CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Tim in Phoenix · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 4409 Location: Phoenix

Guys

In the news this week; AMC Theaters lost $2B in the first quarter and management is unsure when or if they might reopen or is it worth trying?

World's largest movie theater chain..............they have 11 locations with a hundred projectors just around Phoenix. Dang..........

wanderer · Joined: 11 Jan 2015 Posts: 76

I saw that story and was thinking where would all the speakers, amps and seats from the various cinemas end up going if they closed. If they did end up closing then all those items would hit the used market at once in a flood which wouldn't help their sale pricing.

I didn't even think about what the market would be like for used 4K DLP cinema projectors or where those would go.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 2:32 pm Post subject:

All the stuff will be sold at auction. Should be some decent deals there, esp for the video. Audio, that will get snapped up by collectors likely.

HaydnG90 · Joined: 22 May 2006 Posts: 1356

These commercial 4K projectors are light canons, no? Not to mention the throw distance of the lenses. Hardly ideal options for the average HT installation.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 8:23 pm Post subject:

Oooooo new Halloween projectors! Very Happy

Tim in Phoenix · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 4409 Location: Phoenix

"These commercial 4K projectors are light cannons, no? Not to mention the throw distance of the lenses. Hardly ideal options for the average HT installation."

Probably four or five to one lens throws. 10,000 lumens or more. 240 volts' stove outlet. Noisy with fans and throwing considerable heat. The lamp enclosures have explosion-proof cages, they look like old time divers' helmets. Can I edge blend? LOL There might be a few laser rigs; they have good light output on some of those.

Not sure what sort of sound equipment in current use. Altec is dated, JBL perhaps. Lots of amps for multi-channel.

$80K machines could go for small change. The lamps will be several thousand each. I was looking at a Hughes "jet-ski" fifteen years ago for $4,000, down from $80,000 new.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:43 pm Post subject:

There is massive demand for these projectors within the touring industry... which has also taken a bit of a crap recently.

Also, AMC isn't officially gone.. yet. I'm sure they'll get a bailout..

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 10:55 pm Post subject:

Wonder if I can project Pumpkins on the clouds? ..ooOO

HaydnG90 · Joined: 22 May 2006 Posts: 1356

jeffslife · Joined: 17 Apr 2010 Posts: 4190 Location: ohio usa

I would build a pole barn.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 12:36 am Post subject:

Just think if you turned one sideways....the size of the SPACE INVADERS game you could play!

virusc · Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 358 Location: Massachusetts

are most of the PJ's even 4k? The one near me I would say most are 2k and don't look that good at least from a CR perspective. The sound system is nearly useless for anyone with less than a 15-20' screen and huge room and at that point do you want large and cheap horn loaded speakers? Only the deluxe screens would have the better gear right? Just saying >80% of the stuff is going to be worn out commercial gear that using 3 phase power and expensive lamps.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 9:24 pm Post subject:

Zebra · Joined: 02 Jul 2020 Posts: 93 Location: NJ USA

Large commercial dci projectors all use removable lenses and have a range of options. There will almost certainly be a short throw and standard throw option.

The ones I've seen used multiple bulbs with options to use them one at a time if less light was needed. They had variable bulb power too. On their lowest setting with a dark-colored screen, you'd be able to get a nice image in a home theater.

In terms of quality, most theater projectors are in a different league to home theater projectors. Some are capable of ansi contrast of over 1000:1. You'd be lucky to get 250:1 with most HT projectors. They use precision all glass lenses too (that cost $20,000 on their own) and they use chips 3x the size of HT chips. You could light floor to ceiling / wall to wall screens with no image degradation.

You don't always see them in their best light though. Theaters use white screens in rooms without proper light control. That's a contrast killer for any projector. They can get a bit lazy with calibration and replacing old bulbs too.

The biggest issue with them is their size and heat. They are enormous, loud and hot. They need their own room with proper ventilation. There's also the running cost. Aside from the latest laser models, they all use Xenon lamps costing $1000 every 500 hours... For these reasons, I think they'll have trouble selling them at any price. Not many people want something like that in their home.

Still, if you can get passed those issues, a 20,000+ lumen projector would enable you to use black screen material in a home theater. It would be an incredibly vibrant, high contrast and flatscreen-like image. You'd have no issue using one in a bright room with cheap black screen material too. E.g, Rosebrand 190 black front projection screen material at $28 / yard. You'd get a very dim image with a HT projector but a 15,000-20,000 lumen DCI projector would light it up (I've tried it).

CIR Engineering · Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2020 2:55 am Post subject:

Zebra · Joined: 02 Jul 2020 Posts: 93 Location: NJ USA

I doubt you'll find many digital projectors that need 3 phase power. You normally only need it for large motors that draw significantly more power than even the largest digital theater projectors. Even if it was required, you'd be able to use a converter to power it from a domestic 240v 1 phase source. I run a 7.5hp 3 phase CNC spindle in my garage on a 1 phase 240v 60amp breaker via a variable frequency drive. I've run an 11kw motor there too.

Putting in the right power outlet and ventilation is not a huge cost in the context of a home theater room that could do justice to a $100,000+ projector. Size, heat and the wife ("you're not bringing that monstrosity into my house" etc) are the ones that would make me pause.

There are a number of smaller DCI projectors made for post production and small theaters (with screens less than 25 feet wide). Some of these would make for a more suitable large home theater display but I doubt there will huge bargains for these. Some of Barco's current range of high end 3 chip home theater DLPs are just rebadged versions of their theater projectors with less power light sources.

The other thing with DCI projectors is that their chips use the 2048 / 4096 horizontal native res instead of the 1920 / 3840 used for Full HD and UHD domestic content. No domestic content would natively fill the screen and, scaling makes baby Jesus cry n stuff.

Tim in Phoenix · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 4409 Location: Phoenix

Uhhhh

1200w lamps and up, all are 220v and that is three phase some places (US)

https://www.barco.com/en/products/lamp-based-cinema-projectors

I never even hinted at these being suitable in most homes, unless you are Steven Spielberg.

CIR Engineering · Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2020 8:44 pm Post subject:

Zebra · Joined: 02 Jul 2020 Posts: 93 Location: NJ USA

Tim in Phoenix · Joined: 21 Oct 2006 Posts: 4409 Location: Phoenix

Guys

I am seeing in the news this week that Harkins Theaters wants to reopen in my region with 50% seating, and AMC across the country. Some colleges and universities are also reopening, and it is not going well. Kids........

They are eager to get on with the theater release of a new movie called Tenet, some sort of thriller.

Interestingly, while preparing to film Tenet, they determined for one scene that it was less expensive to buy an actual 747 airliner and crash it (slowly) into an actual building, rather than do it in computer effects.