Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: RCA Synchro-Screen

This is topic RCA Synchro-Screen in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-15-2010, 02:51 PM:

Anyone ever heard of a RCA Synchro-Screen? I came across the reference in a 1953 publication. It was installed in a local neighborhood theatre to some fanfare.

This was early 1953 just before the 3-D explosion of the time.

I appreciate any information on this.

Posted by Robert Koch (Member # 3728) on 05-15-2010, 08:02 PM:

I remember the thing. I was working for RCA Photophone at the time and we were encouraged to promote it. Seems to me someone named Ben Schlanger had to do with it. Anyway it was a rousing failure which it richly deserved to be. It had no black masking so when it was installed in an existing theatre the results were always down hill with a "washed out" picture being the result.

Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 05-16-2010, 11:06 AM:

There is an article "The Synchro-screen as a Stage Setting for Motion Picture presentation" by B. Schlanger, W.A. Hoffberg and C.P. Underhill, jr in Journal of the SMPTE Vol. 58, June 1952 (p. 522).
Since there is no more copyright, you can read or download it legally:

JSMPTE Vol. 58 (1952) as PDF

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-16-2010, 01:58 PM:

It sounds like a precursor to the General Cinema shadow box, which Ben Schlanger also designed.

He also did a similar arrangement in the Colonial Williamsburg Vistavision installation. The sides of the picture have soft edges as the screen curves, rather than hard masked edges as is typically seen.

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-16-2010, 08:13 PM:

Christian,

Thank you for the link to that very valuable resource. I wasn't aware any of the SMPTE things were at archive.org. I will be looking through those volumes very soon.

That screen does resemble the GCC Shadowbox design. There were a few around Columbus "back in the day" and they really had a unique look.