- CC13-41 Accessibility – SPECIAL FEATURE – Intro and Overview
- CC13-42 Accessibility – Regal Ent – Randy Smith – Intro, legislation and litigation
- CC13-43 Accessibility – Doremi – Michael Archer – CaptiView and Fidelio
- CC13-44 Accessibility – USL – Clint Koch – CCR-100, CCH-100, IRH-230
- CC13-45 Accessibility – Sony – Christopher Simpson – Glasses and audio
- CC13-46 Accessibility – Panel questions
- CC13-47 Accessibility – WGBH – Rear Window CCAP
- CC13-48 Accessibility – USL – CCH-100 CCAP glasses
- CC13-49 Accessibility – USL – CCR-100 CCAP
- CC13-50 Accessibility – Sony – CCAP glasses
- CC13-51 Accessibility – Doremi – Fedelio HI,VI audio
- CC13-52 Accessibility – Doremi – CaptiView CCAP
Tag Archives: USL
Captioning CinemaCon 2013–CineTech Geek
- CC13-41 Accessibility – SPECIAL FEATURE – Intro and Overview
- CC13-42 Accessibility – Regal Ent – Randy Smith – Intro, legislation and litigation
- CC13-43 Accessibility – Doremi – Michael Archer – CaptiView and Fidelio
- CC13-44 Accessibility – USL – Clint Koch – CCR-100, CCH-100, IRH-230
- CC13-45 Accessibility – Sony – Christopher Simpson – Glasses and audio
- CC13-46 Accessibility – Panel questions
- CC13-47 Accessibility – WGBH – Rear Window CCAP
- CC13-48 Accessibility – USL – CCH-100 CCAP glasses
- CC13-49 Accessibility – USL – CCR-100 CCAP
- CC13-50 Accessibility – Sony – CCAP glasses
- CC13-51 Accessibility – Doremi – Fedelio HI,VI audio
- CC13-52 Accessibility – Doremi – CaptiView CCAP
CinemaCon 2013: Maturity Brings Discussions of Quality in Digital Cinema
Wherever one looks at CinemaCon 2013 there is the smell of Quality Control in the air. Examples:
Jack Cashin, President of USL – famous for their test and measurement systems as well as quality systems for the deaf/hard of hearing/blind/partially sighted audiences and multi-projector movie distribution systems – is awarded the Ken Mason Inter-Society Award. They introduced a QC system last CinemaCon.
Highlands Technologies introduces the QALIF Calibration system [QALIF Digital projection System Measurement Tool] and arranges for West US distribution with Charles Flynn of Digital Test Tools (+1 818 877-6149) — See attached presentation
Harkness Screens introduces iPad apps – Digital Screen Modeller and in particular the Digital Screen Archiver – will assist in changing people’s view of their valuable data as well as helping projectionists keep track of reality. — See attached press releases
…and last but not least…
RealD is showing the new “Precision White Screen” technology that the spoke about at last years SMPTE October event. If they can make a screen that not only broadens the sweet spot of 3D movies but is more efficient then they can do the industry a great deal of actual good.More on this after the demos. — See attached press releases
=-=-=
Although some say that new audio systems are just a way to fill the coming income void resulting from a market that is now nearly digital saturated, in fact with larger ceiling’d rooms there is a need to fill the room better. Technology has moved on from the simplicity of the 1990s’ and Atmos and Auro are taking advantage of new potentials of faster chips and algorithms that were impossible last decade.
For a decade the industry was fighting to just handle the influx that the digital transition kept piling on them. Now post-installation can be discussed.
CinemaCon 2013: Maturity Brings Discussions of Quality in Digital Cinema
Wherever one looks at CinemaCon 2013 there is the smell of Quality Control in the air. Examples:
Jack Cashin, President of USL – famous for their test and measurement systems as well as quality systems for the deaf/hard of hearing/blind/partially sighted audiences and multi-projector movie distribution systems – is awarded the Ken Mason Inter-Society Award. They introduced a QC system last CinemaCon.
Highlands Technologies introduces the QALIF Calibration system [QALIF Digital projection System Measurement Tool] and arranges for West US distribution with Charles Flynn of Digital Test Tools (+1 818 877-6149) — See attached presentation
Harkness Screens introduces iPad apps – Digital Screen Modeller and in particular the Digital Screen Archiver – will assist in changing people’s view of their valuable data as well as helping projectionists keep track of reality. — See attached press releases
…and last but not least…
RealD is showing the new “Precision White Screen” technology that the spoke about at last years SMPTE October event. If they can make a screen that not only broadens the sweet spot of 3D movies but is more efficient then they can do the industry a great deal of actual good.More on this after the demos. — See attached press releases
=-=-=
Although some say that new audio systems are just a way to fill the coming income void resulting from a market that is now nearly digital saturated, in fact with larger ceiling’d rooms there is a need to fill the room better. Technology has moved on from the simplicity of the 1990s’ and Atmos and Auro are taking advantage of new potentials of faster chips and algorithms that were impossible last decade.
For a decade the industry was fighting to just handle the influx that the digital transition kept piling on them. Now post-installation can be discussed.
CinemaCon 2013: Maturity Brings Discussions of Quality in Digital Cinema
Wherever one looks at CinemaCon 2013 there is the smell of Quality Control in the air. Examples:
Jack Cashin, President of USL – famous for their test and measurement systems as well as quality systems for the deaf/hard of hearing/blind/partially sighted audiences and multi-projector movie distribution systems – is awarded the Ken Mason Inter-Society Award. They introduced a QC system last CinemaCon.
Highlands Technologies introduces the QALIF Calibration system [QALIF Digital projection System Measurement Tool] and arranges for West US distribution with Charles Flynn of Digital Test Tools (+1 818 877-6149) — See attached presentation
Harkness Screens introduces iPad apps – Digital Screen Modeller and in particular the Digital Screen Archiver – will assist in changing people’s view of their valuable data as well as helping projectionists keep track of reality. — See attached press releases
…and last but not least…
RealD is showing the new “Precision White Screen” technology that the spoke about at last years SMPTE October event. If they can make a screen that not only broadens the sweet spot of 3D movies but is more efficient then they can do the industry a great deal of actual good.More on this after the demos. — See attached press releases
=-=-=
Although some say that new audio systems are just a way to fill the coming income void resulting from a market that is now nearly digital saturated, in fact with larger ceiling’d rooms there is a need to fill the room better. Technology has moved on from the simplicity of the 1990s’ and Atmos and Auro are taking advantage of new potentials of faster chips and algorithms that were impossible last decade.
For a decade the industry was fighting to just handle the influx that the digital transition kept piling on them. Now post-installation can be discussed.
Post-Installation Cinema Test Tools; USL LSS-100 and DTT Digital eXperience Guardian
The unit plugs into the cinema facility’s IP network so these readings can be taken by anyone with access through the firewall.
The unit is small and unobtrusive, with only the power and ethernet cables going through the wall, connecting the system into the booth and then to the IP network.
This is how the setup page looks, and following that is a shot of the unit itself and a version of the report it creates.
Another network device is the DXG – Digital eXperiance Guardian from Digital Test Tools, LLC. This new company is filled with industry veterans and this is their first product in this collaboration.
The DXG setup is more complex since both its microphone section and its colorimeter remote suspend from the ceiling. In one sense it is easier, since it uses Power Over Ethernet, which puts power, control and data on one ethernet cable.
The design uses 5 microphones to discern levels at many frequencies, as well as phase and the direction of THD problems. Pulsed sounds at various frequencies avoids the buildup problems that pink noise creates. With all this, if a new rattle or hum occurs, a technician can be sent by the NOC to look for something in a particular direction that reacts to a particular frequency, decreasing the time to find whatever got loose or was inserted into or taken from the audio system.
Like the USL system, the DXG’s value comes from giving the user “changes from a baseline” measurements. Both systems would be used after a picture and audio room tuning to establish that baseline. Since the DXG captures much more data (levels and THD at different frequecies from individual speakers, and phase information from pairs of speakers at multiple frequencies, for example) the output is put into an xml file and an SQL database so that reports can be generated. These standard tools allow the client to easily integrate the data and reports into their monitoring systems.
There is also a parameters list which the customer sets up to monitor “warning” and “critical” points that can trigger notification through Web 2.0 interfaces. And, critically, the system uses ‘percentage of variation from the baseline’ since it is easier to keep track of trends this way instead of using baseline numbers that might vary from room to room. Knowing that the data point has gone beyond a 5% threshold, for example, is easier to notice than figuring whether the new x,y matrix numbers are within MacAdam’s Just Noticable Difference oval.
In addition to the “variation from the baseline” concept the DXG colorimeter also includes a pull-down in the auditorium set-up page to mark date and serial number changes of bulbs, both for 2D==>3D changes and for EOL changes. Plus, instead of one 2 degree spot – the SMPTE/ISO spec for calibration – the DXG colorimeter measures a broad section of the screen.
The system includes audio and picture DCPs that run through the projection system. The test system and projection system run asynchronously, meaning that there is no connection or feedback to or from the system under test. A playlist is created with automation instructions to shut down the lights, put the masking in the proper position, put the sound processor at the proper level, make a warning annoucement in the room, then play the DCPs in the proper sequence. Since audio contamination from adjoining rooms would throw off the audio tests, care must be taken when setting up the daily or weekly process.
The DigitalTestTools literature states that there is plenty of space for growth with the DXG, with options for forensic marking tests and IP network tests coming in the near future, as well as an option to test the signals from the various equipment that broadcasts data and sound to personal closed caption and enhanced listening systems for the deaf, blind, hard of hearing and partially sighted patrons.
Following are some screen shots from the Digital eXperiance Guardian. There is a features movie at Digital eXperiance Guardian Movie.
Now that over 80% of North American screens have made the digital conversion with the EU and UK not far behind, it is great to see that the industry has matured to deal with this last lingering problem of screens drifting out of spec. Consumers complain about it, exhibitors have paid enormous sums to get equipment that can be impeccably tuned. Now there are two methods to montor the actual room.
Finally, it should be pointed out and noticed that your author/editor, Charles ‘C J’ Flynn of dcinematools.com is also Charles ‘C J’ Flynn, a founding partner of digitaltesttools.com – he is also a long term admirer of USL and the excellent equipment that they produce. So while this article is somewhat an infomercial, it is written as a scientist and disseminator of valuable information…and presuming that it is just a launching point for further research. C J Flynn has also been a long time advocate of Post-Installation Cinema Compliance, writing and presenting at IBC on the topic as far back as 2006 (after retiring from the labors of setting up cinema servers and training their users since before Star Wars II.
Post-Installation Cinema Test Tools; USL LSS-100 and DTT Digital eXperience Guardian
The unit plugs into the cinema facility’s IP network so these readings can be taken by anyone with access through the firewall.
The unit is small and unobtrusive, with only the power and ethernet cables going through the wall, connecting the system into the booth and then to the IP network.
This is how the setup page looks, and following that is a shot of the unit itself and a version of the report it creates.
Another network device is the DXG – Digital eXperiance Guardian from Digital Test Tools, LLC. This new company is filled with industry veterans and this is their first product in this collaboration.
The DXG setup is more complex since both its microphone section and its colorimeter remote suspend from the ceiling. In one sense it is easier, since it uses Power Over Ethernet, which puts power, control and data on one ethernet cable.
The design uses 5 microphones to discern levels at many frequencies, as well as phase and the direction of THD problems. Pulsed sounds at various frequencies avoids the buildup problems that pink noise creates. With all this, if a new rattle or hum occurs, a technician can be sent by the NOC to look for something in a particular direction that reacts to a particular frequency, decreasing the time to find whatever got loose or was inserted into or taken from the audio system.
Like the USL system, the DXG’s value comes from giving the user “changes from a baseline” measurements. Both systems would be used after a picture and audio room tuning to establish that baseline. Since the DXG captures much more data (levels and THD at different frequecies from individual speakers, and phase information from pairs of speakers at multiple frequencies, for example) the output is put into an xml file and an SQL database so that reports can be generated. These standard tools allow the client to easily integrate the data and reports into their monitoring systems.
There is also a parameters list which the customer sets up to monitor “warning” and “critical” points that can trigger notification through Web 2.0 interfaces. And, critically, the system uses ‘percentage of variation from the baseline’ since it is easier to keep track of trends this way instead of using baseline numbers that might vary from room to room. Knowing that the data point has gone beyond a 5% threshold, for example, is easier to notice than figuring whether the new x,y matrix numbers are within MacAdam’s Just Noticable Difference oval.
In addition to the “variation from the baseline” concept the DXG colorimeter also includes a pull-down in the auditorium set-up page to mark date and serial number changes of bulbs, both for 2D==>3D changes and for EOL changes. Plus, instead of one 2 degree spot – the SMPTE/ISO spec for calibration – the DXG colorimeter measures a broad section of the screen.
The system includes audio and picture DCPs that run through the projection system. The test system and projection system run asynchronously, meaning that there is no connection or feedback to or from the system under test. A playlist is created with automation instructions to shut down the lights, put the masking in the proper position, put the sound processor at the proper level, make a warning annoucement in the room, then play the DCPs in the proper sequence. Since audio contamination from adjoining rooms would throw off the audio tests, care must be taken when setting up the daily or weekly process.
The DigitalTestTools literature states that there is plenty of space for growth with the DXG, with options for forensic marking tests and IP network tests coming in the near future, as well as an option to test the signals from the various equipment that broadcasts data and sound to personal closed caption and enhanced listening systems for the deaf, blind, hard of hearing and partially sighted patrons.
Following are some screen shots from the Digital eXperiance Guardian. There is a features movie at Digital eXperiance Guardian Movie.
Now that over 80% of North American screens have made the digital conversion with the EU and UK not far behind, it is great to see that the industry has matured to deal with this last lingering problem of screens drifting out of spec. Consumers complain about it, exhibitors have paid enormous sums to get equipment that can be impeccably tuned. Now there are two methods to montor the actual room.
Finally, it should be pointed out and noticed that your author/editor, Charles ‘C J’ Flynn of dcinematools.com is also Charles ‘C J’ Flynn, a founding partner of digitaltesttools.com – he is also a long term admirer of USL and the excellent equipment that they produce. So while this article is somewhat an infomercial, it is written as a scientist and disseminator of valuable information…and presuming that it is just a launching point for further research. C J Flynn has also been a long time advocate of Post-Installation Cinema Compliance, writing and presenting at IBC on the topic as far back as 2006 (after retiring from the labors of setting up cinema servers and training their users since before Star Wars II.
More Quality Assurance From USL
Importantly, it is also a networked device, making it possible for theater owners to monitor auditoriums continuously from a Network Operation Center (NOC) anywhere in the world, providing instantaneous monitoring of luminance, chromaticity, and SPL data.
“We decided to build on the success of our PSA light and PCA color meters to create an automated way to ensure excellent picture quality,” said Jack Cashin, USL’s founder, president and chief technical designer.
The release of these products show that the industry has matured beyond the one-time post-installation set-up. The idea that digital is everything, including stable and reliable, requires one thing that the cost of digital did away with: constant and consistent monitoring. The Projectionist has largely been replaced by the “booth attendant”, which who is not a substitute.
Not that there is anything wrong with the booth attendant, as long as they are able to use the tools given them to learn how to create a better environment for their audience. The advantage of the Meyer/NTi Cinema Audio Analyser, in conjunction with the Harkness Screen Checker is that it brings a pair of eyes and ears into the auditorium.
They can test the picture and the audio from several positions in the room and learn their environment. They can listen for rattles and new hum components. They may not pick it up at first, but just like the audience, they will be aware that something is wrong and seek to get it fixed before the audience decides that their home system is more pleasing.
They can, once a week, run the SMPTE DProVe DCP in every room to check whether things have changed.
SMPTE Digital Leader Demonstration – YouTube
DProVe | Digital Projector Verifier – DCinemaTools
Digital PROjection VErifier – SMPTE Store
They can walk around with a pair of Sony caption Glasses or USL headsets or Doremi OptiGrabs and check the HI/VI system.
“To some extent, this is the problem with a device like the Digital Test Tools Digital eXperience Guardian (DxG) and the USL LSS-100. They rely upon someone setting the parameters so that alarms go off at the right time, and get to the right people,” says Digital Test Tools evangelist (and DCinemaTools editor) C J Flynn.
“Sure, the DxG can let the NOC know that the THD of the left woofer has gone south, or a new rattle has appeared at the right front of the screen, or that the white point has shifted out of the SMPTE spec. But if the NOC is filled with generalists who don’t realize what that means for the picture, then it is little better than a booth assistant who sends an SMS to the Regional Tech Chief that says, “I got some reports that the audio sucks in Theater 6. What changed yesterday? I don’t know – these reports are from a couple weeks ago – when you left on vacation.
“But these tools used in their proper place would be as an adjunct to a constant and consistent Quality Assurance Plan, a procedure that involves everyone in the organization like ISO-9001 does – that would be optimum. That’s way we push Post-Installation Compliance concepts like what was presented to UNIC for CineEurope2012 Innovation Award. This is what we mean by having a feedback loop in the operation, which is the only way that digital can “take care of itself”.
“One has to beware of any press release that “ensures” anything, that says there is “no compromise”. Engineering is the Art of Compromise. There can only be so many seats in prime position, but the most astute owners can minimize the flaws when they pay attention to details and don’t get seduced by simple solutions that “ensure” success.”
For these and other reasons, DCinemaTools has begun the series called, The Art of Compromise: A Series of White Papers Explaining the Considerations and Choices Involved in Getting from There to Here.
[Was the editor really quoting himself? Yes, just to make sure it was clear that he was wearing a different hat as a manufacturer for that bit and not as the writer of this piece…weird but trying to be disclosing.]
More Quality Assurance From USL
Importantly, it is also a networked device, making it possible for theater owners to monitor auditoriums continuously from a Network Operation Center (NOC) anywhere in the world, providing instantaneous monitoring of luminance, chromaticity, and SPL data.
“We decided to build on the success of our PSA light and PCA color meters to create an automated way to ensure excellent picture quality,” said Jack Cashin, USL’s founder, president and chief technical designer.
The release of these products show that the industry has matured beyond the one-time post-installation set-up. The idea that digital is everything, including stable and reliable, requires one thing that the cost of digital did away with: constant and consistent monitoring. The Projectionist has largely been replaced by the “booth attendant”, which who is not a substitute.
Not that there is anything wrong with the booth attendant, as long as they are able to use the tools given them to learn how to create a better environment for their audience. The advantage of the Meyer/NTi Cinema Audio Analyser, in conjunction with the Harkness Screen Checker is that it brings a pair of eyes and ears into the auditorium.
They can test the picture and the audio from several positions in the room and learn their environment. They can listen for rattles and new hum components. They may not pick it up at first, but just like the audience, they will be aware that something is wrong and seek to get it fixed before the audience decides that their home system is more pleasing.
They can, once a week, run the SMPTE DProVe DCP in every room to check whether things have changed.
SMPTE Digital Leader Demonstration – YouTube
DProVe | Digital Projector Verifier – DCinemaTools
Digital PROjection VErifier – SMPTE Store
They can walk around with a pair of Sony caption Glasses or USL headsets or Doremi OptiGrabs and check the HI/VI system.
“To some extent, this is the problem with a device like the Digital Test Tools Digital eXperience Guardian (DxG) and the USL LSS-100. They rely upon someone setting the parameters so that alarms go off at the right time, and get to the right people,” says Digital Test Tools evangelist (and DCinemaTools editor) C J Flynn.
“Sure, the DxG can let the NOC know that the THD of the left woofer has gone south, or a new rattle has appeared at the right front of the screen, or that the white point has shifted out of the SMPTE spec. But if the NOC is filled with generalists who don’t realize what that means for the picture, then it is little better than a booth assistant who sends an SMS to the Regional Tech Chief that says, “I got some reports that the audio sucks in Theater 6. What changed yesterday? I don’t know – these reports are from a couple weeks ago – when you left on vacation.
“But these tools used in their proper place would be as an adjunct to a constant and consistent Quality Assurance Plan, a procedure that involves everyone in the organization like ISO-9001 does – that would be optimum. That’s way we push Post-Installation Compliance concepts like what was presented to UNIC for CineEurope2012 Innovation Award. This is what we mean by having a feedback loop in the operation, which is the only way that digital can “take care of itself”.
“One has to beware of any press release that “ensures” anything, that says there is “no compromise”. Engineering is the Art of Compromise. There can only be so many seats in prime position, but the most astute owners can minimize the flaws when they pay attention to details and don’t get seduced by simple solutions that “ensure” success.”
For these and other reasons, DCinemaTools has begun the series called, The Art of Compromise: A Series of White Papers Explaining the Considerations and Choices Involved in Getting from There to Here.
[Was the editor really quoting himself? Yes, just to make sure it was clear that he was wearing a different hat as a manufacturer for that bit and not as the writer of this piece…weird but trying to be disclosing.]
More Quality Assurance From USL
Importantly, it is also a networked device, making it possible for theater owners to monitor auditoriums continuously from a Network Operation Center (NOC) anywhere in the world, providing instantaneous monitoring of luminance, chromaticity, and SPL data.
“We decided to build on the success of our PSA light and PCA color meters to create an automated way to ensure excellent picture quality,” said Jack Cashin, USL’s founder, president and chief technical designer.
The release of these products show that the industry has matured beyond the one-time post-installation set-up. The idea that digital is everything, including stable and reliable, requires one thing that the cost of digital did away with: constant and consistent monitoring. The Projectionist has largely been replaced by the “booth attendant”, which who is not a substitute.
Not that there is anything wrong with the booth attendant, as long as they are able to use the tools given them to learn how to create a better environment for their audience. The advantage of the Meyer/NTi Cinema Audio Analyser, in conjunction with the Harkness Screen Checker is that it brings a pair of eyes and ears into the auditorium.
They can test the picture and the audio from several positions in the room and learn their environment. They can listen for rattles and new hum components. They may not pick it up at first, but just like the audience, they will be aware that something is wrong and seek to get it fixed before the audience decides that their home system is more pleasing.
They can, once a week, run the SMPTE DProVe DCP in every room to check whether things have changed.
SMPTE Digital Leader Demonstration – YouTube
DProVe | Digital Projector Verifier – DCinemaTools
Digital PROjection VErifier – SMPTE Store
They can walk around with a pair of Sony caption Glasses or USL headsets or Doremi OptiGrabs and check the HI/VI system.
“To some extent, this is the problem with a device like the Digital Test Tools Digital eXperience Guardian (DxG) and the USL LSS-100. They rely upon someone setting the parameters so that alarms go off at the right time, and get to the right people,” says Digital Test Tools evangelist (and DCinemaTools editor) C J Flynn.
“Sure, the DxG can let the NOC know that the THD of the left woofer has gone south, or a new rattle has appeared at the right front of the screen, or that the white point has shifted out of the SMPTE spec. But if the NOC is filled with generalists who don’t realize what that means for the picture, then it is little better than a booth assistant who sends an SMS to the Regional Tech Chief that says, “I got some reports that the audio sucks in Theater 6. What changed yesterday? I don’t know – these reports are from a couple weeks ago – when you left on vacation.
“But these tools used in their proper place would be as an adjunct to a constant and consistent Quality Assurance Plan, a procedure that involves everyone in the organization like ISO-9001 does – that would be optimum. That’s way we push Post-Installation Compliance concepts like what was presented to UNIC for CineEurope2012 Innovation Award. This is what we mean by having a feedback loop in the operation, which is the only way that digital can “take care of itself”.
“One has to beware of any press release that “ensures” anything, that says there is “no compromise”. Engineering is the Art of Compromise. There can only be so many seats in prime position, but the most astute owners can minimize the flaws when they pay attention to details and don’t get seduced by simple solutions that “ensure” success.”
For these and other reasons, DCinemaTools has begun the series called, The Art of Compromise: A Series of White Papers Explaining the Considerations and Choices Involved in Getting from There to Here.
[Was the editor really quoting himself? Yes, just to make sure it was clear that he was wearing a different hat as a manufacturer for that bit and not as the writer of this piece…weird but trying to be disclosing.]
Post CinemaCon HI/VI Review–Sony CC Glasses
They did this by putting the letters into a small, see-through portion of both lenses and with a little magic sauce the words are suspended in the void between the viewer and the screen. The distance and font size and lateral position were all adjustable. And they were wonderful. But they needed refining and productization. The pairs that USL showed were made with 3D casting techniques that are not fit for production (fragile and expensive.) But the nice part was that they worked with the other equipment that USL has sold for years to the hearing and sight impaired audience members and the theaters who installed them.
At CinemaCon 2011 there was a wonderful off-the-exhibit-floor display of vendors who supplied equipment to the accessibility community. USL was positioned very close to the entrance of the room, but alongside Sony…who were showing a very refined version of the glasses technology that USL had been developing. What appeared to be happening was an interesting combo for exhibitors; the Sony glasses were receiving their signal from USL’s transmitter. But the glasses were light and nicely shaped and amazingly one could see the letters against the screen even in a bright room.
Expectations were that the system would be available around the end of the year…which came and went without any announcements. There were pictures that were smuggled out and passed around the community, but went unpublished even with the news that other vendors were taking orders around the globe. Some examples are the government grants purchasing equipment for hundreds of theaters in Australia and the recent announcement of complete fitting out of closed caption and descriptive audio or audio enhancement equipment at the complete chain of Marcus Theaters (675 screens in 56 theater locations.) Marcus Theatres(R) Completes Rollout of CaptiView(TM) and Fidelio(TM) Systems. Harkness and AMC have made announcements as well.
But Regal was quiet until they made the announcement at CinemaCon with Sony that they would be installing the new Sony glasses and audio system at all their theaters, with the intention of having closed captioning and assisted listening screenings at every show in every theater. Generally speaking this is not impossible but there are still difficulties on the distribution side. The greatest difficulty lies in the narration track which often isn’t completed until after the main movie is ready for shipping. Who wants to take responsibility for missing a release date because the narration track isn’t done? and how many languages are you going to hold the movie for?
Two years ago this dilemma was on no one’s radar. The promise of digital was gaining momentum everywhere but in the accessibility field. The basic standard was set out in the specifications, but they were made without any equipment being made to test whether the ideas worked in reality. Real world experiments proved that the smooth work flow that gave captions and audio in the analog world of film…with equipment that not only wasn’t available but wouldn’t work if it was…was capable of inconsistent jumbles in the digital world. USL’s engineers worked with engineers of other equipment manufacturers to work out compatibility problems during the times of transition between TI’s Series One and Series Two methods of creating letters and shapes accurately positioned on the screen from data files of text. Hundreds of hours of plugfests with no other manufacturer of HI/VI equipment showing up.
Against this background, USL becomes one of a million companies who help shape a technology and get the arrows of the pioneer as the reward. Sony announced that their clients preferred an all Sony implementation rather than a mixed vendor version. The new glasses system are sold with a receiver that also includes an audio jack so that this rechargeable receiver can also provide audio from the stereo assisted listening or the mono narrative tracks. But, they won’t supply the glasses and the audio headsets (not shown at the demo) at the same time.
Notwithstanding, a nice implementation. And yes, before you ask, 3D lenses can be used in combination with the glasses. The implementation shown at CinemaCon had a Regal logo centered on a flat set of lenses that were made to fit (if somewhat clumsily) into invisible grooves in the glasses frame.
Like Doremi, USL also makes a device that is mounted on a goose-neck that fits into the cupholder. As nice as these units are, and as nice as they have worked to block the light from interfering from adjacent seats…these are Model T implementations compared to the Sony glasses. There is no comparison to the comfort of not having to constantly look down and refocus to read the lines of text. Once an audience member gets used to using these glasses, that’s it. They will only go to a theater that supports them. In the United States, this is a good thing, since Regal has nearly 7,000 screens.
Regal has also put a lot of effort into working with CaptionFish, an online group who can guide the audience to open and closed caption screening times as well as note what type of narration equipment is available. Some narration equipment is able to work with the hearing aids of the user, and some users have purchased their own headsets.
It remains to be seen whether audience members will be able to buy their own glasses and listening device, letting the theater be responsible for the transmitter and link to the movie. One would think that it would be a great opportunity for a sponsor to get involved with partial or complete funding. They are more used to working with this model in the legit theater, which also supplies multiple languages for the scenes in opera or during plays.
All in all this is a wonderful time for accessibility in the US. In England, Your Local Cinema has helped the industry move along for some time there, but there is no great motion anywhere else in the EU…and the growth in accessibility seems stalled even in England. No one is talking of universal accessibility the way that Regal is. Perhaps it was the way that the lawyer who had lawsuits against them put it, when he gave his public presentation to the US Department of Justice. (In it he pointed out how minuscule the cost of accessibility equipment would be compared to the previous year’s corporate dividend.) Who knows? But it is a great thing to have happen after so many promises were broken for so long. In the end it is a mutually beneficial enhancement.
References:
Digital accessibility: Exhibition industry aims to deliver entertainment for all – Film Journal, 18 August 2011
Post CinemaCon HI/VI Review–Sony CC Glasses
They did this by putting the letters into a small, see-through portion of both lenses and with a little magic sauce the words are suspended in the void between the viewer and the screen. The distance and font size and lateral position were all adjustable. And they were wonderful. But they needed refining and productization. The pairs that USL showed were made with 3D casting techniques that are not fit for production (fragile and expensive.) But the nice part was that they worked with the other equipment that USL has sold for years to the hearing and sight impaired audience members and the theaters who installed them.
At CinemaCon 2011 there was a wonderful off-the-exhibit-floor display of vendors who supplied equipment to the accessibility community. USL was positioned very close to the entrance of the room, but alongside Sony…who were showing a very refined version of the glasses technology that USL had been developing. What appeared to be happening was an interesting combo for exhibitors; the Sony glasses were receiving their signal from USL’s transmitter. But the glasses were light and nicely shaped and amazingly one could see the letters against the screen even in a bright room.
Expectations were that the system would be available around the end of the year…which came and went without any announcements. There were pictures that were smuggled out and passed around the community, but went unpublished even with the news that other vendors were taking orders around the globe. Some examples are the government grants purchasing equipment for hundreds of theaters in Australia and the recent announcement of complete fitting out of closed caption and descriptive audio or audio enhancement equipment at the complete chain of Marcus Theaters (675 screens in 56 theater locations.) Marcus Theatres(R) Completes Rollout of CaptiView(TM) and Fidelio(TM) Systems. Harkness and AMC have made announcements as well.
But Regal was quiet until they made the announcement at CinemaCon with Sony that they would be installing the new Sony glasses and audio system at all their theaters, with the intention of having closed captioning and assisted listening screenings at every show in every theater. Generally speaking this is not impossible but there are still difficulties on the distribution side. The greatest difficulty lies in the narration track which often isn’t completed until after the main movie is ready for shipping. Who wants to take responsibility for missing a release date because the narration track isn’t done? and how many languages are you going to hold the movie for?
Two years ago this dilemma was on no one’s radar. The promise of digital was gaining momentum everywhere but in the accessibility field. The basic standard was set out in the specifications, but they were made without any equipment being made to test whether the ideas worked in reality. Real world experiments proved that the smooth work flow that gave captions and audio in the analog world of film…with equipment that not only wasn’t available but wouldn’t work if it was…was capable of inconsistent jumbles in the digital world. USL’s engineers worked with engineers of other equipment manufacturers to work out compatibility problems during the times of transition between TI’s Series One and Series Two methods of creating letters and shapes accurately positioned on the screen from data files of text. Hundreds of hours of plugfests with no other manufacturer of HI/VI equipment showing up.
Against this background, USL becomes one of a million companies who help shape a technology and get the arrows of the pioneer as the reward. Sony announced that their clients preferred an all Sony implementation rather than a mixed vendor version. The new glasses system are sold with a receiver that also includes an audio jack so that this rechargeable receiver can also provide audio from the stereo assisted listening or the mono narrative tracks. But, they won’t supply the glasses and the audio headsets (not shown at the demo) at the same time.
Notwithstanding, a nice implementation. And yes, before you ask, 3D lenses can be used in combination with the glasses. The implementation shown at CinemaCon had a Regal logo centered on a flat set of lenses that were made to fit (if somewhat clumsily) into invisible grooves in the glasses frame.
Like Doremi, USL also makes a device that is mounted on a goose-neck that fits into the cupholder. As nice as these units are, and as nice as they have worked to block the light from interfering from adjacent seats…these are Model T implementations compared to the Sony glasses. There is no comparison to the comfort of not having to constantly look down and refocus to read the lines of text. Once an audience member gets used to using these glasses, that’s it. They will only go to a theater that supports them. In the United States, this is a good thing, since Regal has nearly 7,000 screens.
Regal has also put a lot of effort into working with CaptionFish, an online group who can guide the audience to open and closed caption screening times as well as note what type of narration equipment is available. Some narration equipment is able to work with the hearing aids of the user, and some users have purchased their own headsets.
It remains to be seen whether audience members will be able to buy their own glasses and listening device, letting the theater be responsible for the transmitter and link to the movie. One would think that it would be a great opportunity for a sponsor to get involved with partial or complete funding. They are more used to working with this model in the legit theater, which also supplies multiple languages for the scenes in opera or during plays.
All in all this is a wonderful time for accessibility in the US. In England, Your Local Cinema has helped the industry move along for some time there, but there is no great motion anywhere else in the EU…and the growth in accessibility seems stalled even in England. No one is talking of universal accessibility the way that Regal is. Perhaps it was the way that the lawyer who had lawsuits against them put it, when he gave his public presentation to the US Department of Justice. (In it he pointed out how minuscule the cost of accessibility equipment would be compared to the previous year’s corporate dividend.) Who knows? But it is a great thing to have happen after so many promises were broken for so long. In the end it is a mutually beneficial enhancement.
References:
Digital accessibility: Exhibition industry aims to deliver entertainment for all – Film Journal, 18 August 2011
CineEurope Basics – Barcelona, 18-21 June
CineEurope 2012 will be held in Barcelona this year, not Amsterdam. ISE tried this twice, going to Brussels once, then Barcelona, just to avoid the inevitable of Amsterdam…expensive, gangly, but able to accommodate 100,000 people, Amsterdam. The dates are 18-21 June, with equipment exhibits on the last 3 days.
But CineEurope is not as huge as IBC or ISE, so perhaps a little corner of the El Centro de Convenciones Internacional de Barcelona will be just right.
We’ll be updating this article frequently with links to sources of info. The first is a map of the public transportation of Barcelona. You can find the convention center at the Forum exit of the T5 Glories Line…which follows the end of the Diagonal if you are looking at a map map.
This site points out which public transport card to purchase:Barcelona Metro, Subway System, Barcelona Underground Guide
Monday thru Thursday, 18-21 June. Click for CineEurope Schedule of Events
The winner of the UNIC competition will be announced at the:
Operating in a Digital World – Digital Innovation Award (Room 112, Level 1)15.15–16.30
Mark de Quervain, Sales and Marketing Director, Vue Entertainment
Jan Runge, CEO, UNIC
Pete Buckingham, Kube Consulting
Digitizing cinema screens is part of a wider revolution in the way people find out about film content.
Growth in smartphone use and tailored ‘apps’ offer huge potential for better engagement with the cinema-going audience.
This session will see the culmination of a competition which invited software developers and others to put forward proposals for a cinema-related ‘app’. After a judging process, dozens of entrants have been reduced to a shortlist of three, who will explain their application and how it would benefit the sector. The convention audience will then have a chance to vote on the winner.
Disability and Access (Room 120, Level 1) 13.00-13.45
Cinema operators across the World are coming under increasing pressure to make their cinemas more accessible to disabled customers, particularly those with hearing or sight problems. In this session, some of the foremost companies offering equipment to deal with these issues will explain the potential that currently exists, and look ahead to future developments.Disability and Access
Clint Koch, Sales Director, USL, Inc
Chris Mullins, Product Manager, Sony Professional Solutions Europe
Herve Baujard, EMA Sales Director, Doremi Cinema
Moderator: Phil Clapp, CEO, UK Cinema Exhibitors’ Association
CineEurope Basics – Barcelona, 18-21 June
CineEurope 2012 will be held in Barcelona this year, not Amsterdam. ISE tried this twice, going to Brussels once, then Barcelona, just to avoid the inevitable of Amsterdam…expensive, gangly, but able to accommodate 100,000 people, Amsterdam. The dates are 18-21 June, with equipment exhibits on the last 3 days.
But CineEurope is not as huge as IBC or ISE, so perhaps a little corner of the El Centro de Convenciones Internacional de Barcelona will be just right.
We’ll be updating this article frequently with links to sources of info. The first is a map of the public transportation of Barcelona. You can find the convention center at the Forum exit of the T5 Glories Line…which follows the end of the Diagonal if you are looking at a map map.
This site points out which public transport card to purchase:Barcelona Metro, Subway System, Barcelona Underground Guide
Monday thru Thursday, 18-21 June. Click for CineEurope Schedule of Events
The winner of the UNIC competition will be announced at the:
Operating in a Digital World – Digital Innovation Award (Room 112, Level 1)15.15–16.30
Mark de Quervain, Sales and Marketing Director, Vue Entertainment
Jan Runge, CEO, UNIC
Pete Buckingham, Kube Consulting
Digitizing cinema screens is part of a wider revolution in the way people find out about film content.
Growth in smartphone use and tailored ‘apps’ offer huge potential for better engagement with the cinema-going audience.
This session will see the culmination of a competition which invited software developers and others to put forward proposals for a cinema-related ‘app’. After a judging process, dozens of entrants have been reduced to a shortlist of three, who will explain their application and how it would benefit the sector. The convention audience will then have a chance to vote on the winner.
Disability and Access (Room 120, Level 1) 13.00-13.45
Cinema operators across the World are coming under increasing pressure to make their cinemas more accessible to disabled customers, particularly those with hearing or sight problems. In this session, some of the foremost companies offering equipment to deal with these issues will explain the potential that currently exists, and look ahead to future developments.Disability and Access
Clint Koch, Sales Director, USL, Inc
Chris Mullins, Product Manager, Sony Professional Solutions Europe
Herve Baujard, EMA Sales Director, Doremi Cinema
Moderator: Phil Clapp, CEO, UK Cinema Exhibitors’ Association
ShowEast [Update]: HFR, 3D Sound, HI/VI Glasses, Test Tools and Duqu
In a clever move, Christie took the URL highframerate.com – It now points to a story on their site: Expect a higher standard- higher frame rates. They tell the hyped part of the story, and don’t tell any of the grusome details like, how is the technology going to get there? what standards are going to need to change? How many of these standards are going to be backwards compatable? But it is good to see an effort to educate their audience.
What we can glean is that Christie now has their own internal media block and screen management system for their projectors. We’ll post the PR for you to read yourselves. When people start touting “Future Proof Your Long Term Investment”, it might be read as “We haven’t paid attention to this before, but we have nailed it now!”
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Barco has two facilities with their new Auro 3D Sound system now…one in Moscow and a new one in Antwerp at Kinepolis. Barco announced IMB/SMS integration at CineEurope.
That makes a lot of parties interested in selling IMBs. We seem to remember a ShoWest that <3 letter company> secretly showed a network panel and IMB that would do the same over a high speed network several years ago…and everyone said it was too early to talk about. We also remember Laser Light Engine’s Bill Beck describing the vision of fibre running from an engineering room to some DLP chips and a lens at the port hole back in 2004. Looks like the time is going to be here before we know it.
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[Update] USL has just released some new information about their new IMB, which will be used for several of the demonstrations of HFR at ShowEast – The input is 500 Megabits per second, twice the DCI spec datarate of 250 for a DCP. It will push to the projector the data rate of just over 10 Gigabits per second, displaying 60 fps stereoscopic 2K (2048×1080), 12 bit JPEG 2000 color plates. An interested party describes it as absolutely stunning.
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Sony showed the incredible Closed Caption glasses at CinemaCon – then the project went into silent mode. They were working with the USL system (speaking of 3 letter companies), which is the gold standard in the market for several reasons; the first being what was mentioned before – they did a good job of evolving their product line so that a client could upgrade without throwing away their current product.
USL also invested heavily to get people noticing the the closed caption space in general, and the glasses idea in particular. They showed them at plugfests and conventions for a few years, and really invested the time for the industry and client’s benefit.
Closed Caption in glasses is a big deal. Other solutions work, like the small screens that fit into popcorn holders. But they seperate the kids who can’t from the kids who can’t…and we all know how kids are. So a product that allows people with impairments, but who can read, now have a pair of glasses available that don’t look bizarre. The effect of placing the words out in the distance is great, so that they don’t have to keep changing focus. There are many questions to follow-up on, and we are expecting a call with Sony immenently – it sure looked as if USL was going to be able to incorporate the Sony technology into their sales flow, so it could be the best of both worlds.
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Harkness has an announcement that is under embargo until Monday and USL has a rumored announcement. Both show a certain maturity to the industry, and just in time. Several cinematographers have measured light levels in hundreds of cinemas around the world and found deplorable circumstances. One got the impression that, until recently, putting any impediments like quality in the stream would be too much for the industry to bear. In the next update we will have links to articles that are embargoed for pre-release, but the potential for Quality Control takes a couple steps forward at ShowEast.
===>> So now it can be revealed. Hopefully we will get more news as the product matures toward release, which is promised to be early next year.
Like IMBs above, the topic of test tools deserves a full article. Doremi has a new product in test, USL has a new product in test, Harkness has a new product in test, Digital Test Tools has a new product in test. Perhaps the industry is ready for a good examination of luminance on the screen.
The Harkness product is called a Digital Screen Checker, and looks like this.
Just what the doctor ordered, though we don’t know much about it. What is the price? What corrolation does it have with a NIST certified device? The viewfinder window leaves some confusion in our simple minds. And is this a plot to impose Foot Lamberts on the other 96% of the world that uses the ISO standard unit of candelas per meter.
On/Off us interesting on something that looks like a USB device. But maybe it is also battery powered? Does the USB aspect imply some database and/or network capability?
The press release is attached at the bottom of this document.
USL is also in the process of introducing its LSS-100 Light and Sound Sensor. This product is based upon our 2006 design which combined proprietary luminance and audio level measuring technologies. Their other products in this field are pretty inclusive so, like the Harkness device we look forward to seeing people actually use these devices to make the audience experience more like the director’s intent.
One thing that won’t be talked about at ShowEast is Stuxnet and its new evolution, Duqu. Why would the dcinema industry need to concern itself with a virus that randomly attempts to get into any network to find out information about machine control? We present the link above without comment.