We are still in a desperate situation, as a whole.

Unlike a store filled with tv's that go down, these big boxes are a negative with little other use (urban campus?) and no tv's to sell when they crash.

I would be happy with a reduced # of screens with better presentation.

IMHO, it's not a coincidence. Bean counters often confuse "low maintenance" with "NO maintenance". Technically skilled people and service contracts are often the first to go when cutting costs.

One of my real concerns about Digital Cinema is that people will believe the hype that the equipment is almost maintenance free. Some are even proposing eliminating the projection room, and putting the digital projectors in relatively inaccessable "closets" or mounted near the ceiling.

I've seen enough poor large screen displays on video walls and in sports bars to know that electronic displays require attention to maintain any decent level of quality.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think the "human touch" is being eliminated in too many areas that still need it, including projection. IMHO, good projection (regardless of whether it is film or digital) is a skill, and not something that can be done in a closet by remote control.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

I went to a "Race Trac" convenience store this morning to pick up coffee on the way to work. There was a sign in the window that said, "Now hiring! Starting pay $8 / hr."

For theaters now, this is a maintenance item that actually pays for itself. I have gotten 10,400 hours on a Osram 2k, rotating and cleaning frequently. I feel bad if I only get 4,000, even if I have to start at 75 amps (85 max) to light the screen.

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I am giving my critic all the information (along with the well-developed power of the Force) to fully evaluate this theater. Perhaps a compatriot could surreptitiously spy on the theater, and report back on his shoe phone. If the Jedi Knight would like to visit in person, I am there Friday and Saturday, so any other day of the week would be perfect.

The Signature Theatres Santa Cruz Cinema 9, built in 1995, is an all THX theatre. I am the steward, 20+ years journeyman. The equipment is Xetron XCN Consoles, Simplex 35 heads, matte screens. The aconic reflectors are extremely efficient. Exhaust is 1100 CFM, and I keep the fans cleaned and lubricated. The building transformer sits right in the middle of the booth, and we get a constant 118 volts per leg. I also clean the screens yearly, which is a huge factor.

The XCN/XCD manual specifies a 2000w up to screen size 15’ x 30’. Exhaust is specified at 300CFM.

This auditorium is image size 12’6”x 23’ flat, 9’9”x 23’ scope (vertical masking). Throw is 44’6”. Port glass is coated, supposedly optically pure glass (it was really expensive anyway).

The spec could really be a 1600w for this application, but everything else was a 2k. I ran it at 55 amps for almost 3000 hours. Suggested range is 60-85 amps, as I am sure you know.

I keep a big soft 100% cotton towel in the booth, and a spray bottle of alcohol at every machine. It takes less than two minutes to open the door, spray the bulb and reflector, clean with the towel, and touch up the picture. If bulb rotation is necessary, a 3/32 Allen wrench and another two minutes.

After a while, this became a science experiment. I would clean and rotate it weekly after a while. Yes, there was a loss of resolution and the light started to look yellow, and this was the reason I removed it. I could still hit studio spec on my reflected light meter (for dailies, measuring Foot/Lamberts of course).

The point I was trying to make is that cleaning and rotating the bulb will extend the life of the bulb considerably. The coating of dirt acts like an insulator, reflecting the heat back in and allowing the quartz envelope to get hot. Instead of cleaning and aligning the lamphouse, and cleaning the screen, the easy response is turning up the rectifier. This is the exact recipe to assure a complete compliance with the concept that all bulbs are worthless at 120% of warranty. I guess this is the ‘professional’ way to handle the situation, as it has been pointed out to me. I would never dream of refusing to work on a lamphouse if it had more than 120% of warranty hours on it, although I am admittedly a devout amateur, Democrat, and a sucker for stray animals and redheads.

Also, I do not think that the current generation of bulbs will do that. I think 5500 hours in the same exact lamphouse is likely.

As a whole, I get about 4200 hours average on the 2k’s. There is a loss of focus and screen resolution after a while, but if the bulbs are kept clean, cool, and rotated throughout the lifespan the blackening is reduced considerably.

Feel free to check our compliance with THX, TES, or anybody else who can get you the information. Call the Signature Theatres Head Projectionist. USE THE FORCE, LUKE

These screens are brighter than virtually any plex anywhere.

I own three projectors, six lamhouses (500-2000w), 40 lenses, and a whole lot of other crap. I do sound service and maintenance at several other theaters locally.

Little is more dangerous than a wounded projectionist with a high pain threshold and a grudge…

As this guillotined neck will not arise to be struck down again, perhaps someone else can offer up a sacrifice for the attack gratification committee. I will continue to lurk occasionally, this is an interesting site that I get a lot of information from. It must have felt great, though, to really let the self righteousness rip, kind of like a dose of flaxseed. There is no question that my critic is a technically superior individual that has the advantage of being correct on every single issue. All I have is the power of observation, and a sense of relief that I will never become my semiliterate attacker.

I have also seen similar performance from various manufacturers of equipment operated and maintained by PROJECTIONISTS that make the effort to take care of their equipment, AND that are allowed to do so by factors outside their control (be it management, budgets, poor equipment or environment, lack of knowledge or whatever).

We all know there are situations where, unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Neil's theatre sounds like one where it does. Isn't that a good thing?

Pat

By the way the Jedi Council was on Coruscant, not Dantooine. Dantooine was destroyed by the Death Star. My god, I am one of those geeks that quotes Star Wars now. Someone shoot me.

At any rate, I will confirm that Neil does have one of the best presentations I have ever seen. While I am not the head projectionist for Signature Theatres, I will say that I like doing a service call there. Run loops, check SPL and watch the bikini clad women walk by on the street.

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Dantooine was not destroyed by the Death Star.
Alderaan was decimated by the Death Star, and the Death Star was decimated before it ever had time to destroy Dantooine. Remember, after Alderaan, the fourth moon of the planet Yavin (better known as Yavin IV) was the Death Star's target, being the home of the main base of operations for the Rebel Alliance.

Yes, I am certainly a hard-core Star Wars fan.

~Gracia *The projectionist with the purple hair* Babbidge

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I am currently pushing a 2500watt lamp through the 9000hour mark. I do not have any plans to change the lamp at this moment as it is still giving good light and is not unstable at this point in time. The lamphouse is a CFS/Rentec LSX2500 console, vertical lamp system.

I think it may be the last of the ORC lamps that I had in stock. I am currently using Ushio lamps in the other projectors but will be using Osram in the future as our company has standardised its supply for lamps.

The last lamp I had explode on me was a 4000watt lamp on initial strike when I was in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in the early eighties. (scared the bloody daylights out of me) Didn't lose the mirror as we always took the mirror out for the initial strike just in case.

Regards