Dear Bippy....my response to your post is in blue/red below:
Something that needs to be pointed out now is that the original poster needs to re-think his business model. From an earlier post, it sounded as if he was planning to sell $25 tickets that include both the admission to the screening and a dinner. That is probably a bad idea--film distributors will take a percentage of the ticket price (usually versus a minimum guarantee), which means that he will be paying a small fortune for screening rights and giving up food revenue. This is why you never see movie tickets sold with popcorn included--the theatre wants to keep all of the concession revenue and only share the film admission with the distributor. Typical terms on a later-run movie that _might_ be available on Blu-Ray would be something ike $300 vs. 35%; this means that you guarantee $300 to the distributor, or you pay 35% of the ticket _gross_, whichever is higher. This is why a single-price movie/dinner combination won't work. From an operational point of view: as a commercial theatre (if this is what the original poster wants to be), you need 35mm or D-cinema. Not Blu-Ray. Some late-run titles _might_ be available on Blu-Ray, but most titles will not be available until their Blu-Ray release date. Perhaps the original poster is fine with this, but it is something to note. Also Blu-Ray is not really an exhibition format--it is not reliable enough for commercial screenings, and it is often dumbed-down for home use (sound is often not the same as the theatrical mix, for example).
Do you really think I would go to all of this effort to build a baffled movie screen, and spend a year building all of these speakers if we had not already researched options for legally screening major motion pictures at our winery? The cost is fixed per viewing, regardless of how much I sell tickets for. These are movies that have already been released to Blu-ray; and they do come in a blu-ray format. Cheers.
- throw distance has _nothing_ to do with screen luminance; it is all about image size, lens speed (which may not be the same for all focal lengths), screen size, and screen gain
I hate to say it, but you are wrong on this one. You do not need to be a Cinematographer to know that distance is directly correlated to brightness on a linear scale. You actually contradict your own statement by then stating "its not about distance, its about image size". The further away you get, the larger the image, the dimmer it gets as the same amount of light is spread over a larger area. Even amateur astronomers (like myself) know that if you double the size of a planet in your telescope by doubling the power of its lens, you quadruple inversely the brightness of the planet you are looking at.
- 5K lumens is fine for this size screen
I agree, having been able to watch a few movies on it at this point. It can even take a lot of artificial ambient light without issue. However, allow full daylight in through our 8 large windows and 3 french doors and viewing is a no go. Simple drapes will be fixing that issue, again, allowing the projector to easily overcome the artificial ambient light here and there.
- why a 16x9 screen? almost zero feature films exist in this aspect ratio; most current releases will be either 1.85:1 or 2.39:1; the screen should be in one of these formats, with a masking system to create the other (as well as 1.37:1 and 1.66:1, for older films and European films, as needed).
Why 16x9? Because:
1. Most High Definition content is presented in this format, and more television will be watched on this screen than movies (for instance; the Super Bowl ;-)
2. 1.78 is pretty darn close to 1.85...and not all 1.85 content is actually 1.85 content....proven by the many movies I have already sampled on our 182" 16:9 screen. Ever watch a 1.85 movie on an everyday 16:9 (1.78) TV? See any black bars on the top and bottom? Didn't think so. At any rate, there was a 1.85 movie in which I had tiny horizontal bars. I simply zoomed in a tad to fill the screen and had an inch or two of bleeding into my triple velvet on either side of the screen. You cannot see the bleeding at all, and you miss absolutely nothing by shaving off ~3" of an image that is 168" wide.
3. Because 16:9 maximizes the size of the screen in all settings. Imagine for a moment that I went anamorphic (which I did consider). Such an aspect ratio does not make the image any larger than what I can produce on a 16:9 screen. However, If my screen was 2.39:1, and I watched HD content, my image size would be SIGNIFICANTLY smaller. Quite frankly, I would rather experience the same size anamorphic image with horizontal bars, than experience vertical bars on much smaller 16:9 content.
- the projector choice was poor--it's clearly a unit designed for home use (no interchangeable lenses, no douser/shutter, single-chip DLP, no HD-SDI input, etc.); a professional 3-chip DLP unit (preferably one of the new S2K D-cinema units, at about $30k) would have been a much better choice and would be more flexible and reliable.
You clearly did not pay any attention what-so-ever to my stated BUDGET. Would I have purchased a BenQ SH960 if I had just won the Powerball? Hardly. To be fair, I would probably sell our little castle winery and actually build an actual castle if I had won the Powerball. At any rate, I am confident we have the best projector that $5,000 can buy that will provide sufficient lumens for our application. The blackest blacks do suffer just a little, but without another HDTV with superior contrast sitting right next to it to compare, you really don't notice it. In fact, I am very satisfied with this projector, and I hardly think it was intended "for home use". I say this because most home projectors do not exceed 1,200 lumens, and have better contrast ratios. This projector is specifically marketed as a large conference room/church projector.
- the sound processor should be a Dolby CP650/CP750, Ultra-Stereo JSD-80/100, or some similar unit designed for professional use that will be reliable and serviceable for many years; home-type equpiment has no place in commercial theatres.
Agree to disagree. I would again go back to my stated budget of $15,000 for a 13' x 14' x 30" baffle wall, 182" screen, 6" screen border, 3 main loudspeakers, 12 surround speakers, 4 horned subs, 1 AVR, 8 crown amplifiers, 1,000 feet of 14 gauge speaker wire, speaker mounts, speaker wall plates, and paint for the speakers. Did I miss anything? Probably. I find my Onkyo works just fine. :-)
- there should be a video monitor and sound monitor in the rack for previewing and troubleshooting
I have thought of this, and have looked at a rack mountable 19" 4:3 monitor, though it might be just as easy to buy a standard 19" monitor and set it on a standard rack mountable shelf. As my Audio/Video budget is completely exhausted, such a thing will have to wait. Besides that, after installing an AVR, Blu-ray Player, DBS DVR, 8 amplifiers (9 after I install the in-ceiling speakers throughout the winery), a DMX Controller, and a 12-input Mixer...I am quickly running out of room in my 7' tall rack. At the end of the day, we are a winery showing movies ;-)
- amps usually go in the bottom of a sound rack for stability reasons--you don't want that rack to tip over and kill someone; just make sure that it's not top-heavy
Have no fear...it's bolted to the wall ;-)
- no comment on the speakers, but I get the impression that the original poster was planning to use the same system for both movie sound and for other events--this is a bad idea (unless "other events" just means low-volume background music); he'll understand why as soon as someone blows a center-channel horn diaphragm by doing something stupid.
1. The rack is locked...ergo no one can turn up the volume but me.
2. The center channel is not used for live music. ;-)
3. The 4pi in combination with their corresponding Crown XLS2000 amps wired in bridged mode would be very difficult to blow...as everyone in the room would experience permanent hearing damage before it could be turned up loud enough to blow a diaphragm. Perhaps someone could turn EVERYTHING all the way to the max without content being played and then have it all come at you all at once when content is started? Yes, I would be in trouble then....but this would almost certainly have to be done on purpose...and again - I refer you back to my first point: the rack is locked.
- I question the wisdom of having the video projector under the balcony--it will produce noise and heat, both of which should be kept away from your patrons; also, it will need to be serviced (or have the lamp(s) replaced at some point, and you probably do not want to drag out a ladder to do this in view of the customers.
It is aesthetically pleasing where I have it mounted. Again, at the end of the day, we are a winery with a big ass screen and bad ass sound ;-)
- you will want/need an automation system to control house lights, fader settings, format changes, etc., unless you want to pay a projectionist to babysit the equipment at every screening (though I'm not sure how you would automate Blu-Ray)
Gee wiz....if only I had ran 700' of DMX cable controlled by a rack mountable DMX controller. And only if I had an AVR with an RS232 port...like an Onkyo 709. 'nuff said. Also, I may WANT such control, but I certainly don't NEED it. I will say it again; we are a winery showing movies.
- in the pictures, the screen looks to be an uncomfortable distance off of the floor; you will have to check the sightlines from every seating position (while seated, not while standing) and confirm...that one is a judgment call.
I have been in many professional cinemas that have their screens even higher than ours, and they did not provide stadium seating either. Our screen height was determined using careful measurements taking into consideration patrons both on ground level, and those in the balcony. I also took into consideration the continuous direction nature of my 4pi mains, and positioned them in such a way that all audience members are within its spectrum, also utilizing JBL's Professional Cinema specifications for speaker placement and positioning.
- curtains for the screen (regular curtains, in addition to masking curtains) would look nice and protect the screen from damange when non-movie events take place.
Perhaps, but the screen is high enough that it should be protected from accidental damage. Besides, the stained birch is looking pretty nice...I would hate to cover it up. :-)
- if you are stuck mounting the video projector under the balcony (instead of in a projection booth), at least consider enclosing it in a soundproof and ventilated box to keep it from annoying your patrons
I have considered this, but not for the reasons you mention. I would be more concerned with tall patrons being able to touch the projector and potentially damage it. Again, this would have to be done intentionally, as it is pretty out of the way to accidental damage. This is a project for later when I am not busy finishing the winery's construction.
- if you are stuck with consumer-grade equipment (video projector, Blu-Ray player, processor), then at least have a backup for everything to ensure that you never have to give out passes or refunds to customers due to equipment malfunction; trust me, there is nothing worse than that.
I will take my chances. Your point is well taken, but the cost of refunds/rainchecks on a single screening is far exceeded by the cost of duplicating all of my consumer equipment "just in case". Again, at the end of the day, we are a winery showing movies, sporting events, etc.
I have to say I am a fairly discerning customer myself...and without any EQ having yet been done, I think our little dinner theater is freaking awesome. I can assure you that 99% of the population that will ever grace our halls will be less discerning. The other 1% can kiss my arse ;-)
Edited by dutchswan0311 - 1/9/13 at 8:08pm
What else is going on in town or close to do while we are there? PM me if you don;t want to clog the thread anymore than I already have 
