Suggestions for Updating Projection Room - LOW COST

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Butt wipes aside.... I think we would need to know a bit more about the sound racks you do have and the amount of space available for new ones. if you want wall mount or floor standing, auditorium and screen size, etc. I have always used Mid-Atlantic racks and the USL JSD-60 is an excellent sounding 5.1 / 7.1 processor if you are on a budget. Always stick with QSC amplifiers and either QSC speakers or JBL as a second choice. JBL has kind of fallen to the dogs as far as the company goes, but they still make a respectable cinema product. What the guys above have recommended for TMS would be fine.

https://www.qsc.com/cinema/products/...rs/usl-jsd-60/

[Frank Cox]

I like the wording on that marquee. I just swiped it for my ad this week:

theatre - Mar 31-page001.png

[Scott Norwood]

Nice ad, although the mix of serif and sans-serif type would probably drive Bobby Henderson crazy. Good for you for advertising and letting the public know that you aren't permanently closed.

[Frank Cox]

theatre - Apr 7-page001.png
I guess I'll just keep updating my weekly ad like this until I have an actual movie to promote.

Sigh...

I stuck with the serif font this time, though! (My desktop publishing program defaults to sans serif, so I always have to remember to change it. If I set the default the other way, then I'd still have to change it the other way. Can't win....

[Frank Cox]

theatre - Apr 14-page001.png

[Mike Blakesley]

I took our ad out of the paper. I decided if we gotta cut back expenses (and we do), there's no point in advertising something everybody knows.

Here's our marquee:
poster.jpg

[Frank Cox]

My ad doesn't cost me anything since it's part of a trade that I do with the guy who own the publishing company. I might as well use the space for something.

I turned off my sign. No point in paying for the power to illuminate that (however much or little it is) when there won't be anything going on.

[Carsten Kurz]

Wow. Just 'Intermission' would be such a wonderful classy statement on a Marquee currently.

[Mike Blakesley]

I thought about that.

I also thought about keeping it shut off, but I figure it's sort of a beacon of hope for people to see it lit up. This thing has been lit for almost 90 years and I'll be damned if a little virus is going to shut it off. Plus it looks nice and lots of people take pictures of it. (Even in the Coronapocalypse, I'm still a showman at heart!)

[David Ferguson]

Out of interest, how much power does the sign use?

[Carsten Kurz]

The way you put it it's a bit more funny, which may be a good idea currently.

We disabled our large neon sign, but the backlit marquee stays on. It probably eats 1kWh per day. I change statements every couple of days, and people have lots of fun passing by.

[Mike Blakesley]

Out of interest, how much power does the sign use?

I have no idea.... it is folded into our general utility bill. It has 54 neon tubes in it, if that tells you anything. I probably don't want to know how much it costs to run it.

[Scott Norwood]

That Roxy sign is gorgeous! Thanks for keeping the neon, rather than going to LEDs.

[Armand Daiguillon]

Hi all,

I'm looking for relatively cheap suggestions for the following items:

- Audio rack - the one's we have currently are all old and decrepit

- CRU drive docking stations - to ingest DCPs - will be easier since we do not have a TMS

On the note of a TMS, the theater only has two screens - should we even bother getting a TMS?

Also looking for recommendations for a whole new 5.1 audio surround sound system for each theater - again, low price

Cheers

Since you need something low cost and you mentioned sound stuff, I have a cheap amp solution for you. ($300 avg cost)
I'd recommend the Pyle Audio PT8000CH. Its single unit that outputs 8 channels @ 1000 watts max per channel, all in one amp.
I know the tech guys on here will take one look at this and have a fit because it is not designed specifically for a theater.
But I have been using it in one of my auditoriums (decent size 40 ft x 90 ft auditorium) now for 8 months with no issues ... and it sounds great.

The rest of what you will need needs to be dci compliant, and that's rarely cheap unless you can find used ...which is out there.

Hope that helps and good luck !!

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I'd recommend the Pyle Audio PT8000CH. Its single unit that outputs 8 channels @ 1000 watts max per channel, all in one amp.

I would never install an all in one amplifier in any circumstance. I had a customer some years back in Salt Lake City that did just that in a six plex. He decided to buy his sound systems directly from Smart Devices in Atlanta. They supplied a 6 channel AB Systems amplifier in those systems. Now I never had very much trouble with AB Systems over the years, but every single one of these six channel amplifiers failed. That in turn kept him OFF THE SCREEN for a day or two while I either fixed the bad amplifier or while I replaced them with separates. I will still use multi channel amplifiers (QSC) in surround channels, but never recommend to use a single multi channel amplifier to power an entire auditoriums sound system. Believe me, my customer admitted that being cheap did not pay and eventually all those AB systems amplifiers were pulled and replaced with separate amplifiers.