(Note: After I typed this, I realised how long it was. Brad; if you feel it should be moved to a "pdf" download or something else, just delete it.)Crown Theatres recently installed two DTS CSS captioning (subtitling) systems at our Minneapolis "Block E" 15 screen complex. This is a stand-alone system (a regular DTS audio system is not needed) that provides text for hearing impaired persons to "read" the dialog spoken on screen. It also provides a separate audio track allowing blind persons to listen to a descriptive narration describing on-screen action.
There are two methods to provide the captioned text. With the first method, a video projector on a swivel ball mount bracket is usually placed at the rear of the auditorium. It could be located closer (on the ceiling for example) if that location provided less distorted or brighter characters. It projects either at the top/bottom or sides of screen, such that everyone can see the text (open captioning.) Interestingly, the directions require the projector be mounted upside down, so the projector must provide an internal switch to invert the characters.
Many people without any handicap issues do not care to see subtitling, so a second method of displaying text has been designed, but is only visible to those who want/need to see it (closed captioning.) This is the method we chose to install. An LED display panel is placed in the rear of the auditorium. Each customer who would like to see the subtitling requests a reflective panel at the box office. The panels have a flexible gooseneck allowing the customer to position the reflective panel such that, in his/her field of view, both the screen and the LED panel are seen. The characters on the LED display are reversed so as to appear normal in the panel. The idea is the subtitling text will be placed under the screen as one would see with normal subtitling, but only those with panels will see it. These panels either fit into the seat armrest cupholder, or have a clamp to mount on a bar bolted to the floor. To insure a good fit in the cupholder, the theater needs to provide the panel manufacturer with type of seat, or the diameter of the cupholder hole. Wheelchair locations in the auditorium obviously do not have an armrest, so reflective panels with a clamp are also provided and mount to a support bar (an upside down "U") bolted to the floor nearby. (Different makes of wheelchairs use varying diameters of steel tubing for the wheelchair frame; the clamp may not fit on all wheelchairs.)
In addition to the projector or panel, there is the DSS CSS system itself. This is a 4U rack-mount chassis with a CD-ROM drive and an internal hard drive. There is a small LCD screen on the front panel and four buttons to navigate through a menu routine for setting up the system. Most of the settings would be a "one-time" only thing, meaning it would only be done during installation (selecting between video projector or LED display, entering the picture/sound delay offset, etc.) The back of the chassis has connectors for the power (IEC type), DTS reader (input, female DB9) VGA connector for the projector (output, female DB9 shell/15pins), a serial port for the LED display (output, male DB9) and two audio connectors (outputs, RCA.)
To broadcast the descriptive narration track, we purchased FM wireless transmitter/ receivers. (We didn't know about the DTS CSS system when the original PO was issued for the projection and sound equipment and as such, had already ordered regular single channel Ultra Stereo infrared transmitters and receivers.) It plugs into the DTS CSS audio output. We bought Williams Sound FM transmitters (PPA T4) and receivers (PPA R7.) The T4 transmitters can be set to one of 10 channels between 72.1 MHz - 75.9 MHz, simply designated by a letter (we have channels "E" and "G".) The R7 receivers must be purchased at a set frequency; they can not be changed. The sound quality on these is excellent, but there are two problems. First, there are only 10 channels, and we have 15 theaters, so we can't use this for all theaters if more systems are added. Second, we now have to keep track of which channel receiver is needed for each auditorium. This was partly solved by placing one of the DTS DSS systems permanently in Aud #1, (the other is in a roll-around rack) so the box office knows customers asking to see a film in #1 always get "E" receivers. An infrared system is really preferred for this use.
Ultra Stereo does not make two channel infrared transmitters, but Williams Sound does. There are several standard infrared frequencies defined and Ultra Stereo can only provide operation at one; 95kHz. The Williams Sound units can transmit on 95 and 250 kHz which would be ideal for providing the regular amplified hearing impaired audio and the descriptive narration track - without having to keep track of which receiver works in which auditorium. It looks like (but I need to verify) the 95/250 kHz Williams Sound transmitters will work with the 95kHz Ultra Stereo receivers. If so, for future theaters, I plan to specify Williams Sound transmitters for auditoriums that have (or are likely to get) a DTS CSS. The Ultra Stereo units can be swapped out and used at other auditoriums, keeping the same receiver headphones and saving some money.
Using the system is very simple. When a print with CSS arrives, place the DTS CSS CD into the CD drive. The unit will copy the contents of the disk to the hard drive, then eject the disk. This takes only about 2-3 minuets. Thread the projector and DTS reader, and go. The DTS CSS will hold about 40 films, recognize which one is being shown and play that film. If more films are added, it will start bumping out old films to make room for new films. I don't know the actual order films get bumped out. Note that the DTS CSS disks are not the same as the regular audio DTS disks. One can not be used in the other's system.
The picture below (which I have to send to Brad; give him some time to put it up) depicts auditoriums 1 and 15 at our theater. For reference, the throw is about 90ft, and the auditorium width is about 60 ft wide. The colors in the picture indicate the quality of the reflected characters from the LED panel as viewed from the seating position within.
The green oval area shows the optimum seating positions. It is centered in front of the display in the stadium. At these locations, the display's characters are bright and appear large in the reflecting panel.
The seating positions that do not have any color associated provide nominal viewing. Most people will be able to adjust the reflector to read subtitles satisfactory. However, depending on the patron's eyesight, they may find the text either too small to read or skewed on an angle. The characters could be read even in the last row of the center stadium section, underneath the display. But there, the display appears so large a full line of text will not "fit" within the reflector panel, and the first and last characters were cut off.
The yellow areas indicates poor locations. These seats are quite far away, (towards the front) reducing the display text size so small as to be almost unreadable. (It actually could be read, but the person would have to spend so much time reading, they would miss on-screen action.) The yellow area in the front center of the stadium seating has the additional disadvantage of being close to the light beam of the projector. When the reflector is adjusted such that the LED characters can be seen, the light beam can also be seen. It is difficult to re-adjust the reflector to avoid the light but still see the characters. It should be noted that for this test, the 35mm projector was operated without any film to create a "worst-case" condition.
The red areas are where the LED display can not be seen, or where the characters are so distorted as to be unreadable. These areas are at the far left and right rear of the auditorium and include the handicapped platform.
No seating positions were found where the head of a person sitting behind a user blocked that user's view.
Generally, it was thought the LED's were not bright enough to disturb patrons sitting almost directly under the display, unless the scene is very dark. We used an amber-colored display which seemed to provide enough light to read, but not too bright for patrons nearby. The amber color LEDs seem like a good color choice. It would be interesting to learn if the color of the display is acceptable to those who are color-blind, and whether certain colors would be better to use than others.
There is a slight high frequency "buzzing" sound heard from the display when the display is updated, but not objectionable. The film's soundtrack will probably "drown out" the buzzing for all but very quiet scenes.
Some type of notice at the box office may be needed, stating that patrons with normal hearing may be asked to move to accommodate a person with both a hearing and seeing deficiency, since there is a relatively small area of optimum seats for both.
-These are some suggestions for theaters wanting to prepare for a DTS CSS system:
The LED display panel we used is about 1ft high and 7ft long with 3 lines of text. It should be placed fairly high on the rear wall, away from the projector port so the reflective panels do not also reflect the projector light beam. (Don S. warned about this, but I had asked the question too late!) The panel is not very heavy, but for safety, plywood backing should be used where the brackets screw into the wall. (Most auditoriums at this theater are THX approved, so we didn't want to put holes entirely through the wall.) A regular 120VAC outlet is needed to power the panel, and a serial wire (2pair shielded) for data. So, check where the power is on the panel and place an outlet nearby. Also, use a plenum-rated serial wire to go through the wall to the audio rack where most users will mount the DTS CSS system. (Check your local building codes; in Las Vegas this would not be allowed. There, any wire going through any wall is required to be in conduit.) On the serial cable we used, one end had a regular DB9, but the other end had a smaller, round Amphenol connector which will easily fit through a 3/4" EMT conduit - so removing a connector to get it through is not necessary. Try to place everything high enough to keep vandals from jumping up and yanking on the panel or cables. The panel comes with brackets to allow the panel to tip down, which helps the rear row, but only a little. Additional brackets could be purchased allowing the display to be moved to multiple auditoriums. Insure the panel's characters can be made to display reverse, as that function is only available in the DTS CSS system when used with video projection, not with LED displays (our panel had a switch on the side to reverse.)
-Suggestions for DTS:
Since there must be plenty of leftover room on the DTS CSS CD, another audio track could be added. This track would be the regular film's soundtrack, but mixed differently. Channels would be mono'ed together, but with the effects track reduced in level, and the lower frequencies attenuated. Several people with hearing problems seem to need voice frequencies boosted to hear, and low frequency sounds (usually effects) can confuse them. Sound processors usually only mono the LCR channels.
DTS CSS instruction manual is written for use with video projectors; almost no information is provided for users installing an LED panel.
It would be nice if two -or more- LED display panels could be used together. Some of our auditoriums are quite wide, and not all areas can be covered with one. For example, handicapped platforms at the rear sides could use a smaller display for that area only.
-Other stuff you might want to know:
Cost: Generally the cost will come to about $12,000 per install. This includes the DTS CSS system, LED panel, some labor (mounting and running wires) and some reflective panels. This also includes a licencing fee.
Licence agreement: There is a legal licencing contract that must be signed. While there were no real shocking requirements, it should be looked at carefully. For example, it specifically states that the DTS CSS system must be synchronized within XXms with the picture. So, don't let your installer just eyeball it and go. Generally, the contract seem to be written to prevent people from installing the system poorly or saying they have it when they either don't, or it broke and they don't fix it.
The descriptive narration track: We were shipped "Scooby-Doo" to test the DTS CSS. It is very weird for a sighted person to listen to the narration. Sometimes the narrator gets really into describing the scene; "Scooby-Doo FLIES across the air! He lands on his head, and BOUNCES onto the bar!" Sometimes the description is very flat; "Scooby-Doo walks across the lobby. The lobby is full of people. Velma sits down." An interesting thing is the narration is designed not to interfere with the film's soundtrack. For this, the narrator never talks when an actor is speaking, or if a major "sound event" is going on. This actually requires some thought of how and when the narration should be done. For example: in one scene Scooby-Doo falls down, bounces up, sees a scary monster, screams in surprise, then runs away. Immediately after, the scene cuts to an actor talking. The narrator will "pre-describe" the action so the listener knows to expect, and can hear the fall, bounce, "surprise music" and his scream. At first I thought something was wrong with the system because the text was in sync but the narration was not in some places.
On a personal note, I really hope that this system is used; I would hate to see it become obsolete like several other systems we have tried in the past. Minneapolis has a high percentage of people with disabilities; many living in the city proper. We did actually meet with handicap people and groups to get some idea of how to set up the system in the best way for the most people. Most of the handicapped people I met there had only minor problems, (just being deaf or blind) but some had problems which I can only describe as... most unfortunate. So, as I packed up my light meter and phase checkers, I am grateful for being able to see, hear and move freely, and am reminded that; "There, but for the grace of God, go I."
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posted 10-18-2002 06:43 PM
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