"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Hey, Bobby- do you know anywhere I can find a listing of the particular RealD cinemas equipped with the newer higher-gain screen material?

Unfortunately, no.

The difference in brightness viewers are seeing from one RealD equipped location to the next is due to a newer RealD "XL" system introduced just recently. The theater is still using the same kind of silver screen. The RealD system itself is different -mainly using a different model of Z-screen and operating the projector lamp at normal "2D" levels.

The theater location page on the RealD website isn't much help; it only says if a theater has any RealD equipped houses instead of how many and what kind of system in being used.

The DCinemaToday web site goes farther in actually tracking how many RealD systems are installed in a particular locations, but it doesn't list the different systems (RealD, RealD XL or RealD XLS for Sony 4K).

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

For cripes sake, one could extend this “natural/unnatural grain” argument to natural/unnatural colors and natural/unnatural contrast, etc. with motion pictures.

I find it very refreshing we're finding more and more to agree about...

Very well put, and certainly an argument I've had more times than I care to remember...

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

The difference in brightness viewers are seeing from one RealD equipped location to the next is due to a newer RealD "XL" system introduced just recently. The theater is still using the same kind of silver screen.

Thanks, Bobby! I could've sworn there was a higher-gain screen material involved.

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

The RealD system itself is different -mainly using a different model of Z-screen and operating the projector lamp at normal "2D" levels.

That'd be the polarizing overlay?

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

The theater location page on the RealD website isn't much help; it only says if a theater has any RealD equipped houses instead of how many and what kind of system in being used.

Yeah, tell me about it. Their theatre locator doesn't even list my preferred house (!!). I did a fair bit of searching before asking you and couldn't really find much out there.

You know what we need to make? An IMDb/Wiki site for commercial theatres, focused on technical specs/issues and audience reviews. How cool would it be to be able to search on 'HPS4000 sound system AND minimum screen size 40 feet AND 70mm-capable' and find the nearest one to your house? I'm familiar with in70mm.com, but I want comprehensive.

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

You know, I can just see myself as being the vendor (either the waiter, the hair stylist, etc.) and you being the dude ‘paying’ for his dinner or perhaps the lady in the chair ‘negotiating’ her haircut/highlights in one of these following situations…………….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2a8TRSgzZY

Well, that's a bit unfair... Would you rather yet another sycophant or a genuine discussion in this thread of yours?

If I'm anything in that video, I'm you're the waiter, and I'm the chef scowling at the idiocy of the whole affair.

You own a Kuro right?

Yarp. Actually, the review is from the next gen, I've got a 60" Pro-150FD in a "bat cave" (basement HT, dark grey walls, and the only light is the soft glow from my equipment rack off angle). Still, questioning my display's a wee bit of a deflection...

I actually only ever saw the title on (of all things) DennisM's JVC LCOS PJ setup (ah, acronyms!). It's a lovely setup, properly calibrated as well. And, yeah, some of it looked a bit, well, "murky". I haven't picked up the disc yet, alas, as I'm not a huge fan of the film.

Still, I don't abide hybole like this either: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...&postcount=525 (hey, look who it is!)

All that being said, while I don't worship at the altar of black-for-black sake in HT setups, the Kuro beats the crap out of nearly every LCD setup I've ever seen, even at the high end of the luminosity spectrum. But, yeah, that's "swinging privates" land, I've got no need to beat people over the head with the superiority of my purchasing decisions to theirs...

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

I'm familiar with in70mm.com, but I want comprehensive.

Well, make it happen! I mean, what the hell are you DOING with your time other than posting here?

Oh, wait... Getting back to work...sigh....

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Well, make it happen!

Not that I need another project, but I'd just consider it if I had a few volunteers to join me. Wanna be conscripted?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I'll be running around causing trouble Monday Tuesday and Wed tho, cause my gig is done Monday morning

Is it at Staples ?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Well, that's a bit unfair... Would you rather yet another sycophant or a genuine discussion in this thread of yours? ;

I will say that you have a funny perspective on things and just when I was about ready to reply with “No wonder nobody likes you Tuttle, everything’s a God damn debate”, -

you pull this out and save your arse …………
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=9934

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

You know what we need to make? An IMDb/Wiki site for commercial theatres, focused on technical specs/issues and audience reviews. How cool would it be to be able to search on 'HPS4000 sound system AND minimum screen size 40 feet AND 70mm-capable' and find the nearest one to your house? I'm familiar with in70mm.com, but I want comprehensive.

Well, I’ve got to give a well-deserved plug for the little fella (shot on Super 16 [ “Though he be but little, he is fierce.” ] with the slo-mo stuff captured on HD cams), since it opened in your neck of the woods and also in L.A. this past weekend.

Check out your local showtimes so as not to miss………
http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/movies/26hurt.html

Expect a technical article about the motion picture coming out in the July issue of the ASC magazine.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

(shot on Super 16 [ “Though he be but little, he is fierce.” ] with the slo-mo stuff captured on HD cams)

Interesting choice. I wonder how it impacted financing/green light.

The trailer intrigued me, but the credits raise my skepticism. Kathryn Bigelow has never done anything for me. Not to say it's impossible that she could, but I remain unconvinced. Have you seen it yet?

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I will say that you have a funny perspective on things and just when I was about ready to reply with “No wonder nobody likes you Tuttle, everything’s a God damn debate”

Eesh. For the Love of the God I hope you can't pull "For the Love of the Game" quotes out on a whim, sans the Google...

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

You know what we need to make? An IMDb/Wiki site for commercial theatres, focused on technical specs/issues and audience reviews. How cool would it be to be able to search on 'HPS4000 sound system AND minimum screen size 40 feet AND 70mm-capable' and find the nearest one to your house? I'm familiar with in70mm.com, but I want comprehensive.

It would be great to have a fully accurate, comprehensive database of commercial theaters around the world featuring info on screen sizes, screen curvatures, seat counts, existence of balconies or not and genre of theater (mainstream, art house, revival, part time/live stage, etc.). Tech heads such as myself would want to know what kind of projection system, console and lenses were being used, the types of film/digital/3D formats supported, speaker systems, amplifiers, cinema processor, automation, servers, THX certification, etc.

Such a database is definitely possible to put together. Unfortunately that would require the cooperation of major theater chains and third parties visiting the booth taking note of what equipment actually was in place. Hell has a greater chance of freezing than that happening.

Honestly, I think most major theater chains and most major movie distribution booking departments don't have an accurate inventory of how most first run commercial theaters are equipped. At best their information is vague and frequently out of date. Lots of theaters open and close. In the meantime various pieces of equipment get moved from one location to another. Not everyone is keeping track of that.

Smaller movie theater chains and independently run theaters are typically much more open to allow people to tour the booth, take photos and talk about projection and sound equipment. That's not typically so for the big chains. Their management is borderline paranoid like they're protecting sensitive information when the truth is any casual viewer could walk up to the last row in the auditorium, peek through the port glass and pretty much see all the equipment in the booth. None of that gear is special or unique! No chain has an exclusive deal with Dolby for Dolby Digital Cinema or any other Dolby hardware for that manner. Same for DLP, THX, DTS, DD, QSC amps, etc.

Some theater chains do cut corners, defer maintenance and choose cheaper gear. Maybe they're trying to hide those compromises. Here's one hint: one of the most obvious limitations one can find in a movie theater is the tiny, underpowered speakers on the walls. For fun, walk up to the screen and lift up the black skirt at the bottom to see how few subwoofer drivers are there and if they're actually working.

I usually don't ask for a booth tour from a theater that presented the show badly. Customers don't have to visit the booth to tell if the quality of projection or sound was crap. They'll be able to figure out that situation right there in the auditorium. If the theater did a great job then I might be wondering, "wow, what do they have up there in the booth?" I could see much of that from the port glass, but I want to talk some tech with the manager or projectionist.

Right now, web sites like CinemaTour, Film-Tech and DCinemaToday are among the best Internet resources for commercial movie theaters. But they're far from complete in terms of what we would call "comprehensive" on the quality of information about first run movie theater locations.

Oh, and regarding the Z-screen (about RealD XL), yes that's the active polarizing filter that runs at a 144Hz refresh rate.

[Eternal_Sunshine]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Well, that's a bit unfair... Would you rather yet another sycophant or a genuine discussion in this thread of yours?

Such a nice, backhanded way to insult us lowly folks posting on Penton's thread... your horse is getting higher by the minute, isn't it.

And what you call "genuine discussion" more often than not reeks of sophistry and/or playing devil's advocate just for the heck of it.

Originally Posted by sharkshark

The Kuro beats the crap out of nearly every LCD setup I've ever seen, even at the high end of the luminosity spectrum. But, yeah, that's "swinging privates" land, I've got no need to beat people over the head with the superiority of my purchasing decisions to theirs...

Only you just did...

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

Such a database is definitely possible to put together. Unfortunately that would require the cooperation of major theater chains and third parties visiting the booth taking note of what equipment actually was in place. Hell has a greater chance of freezing than that happening.

I'm envisioning something voluntary, put together by interested individuals like you and I. Ideally, with enough user-development, enough of a useful germ of information could assemble that theatres might begin to see the advantage of sharing some of their information in an official capacity. How much information a theatre might volunteer and how much might be supplemented by knowledgeable individuals would vary by theatre or by chain.

In my day, I've met a lot of projectionists, former projectionists and even just big chain ticket-takers who are acutely interested in cinema exhibition technology along with their meager wage. I'm sure you have, too. I think there's a network of interested folk out there. The number of houses with listings for things like viewing angles, actual screen dimensions, audio B-chain, etc. might remain fairly limited, but even just having listings of things like sound formats in a unified place would be helpful.

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Eternal_Sunshine

Such a nice, backhanded way to insult us lowly folks posting on Penton's thread... your horse is getting higher by the minute, isn't it.

...and you should think this apply to you directly why? I'm sorry, am I wrong that there are some that their only contribution seems to involve a plus symbol and the numeral one? I hardly thought that an insult to you specifically, but if you felt it to be, at least you know it wasn't an Ad Homenem fallacy...

And what you call "genuine discussion" more often than not reeks of sophistry and/or playing devil's advocate just for the heck of it.

Just as above, I usually get annoyed that "Sophistry" got shafted (by Plato's mischaracterization, for the most part) as being a negative connotation.

The term sophism originated from Greek sophistēs, meaning "wise-ist", one who "does" wisdom, one who makes a business out of wisdom (sophós means "wise man")

Yeah, I'll own that one too....

Only you just did...

Oh, you picked up on that, huh? Funny that, me, you know, making explicit what it is that I was doing in a semi-ironic way, even without the emoticon... But your use of rolly eyes, man, *ZING!* Naillllled it!

Meanwhile, yeah, this stuff: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...3&postcount=83 is the kind of thing I find as tiresome, I guess, as you find my "advocacy". To each their own.

Still, we could do this forever... Thanks for reading my posts, and I genuinely wish you luck on your CIH crusade, I think it's an important contribution to the format, and think that your posts on that matter are serving to improve the format as a whole.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

I'm sorry, am I wrong that there are some that their only contribution seems to involve a plus symbol and the numeral one?

+1








Oh, wait... you said only contribution? Rats!

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Oh, wait... you said only contribution? Rats!

I could HUG you you're so adorable?

So, did you watch Ep 2 of this season's Top Gear? Ah, to drag race a Veyron and a McLaren F1 on the streets of Abu Dhabi... *drool*

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Eesh. For the Love of the God I hope you can't pull "For the Love of the Game" quotes out on a whim, sans the Google...

Hah !
Google for that quote?

lol…hardly, as it is easy to recite that fine quote from For the Love of the Game, when one also knows off the top of one’s head things like the association Kevin Costner has with Cal State Fullerton and its baseball program………and even more esoteric things (but far more practical ), like how long it takes to walk with him from Cal State Fullerton’s baseball field to one of (if not the best) piazza joints in all of the O.C…………."Tony’s" in Placentia.

Now sharkshark, if you are familiar with the above motion picture, let’s see if you can tell me what type of pitch caused the reaction from “Tuttle” to invoke that quoted response from “Billy Chapel”………without getting into a God damn debate or negotiation with me.

Or, since you may not be familiar with dem baseball pitches and may be more into da tunes, tell me which scene from the movie was this song playing……….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxKJy1RBslI

Hope !

[Penton-Man]

“I’m goin to throw a little harder than usual today”,

so, Blu-ray forum member “mpsan” if you’re reading this week, do you know which mutual friend of both of ours is pictured here with a President in the Oval Office ?............

[Doctorossi]

The only pitch that matters, as regards Mr. Costner, is the one at Highbury.

R. I. P.