|
This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
|
Author
|
Topic: False newspaper advertisements
|
|
|
|
Frank Prete
Film Handler
Posts: 55
From: Victoria, Australia
Registered: Sep 2000
|
posted 11-15-2000 02:24 AM
Brad,I've seen people make the trip to a particular theatre so they can see the film in DTS or Dolby Digital, only to realise that the film is only screening in SR. (I've had to speak with a few annoyed customers with this problem from time to time) I've also seen films which I know don't have a digital soundtrack as being advertised as running in Digital (eg The Full Monty). I'm sure that all cinema chains, in all countries have done similar things. Most of us are Human. A more telling question might be how many theatres in a (perhaps desperate) bid to attract more customers deliberetly include mistakes in thier advertising? How many customers then know the difference?
| IP: Logged
|
|
Michael Barry
Jedi Master Film Handler
![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/237b.jpg)
Posts: 584
From: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 11-15-2000 08:09 AM
This week alone (and I just started in a new place this week - new for me, that is) I've heard 2 separate complaints that 'the surrounds aren't working', from two different auditoriums playing two different movies ('Shaft', 'The Ninth Gate'). Shaft was in Dolby Digital (at the time, it's in DTS now that the discs have finally arrived!) and The Ninth Gate was in Dolby SR at the time (and has since moved to a Dolby Digital screen). I checked both at the time of the complaints and the surrounds were indeed working. Strange; I can't really understand why this would have generated a complaint! Doesn't it seem strange when people complain about things that you're doing absolutely right whereas I've been to other cinemas where seriously deficient aspects of the presentation go seemingly unnoticed?
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
John Walsh
Film God
![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/168.jpg)
Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999
|
posted 11-15-2000 10:54 AM
Interesting discussion....Can I ask everyone to differentiate between: 1. Theaters that do not have the sound system advertised *in any theater* Of couse, this is totally wrong. 2. Theaters that have the sound system advertised, but the film advertised is not running in that auditourium. I know they're both wrong, but sometimes theaters switch screens (while it take a week to change the ads), so #2 above might be somewhat understandable. Wasn't there a lawsuit about avertising Dolby Stereo, when you only had Eprad, or something like that? We've had several problems with our newspapers getting things wrong. There are two areas where people can look. One is "The Movie Clock" that just shows the film title, theater and show times. The newspaper provides this for free, and generally won't take any responsablity for any errors (and there are many.) Sometimes, when they have completely screwed up, they will just put in a statement; "The theater did not send the showtimes to us in time for printing." ..which usually is BS. The regular ads are paid for (co-opped) so there are less mistakes. But, many times, the ad space is shared with other films, and a "Dolby Digital" logo is simply placed at the bottom of the ad... without specifing what is or is not in DD.
| IP: Logged
|
|
Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene
![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/299c.jpg)
Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000
|
posted 11-15-2000 11:01 AM
A company here deliberately advertises that they have DTS DIGITAL STEREO along with the adress, phone number, etc. There is only one auditorium with it, the rest are mono. Here is a legal tidbid. It is OK and LEGAL to advertise a film in DOLBY, DTS, SR, whatever, and not even have the equipment. Here is why... If the film has a soundtrack PRODUCED in dolby, or whatever, than you can show it in mono, and still say its a dolby film. Yes its cheating, and lame, but it is in practice all over the place. BUYER BEWARE... Dave
| IP: Logged
|
|
Brad Miller
Administrator
![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/02a.jpg)
Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99
|
posted 11-15-2000 03:23 PM
Michael, The "the surrounds are not on" or "the THX is not on" complaints I've always found out was indeed found out to be one single problem...the customer. But not just any customer, the ones who make these complaints are always customers who say things like "you should hear my THX dolby digital sound system at home". Further into the conversations, inevitably they will say "your system is broken because at my house with THX and digital and a Sony DVD player model number V-485-D digitally wired into a Marantz SX-1000 digital receiver with quartz digital this with a digital Sony Trinitron big screen 31 inch monitor and model number Xr300 digital blah, blah, blah..." (ten minutes later they finally admit this next line) "I can hear the actors talking out of ALL the speakers!" (They have to throw in the THX line as well as the word digital as many times as they can to impress you, even though "home THX" does not have the standards that real THX does. They also like to throw model numbers of their components out into the conversation for no good reason.) I've actually been hounded so much by a couple of people about how incredible their home THX system was that since they lived very close, agreed to go listen to it only to find out they were not even running it in digital...or even pro-logic! Many of these home receivers have a "cinema surround" mode that more or less just adds an echo into the surrounds. They will inevitably sit there and play their "WOW" laserdisc while I cringe at the pathetic sound for 8 minutes. The funny part is these guys get junker speakers (almost as if they came from a Ford stock car radio) and hook them up to a "THX receiver" and actually believe they have the best system in existence. "Deep bass" to them is about 400hz. ![](http://216.97.28.234/ubb/rolleyes.gif) Next time you get that complaint, chat with the customer for a minute. I guarantee that is what they will say.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Scott Norwood
Film God
![](http://www.film-tech.com/ubbmembers/30f.jpg)
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 11-15-2000 07:23 PM
What's worse than hearing (not-very) "deep bass" is hearing any sort of system which reproduces a single low frequency, rather than a real subwoofer. To hear what I'm talking about, listen to any of the so-called "high end" car radio setups and you'll hear what I mean. These things are totally unlistenable. The default cheapo factory-installed radio and speakers in my car produce more "musical" sound than those "high-end" pieces of junk. (OK, there may be someone, somewhere, who has a car system that actually sounds good, but I've never heard one.)
The poorly set up "home theatre" systems are indeed a big problem, especially when people turn the surrounds up too high or use one of those crappy "simulated-stereo" modes. Personally, I'd rather watch a movie or listen to music through a really good mono system than through a bad surround system, but I suppose that I'm in the minority, judging by the number of people who have horrible-sounding "home theatre" setups.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|