VPF program, or working with a NOC. The server is the thing that actually plays the movies into the projector, so you definitely need that.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 09-07-2012 09:14 AM                        So "dragging your knuckles" is not only OK, but preferable. If you are just writing a check, waiting was proper, since you don't care about vpf. This allows you the freedom to buy the latest/greatest at a reduced price. The trick is not to be first, but to be last. . . and smartest. Louis  |  IP: Logged Mike Croaro Master Film Handler Posts: 394 From: Millbrae, CA Registered: Apr 2005 posted 09-07-2012 12:10 PM                     Scott jentsch wrote: "Screens measuring 20 feet wide should not be in any self-respecting movie theater that is not built as a screening room with a couple-dozen seats." Belmont (Belmont, CA) #3 aud had 275 seats and more or less a fixed screen sized screen 18 X 9! Mike  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-08-2012 12:43 AM                        Yeesh! That's almost twice as many seats as we have (on the main floor) but a screen less than 2/3 as big as ours.  |  IP: Logged Jim Henk Master Film Handler Posts: 364 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 09-08-2012 02:00 AM                     <never mind...>  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 09-08-2012 03:19 AM                     quote: Ronda Fitzsimmons Anyone heard anything on when? It does seems like this might be a more affordable option for us. From what I've read and heard, this has the server, lens, and media block built in. What else would be needed? These machines have been shown in public already, datasheets are there. They should be available around october-december this year. http://www.nec-display-solutions.com/p/dc/en/projectionroom/projectors/nc900c.xhtml http://www.nec-display-solutions.com/p/dc/en/projectionroom/projectors/nc900c.xhtml http://www.barco.com/en/News/Press-releases/gdc-technology-is-partnering-with-barco-to-showcase -a-groundbreaking-s2k-projection-utilizing-gdc-te.aspx These all come with an integrated server. The Christie will need a (cheap) external business grade RAID array, NEC and Barco come with a Doremi IMS which has it's own local storage. They have digital audio outputs, so you either need an external DAC oder digital audio processor like Dolby 750, another 600-2500US$ depending on your needs. 8000-9000 DCI Lumens should be enough for 8-10m screen size. Of course, no 3D at these screen dimensions, although they are 3D and HFR capable for smaller screen sizes. Installation is also a lot easier compared to existing systems, so I would expect a really attractive system/install price. Yes, for small independent theaters with limited resources, it certainly was smart to wait... - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-08-2012 07:58 AM                        The smaller machines seem like a win for screening rooms and small theatres, but I see that the NEC does not use a xenon lamp. I assume that it uses metal-halide or mercury lamps instead. Won't this a) increase the cost of operation and b) reduce color fidelity by using a non-full-spectrum light source? Also of concern would be the inability to upgrade the server separately from the projector in the future. Also, if the lens is part of the projector, does this mean that the machine will only be available with lenses for popular screen size and throw distance combinations? Still, it seems like a step in the right direction for smaller houses.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 09-08-2012 10:51 AM                     I'm not sold in the new machines...there isn't that much of a cost difference and a whole bunch of restrictions. My guess is the IMBs will remain interchangeable. I see that Barco has boasted about partnering with both GDC and Doremi for their machine. I think DCI compliance would preclude making it brand specific though I have no doubt that Christie's will use a Christie IMB since they are trying to get into the IMB market anyway.  |  IP: Logged Robert E. Allen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1078 From: Checotah, Oklahoma Registered: Jul 2002 posted 09-08-2012 01:36 PM                     The obvious contempt of the small town theatre owner by some in this thread is despicable. It might interest you to know there is life outside the big cities and their multiplexes. If the small town operators go down there will be hundreds of thousands of people without easy access to a movie theatre and a great part of the exhibition industry will be lost. It is after all the single screen operator who pioneered exhibition and introduced color, cinemaScope, 3D and stereo surround sound to the movie going public along with showmanship. All the multiples operators have done is multiply the number of screens on which to show those innovations while stripping the theatre of showmanship and customer service.  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 09-08-2012 01:45 PM                      |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-08-2012 01:48 PM                        ^^ True words there. However I don't think there is contempt of small theatres in general, just those operators who from the beginning have refused to plan for the digital conversion even after being told repeatedly that it was really going to happen. Some of them are probably just waiting and hoping for a lower cost solution to come along, or looking for used equipment to become available. I probably would have been in that group too, if we hadn't been in the position to be able to get a bank loan when we needed it. When I first joined Film-Tech in the 1990s, a majority of the posters seemed to be multiplex projectionists and at that time, I detected a certain amount of a "what's he doing here" attitude among the members. I think, since then, those members and others have come to acknowledge that there are exhibitors of all shapes and sizes out there, and we're all after the same goal: Putting on a good show for the folks.  |  IP: Logged Dave Macaulay Film God Posts: 2321 From: Toronto, Canada Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-08-2012 02:07 PM                     What I've heard is that Barco and NEC will use a common interface (probably similar to the S2 input/decryptor or IMB board socket) and that GDC and Doremi will produce "servers" to fit, basically using about the same space as that input/enigma board or an IMB. These will need an external computer for control probably via a web interface. Christie as apparently using an in-house server module not compatible with any other. I'm not confident of deliveries before early 2013, although Christie is saying December 2012. The new TI chip is scheduled to be released in early December although manufacturers have obviously had R&D ones for a while. (You may recall that the .98" 4K TI chip has been "scheduled" for a few years now, but I don't think any preproduction ones have surfaced).  |  IP: Logged

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