Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: T-REX is in town! (The official RPX, ETX, XD, T-Rex, etc etc thread)

This is topic T-REX is in town! (The official RPX, ETX, XD, T-Rex, etc etc thread) in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-04-2011, 07:29 PM:

Essex Cinemas

Get ready for the most EXTREME movie experience you have ever heard of, T-REX! T-Rex stands for Theatre Real EXtreme, motherfuckers! By taking advantage of the massive dinosaur hype from the early-to-mid 90's, Essex Cinemas lets you know that they mean business. It offers wide seats for your fat ass, state-of-the-art sound and an extra large screen that will make your head explode. But this isn't what sets Essex Cinemas apart from other theaters, no! What REALLY sets them apart is their commitment to the community and special programs.

What are your opinions on this highly controversial subject?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-04-2011, 08:02 PM:

This whole ETX/RPX/T-REX/FU-X nonsense needs to go away. [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-04-2011, 09:34 PM:

..this is real bad advertising. You think people can be 'bought' with this yellow journalism nonsense?

Sadly, I now of one small circuit that advertises in a similar fashion that the grandeur of 3D presentations can outdo the neighboring competition...yet, both are using "Real-D"

..bringing back 70mm presentations would be much better to experience.

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 03-07-2011, 03:32 AM:

Forget T-rex. Titax XC is the worst I have seen.

Seriously.

Do we really need 75,000 watts of sound?

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-07-2011, 03:51 AM:

T-Rex.
Why does "Get it on (Bang a gong)" keep playing in my head?

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-07-2011, 08:20 AM:

All those acronyms involving the letter "X" reminds me of porn. I suppose the youngest adults have a different frame of reference about that since the porn industry has mostly been a home video and Internet thing for the past 20 years -the X rating doesn't get used there much.

Posted by Tom Mundell (Member # 4555) on 03-07-2011, 09:43 AM:

quote:
This whole ETX/RPX/T-REX/FU-X nonsense needs to go away. [Roll Eyes]

I agree! But given that it's still going on and still expanding, I guess people are paying for it? Does anyone know how these systems have or have not affected attendance? After a new IMAX/ETX/RPX/whatever auditorium opens, is there an increase in attendance, does it remain constant, or drop off over time?

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 03-07-2011, 11:53 AM:

quote: Tom Mundell
I guess people are paying for it?

I think the reserve seating part of some of these upgrades is good. You no longer need to worry about getting a good seat on a busy weekend.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-07-2011, 01:01 PM:

Reserved seating is another entire thing. It promotes people to arrive at the last minute, congesting the lobby and concession stand. It is also a big turnoff to the regular customers who arrive there early, excited to see the new movie at that theater only to walk into the auditorium and find most of the good seats are roped off. Many of those customers from what I've seen refuse to go back and find another theater not too far away that doesn't do reserve seating.

Awesome on paper, not so much in real life.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-07-2011, 01:44 PM:

Not to mention more of a time-consuming pain when buying tickets. The map they show you doesn't indicate where the babies and kids are sitting, so you have no option to sit somewhere else if you want to.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-07-2011, 02:21 PM:

I really HATE reserved seating. IMHO, the best seats in the movie theater should go to those who arrived first. We're not watching a damned live stage play or concert performance. It's just a movie.

The only way I'm going to like a reserved seating system in movie theaters at all is if the theater had an interactive web-based map of theater seats showing which ones were available and which ones were already sold. I don't like being forced to trust a ticket seller's word over the phone that what I have bought is a good seat and then end up stuck on some far end of the auditorium.

The only logical purpose I see in reserved seating is the theater stroking the huge egos of certain douches who need to feel exclusive and special and have their seat saved for them rather than showing up to the theater at the proper time.

BTW, quite a few live stage play/concert theaters typically have reserved seating, but many also promptly close the doors to the performance hall when the show has started. Get yer butt there on time or you're not going to be seated at all.

quote: Mike Blakesley
The map they show you doesn't indicate where the babies and kids are sitting, so you have no option to sit somewhere else if you want to.

That's the other HUGE disadvantage to reserved seating. It's pot luck on who sits next to you. If you end up stuck sitting next to some obsessive cell phone using douche bag you can't simply pick another seat. Some disruptions, like crying babies, are bad enough it doesn't matter where you are in the auditorium. But, damn, if that baby is right next to you the movie watching experience is all but ruined.

Much more often than ever before I have to visit theaters in off peak times, such as a week night and probably a week or so after the movie has started playing. There's too many OCD cellular phone users, crying babies, seat kickers, trouble makers and idiots talking to the movie screen to tolerate on opening weekend.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-07-2011, 02:39 PM:

Please continue this discussion on reserved seating here.

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 03-07-2011, 02:41 PM:

moved

Posted by Mike Rivest (Member # 5500) on 03-07-2011, 04:52 PM:

UltraAVX ad from Cineplex Entertainment
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30943004@N00/5266903619/in/set-72157624072106730/

En Français:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30943004@N00/5267510128/in/set-72157624072106730/ et
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30943004@N00/5267510358/in/set-72157624072106730/

Still no response from Guzzo here in Montreal. Wanna bet they call it Gigantus, after a cinema they never finished past the foundation in Laval (Autoroute 13 area)
[puke]

Posted by Tom Petrov (Member # 1534) on 03-07-2011, 04:56 PM:

Mike-Guzzo will get around to it eventually. Empire has opened one. Most of the AVX are older cinemas needs a re-design so it is the perfect way to mask the cost of the theatre upgrade/reno and pass it on to the patron.

Non of the AVX in the GTA are new-builds.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 03-07-2011, 05:59 PM:

quote:
I will have to check this tomorrow – Please stand by…

Where do you suppose Surroud-EX came from?
[Eek!]

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 03-09-2011, 01:09 AM:

quote: Tom Petrov
Do we really need 75,000 watts of sound?

Only if 60% of it goes to extra subs! [thumbsup]

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 03-09-2011, 01:17 AM:

^^ Just noticed the wrong quote in my post above ^^

quote: Bobby Henderson
All those acronyms involving the letter "X" reminds me of porn.

That's what I meant to quote!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-09-2011, 02:55 AM:

I thought you were going to point out your failure in your attempt to spell the word "surround". [Big Grin]

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 03-09-2011, 06:28 AM:

Doh! [Mad]

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-18-2011, 07:04 PM:

I posted this in my review for the movie Super 8, but I don't think most people will read that. So I will post this here where it is more relevant:

I recently saw Super 8 at the AMC Flatiron Crossing 14 in the ETX auditorium, #14. What follows is my experience.

What does ETX stand for? It stands for (and this is factual information) Extreme Treble EXperience. I had a representative from AMC's corporate divulge the secret to how they make an ETX auditorium. First, they take a normal auditorium, make everything is digital and 3D, blah blah blah. Then (and this is the secret ingredient), they go into the EQ settings and turn the 4K for each speaker ALL THE WAY UP. Then, they take the surrounds and turn them down to about 75db instead of 83. Then they take the subwoofers and turn them down to about 45db. Then they turn off half of the subwoofer amps and saw off the power cords for the amplifiers to ensure very few low frequencies ever play in the auditorium. They want you feeling the treble on your skin, not the bass. Then they turn the volume knob to 8.5. That's it!

Yup, that's right! AMC's ETX auditorium is a candidate for the worst-sounding movie theater I have ever heard. Any, and I mean ANY auditorium anywhere can achieve the same exact sound quality by following the instructions in the paragraph above, for free. It sounds very distorted and is physically painful to listen to, and I like my movies damn loud. It's just that AMC doesn't have anyone who knows how to EQ an auditorium to save their lives. There is nothing special at all about ETX and AMC charges much more for this. AMC is assuming the customer is a downright idiot. Nobody in the auditorium seemed impressed. In fact I think one guy in front of me might have went to complain early on because he mentioned it was loud during the ETX snipe (yes, they have an ETX snipe which is all volume, no surround and no sub). AMC claims 7.1 audio and 600 amps piping 20 million watts to 230 speakers or some bullshit that doesn't make a shit of difference. Big time failure here, AMC. I am a fan of good sound, why can't ANYONE in Colorado deliver? I have yet to "experience" Regal's RPX or Cinemark's XD disasters, however. The Tamarac Square 6 sounded much better and we were a piece of shit who had no business having good sound!

ETX screens use all QSC equipment and come to find out, QSC did the EQ in this very auditorium themselves (not joking). QSC clearly doesn't know shit about EQing an auditorium, never let them touch your equipment, ever! Leave it to QSC to make their own products sound even worse than Klipsch crap. Also, the auditorium wasn't very large. It seems smaller than the medium auditoriums at Cinemark's Century Bel Mar theater.

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 06-19-2011, 09:33 PM:

^ really? at AMC Tysons Corner on their ETX screen, it's completely the opposite - the bass is so tight and so low, it literally rumbles the floors - during 'Battle Los Angeles' and 'Fast Five', you could hear the octaves drop in bass response. It's better than what I've heard on the XD screen over at the Egyptian (now if the projectionist can his or her act together and properly set the projector at it's correct light output signal)

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 06-19-2011, 10:03 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
ETX screens use all QSC equipment and come to find out, QSC did the EQ in this very auditorium themselves (not joking). QSC clearly doesn't know shit about EQing an auditorium, never let them touch your equipment, ever! Leave it to QSC to make their own products sound even worse than Klipsch crap.

I don't know where you are getting your information from, but a buddy of mine from QSC would probably resent this.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-19-2011, 10:56 PM:

Hi Ken. First of all, what makes you think I would give two shits if a buddy of yours from QSC would resent that? His tears are none of my concern. I call it like it is and I play no favorites. No loss on my side. If I kept my mouth shut, then it'd be more likely that things wouldn't change. Secondly, if he has anything to do with the ETX screen at the AMC Flatiron Crossing 14, he should be absolutely ashamed of his incompetent ass. Where am I getting that info from? Let's just say a source within AMC corporate. I will not be naming names.

quote: Jonathan Goeldner
now if the projectionist can his or her act together

Projectionists have nothing to do with anything any more.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-20-2011, 04:11 AM:

...unless the projectionist went in after the sound tech and futz'd with the settings. I agree with Ken though, it would not be like the guys at QSC to tune a room poorly. I'm betting something else was involved.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-20-2011, 03:08 PM:

Apparently it's the same two guys at QSC who do all of the ETX installs/tuning. I don't know their names.