Need a technician reference

[Jill Mobley]

I just found out today that the company that has been servicing my projector is out of the service business. Of course, tonight there is a big green blob on the screen. I am looking for suggestions for a technician. Southeast Missouri

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Tri-State Theater Service in Memphis is the closest. I never used them, never worked for them... so can't vouch for them. They have been around for a really long time, so hopefully they are not the ones that went out of business.

[Jill Mobley]

TriState Digital are the ones that are out of the service business. They still have sales.

[Randy Stankey]

Well, if they sell projectors, who's installing them?

Are they taking peoples' money then leaving them high and dry when the delivery van shows up on their doorsteps?

Won't THEY give you a recommendation on who to call?

Can't you convince them to come and make one last service call to fix up your ailing projector? It's only fair. Right?

[Sam Chavez]

Sonic is still in business, no?

[Harold Hallikainen]

Yes. See https://www.dcinematoday.com/dc/pr?newsID=5910

[Leo Enticknap]

The nearest I know to you who is definitely still in the service business is Sound Vision Technical, LLC, out of Troy, AL - 466 miles from you, according to Google Maps. Contact is Chase Taylor - chase {at} soundvision.tech . Strong Technical Services offers nationwide coverage, but the cost you'd be looking at would likely depend on where their nearest tech and/or shop is located.

[Jill Mobley]

Thank you for the replies. I will contact Sonic and Sound Vision on Monday.

[Leo Enticknap]

Well, if they sell projectors, who's installing them?

Are they taking peoples' money then leaving them high and dry when the delivery van shows up on their doorsteps?

Won't THEY give you a recommendation on who to call?

This issue isn't as simple as it seems at first glance.

A DCI digital cinema projector requires installation (and planned maintenance) by a trained technician. Some manufacturers require that the technician has attended, and passed, their own training school, and void (or at least, threaten to void) the warranty of any projector that is installed by someone who doesn't have the certificate. Others don't, but as a general rule, the person installing the projector will need to be able to do things that the end user won't (e.g. color calibration, LAN configuration, etc.).

The larger chains, as a general rule, will have these techs on their staff, and do not need installation service from the dealer who sells them the projectors. Another scenario, common for high end residential installs and post houses, is that we sell the projector to an audio-visual contractor who can take care of the installation themselves, perhaps with a little phone, email, and/or Teamviewer hand-holding from us. Then there are the smaller chains, independents, and residential installs that want to have us do the install.

Giving recommendations is fraught with issues. If the tech you recommend is having a bad day, or even if the relationship between him/her and the customer goes sour for whatever reason, the dealer is then potentially dragged in to the mess. Bundling the sale with installation service is also problematic - some customers would then be paying for a service they don't want or need.

The bottom line is that installing and servicing DCI projectors requires specialist skills, for which there is relatively little demand; and that demand is spread thinly across the country. I, and I'm sure all the techs on F-T, have occasionally taken plane rides or long road trips to do planned maintenance or minor repairs, simply because there is no-one else based any closer to the theater. In some cases, that long haul travel is an unavoidable part of the cost of running a movie theater a long distance away from the shops of any service vendor.

Fingers crossed that Jill can find someone relatively close.

[Randy Stankey]

A physician or a dentist will refer his former patients to a new practice or another doctor within the same practice when they retire.

If you take your car to a mechanic for its yearly road-worthiness inspection and there is rust on the body which makes your car fail inspection, that mechanic will give you the names of a few autobody repair shops if you ask. It would still be up to you to call around and make the arrangements.

I, personally, went to have a consult with a doctor who had retired. He made a special call to his former office and arranged an appointment for me because my father, my brother and I had been going to see him since we were kids. We were all very clear that this would be the last time.

Sure, technicians have to be factory authorized to work on projectors. On the other hand, doctors have to go to medical school and get a license to practice medicine. Auto mechanics often have to be factory authorized, too.

Yes, travel is difficult, expensive and time consuming but diesel mechanics have to travel hundreds of miles in order to repair semi-trucks and construction equipment.

What about all those mechanics and technicians who go around servicing the GPS units and other computerized stuff on big farm tractors? They travel for their jobs, too. They have to have specialized training, too. Some of that training is far more rigorous than any movie projector would require. There are human safety issues to consider.

So, you're telling me that movie projectors are so special that the people who sell, install and service them can't do something that other lifelong professionals and tradesmen would do in a comparable situation?

They can't give you a list of names of businesses to call but make it clear that it is up to you to make arrangements on your own?

They can't say, "All right, we'll give you one, last service call but after this you need to find somebody else?

Unless somebody died and they can't find anybody else to fill his shoes, I'm not buying it!

[Jill Mobley]

To be clear - my projector is installed. I am looking to the future hoping to find someone before I am in a dire situation!

I have enjoyed doing business with TriState Theatre Supply and TriState Digital. Covid was not kind to either business. I don't know what the future holds for them. I wish them the best.

[Randy Stankey]

Yes, but didn't you say that there was a big, green blotch on your screen?

That's why I thought you wanted a service call.

[Jill Mobley]

Sorry, yes. I do need a service call. I got all flustered with the talk of installing a projector and certified techs. I thought I had been misleading.
I did not word my previous post properly!

[Leo Enticknap]

Best case scenario is that pulling, contact cleaning, and reseating the ICP will fix it. Worst is that this is a Barco projector and that the green formatter is toast (the only fix for which is a new light engine). Intermediate is a connection between the backplane and the formatter (will take some labor to figure out, but won't need a pricey part).

Randy: there are far more physicians, dentists, and Diesel mechanics in existence than there are movie theater techs. A typical small city has 50,000 people with teeth that need planned maintenance, but only 5-10 DCI projectors. Neither was I moaning about the fact that I occasionally have to do long haul travel. It comes with the job, and so be it. I was merely pointing out that often, the cost of that long haul travel has to be borne by the smaller, independent theaters that are least able to do so, because they don't have a mega-chain tech on standby to jump in the car, and are not located anywhere near a service vendor.

[Jon Dent]

We use Heartland Theater Services out of Council Bluffs, IA. I know for sure they service NEC and Barco projectors.

Main downside is that they're a small operation (only a couple of guys).