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Posted by Charles Lubner (Member # 157) on 01-26-2000, 12:23 AM:
Is it possible to add microphone capability to a theatre sound system? We do extra revenue shows quite often and some of our sponsors want to addess the audience before a show to plug their product. Any suggestions or ideas?
Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 01-26-2000, 12:33 AM:
Yes, you can always add a microphone to the non-sync input of the processor. You can simply unplug the tape or CD deck and plug in a microphone preamp or get fancy and have switch in order to switch between non-sync and mic.
Posted by Charles Lubner (Member # 157) on 01-26-2000, 12:39 AM:
Microphone pre-amp? I know I sound stupid for asking, but exactly what kind of equipment would I need? A switch would be good since my theatre is licensed to play the horrid "MovieTunes" CD before each show. I'm hoping to buy whatever I need at Radio Shack. A cordless mic would be what I'd want preferrably. Any help is always appreciated! Thanks!
Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 01-26-2000, 02:13 AM:
I don't see a microphone pre-amp in the Radio Shack catalog. You may need to get one from a local music (guitars & stuff) store. They may even have something used & inexpensive.Those little rack mount mixers in the Radio Shack catalog have mic inputs & line level out. You could get one of those, hook your usual non-sync up to whatever the aux is, & add a mic. Then you could do talkovers.
Unless you run Movie Tunes in your theater. In which case you will want to go ahead & get the mixer & two turntables so that you may substitute jammin wickety-wack booth mixes & rap instead of that wretched Movie Tunes mess. Even a nice phat ground loop hum would be better than the guy with that plastic 1980's cheesoid delivery.
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 01-26-2000, 04:14 AM:
The best way to add a live microphone to a permanently-installed theatre sound system is to BUY A SEPARATE P.A. AMP AND SPEAKER(S)! and leave the theatre's amp rack alone! Having a live mocrophone in front of a screen which has a number of speakers behind it is inviting BIG trouble with feedback, which can be disastrous for amps, speakers (especially HF drivers), and of course, patrons' ears!If you must connect a live mike to a theatre sound system, try to connect it so it will output thru the surround speakers, as these will be the least susceptible to feedback, and if you have good enough surround coverage in the auditorium, it will make it easier for the patrons to hear what is being said because you can use more volume with less chance of feedback! CP500s have a mike input inside that can be programmed to route the signal to the center channel (NOT recommended) or the surrounds. I am sure other cinema processors have similar capabilities as well. Another option is to connect the preamplified microphone (or better yet,wireless receiver) to the surround channel power amp input and use the output control on the RECEIVER (or PREAMP, if possible) to adjust the mike volume.
If I get a request for a live mike in an auditorium I explicitly recommend them to procure their own PA system. This makes life much easier for all involved, and none of the theatre's sound system settings are ever disturbed.
Aaron
Posted by Joshua Lott (Member # 240) on 01-26-2000, 05:04 AM:
Something that was done at my theatre was hardwire a mic jack into every amp rack. We bought a wireless mic and transmitter that could be moved into any auditorium and just plug right into the amp rack. We had CP65's and used the Aux. setting for playback(I think). The Only problem that we ever had was that we had to turn the main volume up to 8 or 9 when we used the mic. We never had any feed back.
Posted by Stefan Scholz (Member # 147) on 01-26-2000, 07:12 AM:
We have two mics installed in the large Todd AO theatre, one is a cable type vocal mike, the other is a wireless, which could be handed to the auditorium for discussions etc.
We feed into surrounds with delay time set to 99 ms (Pony DFP 3000), which gives extra freedom from feedback due to time-delay, but requires a trained announcer, as it is a little difficult to speak against the echo.
We use a little rack mount mic/line preamp mixer from recording business, that allows us to connect 4 mics as well as 4 stereo N/S sources. Anything was redily available at a local music/ RnR store.Within the 2nd theatre, we use a seperate PA system, with microphones and PA speakers beside the stage opening. As this place has a convertible stage for live performances, it was neccessairy to run on a seperate system. Personally I prefer this solution, even though the components used are basicly Railway station quality..., but you could buy better items.
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-26-2000, 12:18 PM:
Yes, you definitely want a separate voice-grade PA system for microphone use. Non-sync music is fine if played through the film system, but there are too many ways to damage the film system with a microphone (hold it too close to the speakers and get massive feedback, turn up the volume too high and then "pop" the on/off switch on the mic itself, etc.). You don't need a very good quality system to provide intelligible voice amplification.
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 01-26-2000, 12:53 PM:
I've had my best results with using a wireless (eg Telex) microphone system. The Telex system puts the signal out at mic or line level so it can go into the cinema processor where it is easy (some have mic inputs some just have aux, non-sync, mag or what ever).As others have stated, just have the mic come out of the SURROUNDS not the stage channels. Feedback shouldn't be a problem. If you have a good and proper installation, ie with 1/3 octave EQ or equivalent on the surrounds, it should sound pretty darn good too.
Steve
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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-26-2000, 06:26 PM:
Just get a Peavy Media Matrix digital processor like we have at Mercyhurst! All you've got to do is flip a switch and the computer re-routes all the inputs and outputs to where they need to go.
Posted by Anthony Matarazzo (Member # 63) on 01-26-2000, 06:49 PM:
We have all of our cinemas have a microphone jack near the screen, which go directly to the cinema processor. On the CP65 the mag/accessories is selected and the CP500 there is a format 64 I think and the CP200 is pretty much the same as the CP500. When the techs installed the CP500 in cinema two they had to calibrate the input for the microphone. I not sure how they did it but it works well.
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 01-27-2000, 12:11 PM:
Some theatres I service have an off-the-shelf Rat Shack wireless mic system. The output of the receiver is simply wired to the input of the DA. The mic can be walked around with from the lobby to any auditorium, and it does the job nicely.
Posted by Paul Powers (Member # 332) on 02-02-2000, 06:14 PM:
We had a micophone hooked up through our CP200 and it worked well but I am not sure if the speakers used were the surounds or the center channel. I would think the surounds as the mic jack was directly under the screen and the mic was always used directly infront of the center channel speakers. Never had any feed back problems. But alas last may we had a big upgrade for episode 1 and we seem to have lost the mic line from behind the screen :{
-=|Paul
Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 02-13-2005, 08:41 AM:
It has been 1837 days since the last post.
Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 02-13-2005, 08:41 AM:
Is it possible to connect a microphone directly in the non sync jacks on a dts 6ad processor ?
Posted by Steven J Hart (Member # 2340) on 02-13-2005, 09:08 AM:
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