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This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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Author
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Topic: platter systems
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 08-15-2001 12:52 PM
AFAIK, the need to rewind after each show with towers is the primary reason platters "won" the battle of automation. A well-designed tower (reel) system can certainly rewind the show quickly, while controlling torque, film tension, and accelerations to minimize the risk of film damage. Large reels got an undeserved bad reputation with "home brew" reel arms and rewinds that damaged the film with poor tension control and rapid accelerations. Likewise, the systems that attempted to automatically rewind the film backwards through the projector gate gave large reel automation a bad rap.Well-designed and properly maintained platter systems or tower systems can both be used with low risk of film damage. ------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
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Ben Wales
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 602
From: Southampton. England
Registered: Jul 99
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posted 08-15-2001 03:27 PM
The main problem with Towers is that after every screening you have to rewind the film and not forgetting it can take up to 20mins for rewinding (how much time are you allowed for the next screening?) and also there is the question of greater tension on the print.The Westrex Towers I found the Premire spool hubs were too small and after a while by lifting the fully loaded spool,the spool flanges would buckle. Long Play Towers are fine for one off screenings or where space is limited, but the platter system is far better (if used correctly) for handling prints. As for the Cinemmecancia CNR platters, they are fine as you can make or break up prints on any level, but that friction brake they make is a waste of time. The best make of platter in my view is the Philips/Kinoton.
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Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man
Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 08-15-2001 09:30 PM
I did not like the towers. For one, the 14,000-foot reels were just too damn heavy to fool with, and I had to roll them along on the floor when the show was moved to another auditorium. Then, you had to have the strength of a truck driver to mount those heavy reels on the tower. The rewind clutches always seemed to give a problem, and I understand the weight of the film could seriously damage the innermost convolutions. The other major problem was on start-up, the towers could not ramp up properly if you had a fast-start projector. We had to slow our motors down to a start-up crawl by placing a rather large "dog bone" in the start winding, and that made the motor ramp up to full speed in about 7 seconds. And, if the clutches got goofy in the towers, we had to give them a shove at times to help them along. The end results of inexperienced operators was always the same: Lots of *snaps* and breakages in the leaders and previews. Many times the mylar leader was rendered useless due to distortion, etc. The towers I am reference to were the Cinemechannica towers. When I ran relief operator for the Oakland Local in the '70's, some theaters were equipped with them. The Victoria had a 3-step start-up (low-median-run) so the tower could ramp up with the projector motor without busting the crap out of everything. The Eprad Sword was a little more forgiving, but it was still a major pain in the butt when it came time to mount or dismount the print. Of course, this was in a drive-in, so we really didn't give two hoots about the print anyway. They were junk prints when we got them, and they were still junk prints when we shipped them out. The Cinemachannica Towers were finally taken out of service and sold for 50 bucks a pop. Platters took their place. The Eprad at the drive in went the toast route, and we replaced them with 6,000 foot reels running with BX-60's. Very nice combination.  It was a relief to see those towers find their way to the landfills. Just my $.02 worth...... Paul
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Pete Naples
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1565
From: Dunfermline, Scotland
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 08-16-2001 02:52 AM
I've never actually used a platter myself, but I've seen enough of them in use to be able to voice an opinion. Where you are running a multi projector booth, with automation and one operator, there is no question about it, platters are the way to go. The best I've seen in operation lately is Strong's DMC unit. Of the three types of tower we got in the UK (Westrex, Cinemecannica and Kinoton) the Westrex is by far the best, built like a tank and unbelievably simple in it's circuitry, they just go on and on and on. There are no clutches, no gearboxes and no electronics. If used correctly they DO NOT damage film, contrary to popular belief, and yes the rewind time is an issue, but for the bulk of cinemas that have these things, it's not an issue. Added to that a lot of towers are installed in booths in place of the Nº1 projector, and in a lot of those booths there is no room for a platter. Another thing I loved about towers is how easy it is to change adverts, a trailers or such like, just like a giant rewind bench.
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Andy Muirhead
Master Film Handler
Posts: 323
From: Galashiels, Scotland
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 08-16-2001 05:40 PM
I used to work with towers for a few years in our flea pit cinema, before we got a 4 screen.Two good points about towers: 1. I Never worried about scratches on film, just didn't happen, i only started having to worry on the change to platters. 2. You can rewind! sounds simple but imagine - bulb goes off, 5 minutes before someone tells you, so you can go back five minutes and show the audience what they missed. Also - Show starts, 15mins later and still nobody has come in, hell you can just stop, rewind back to the beginning, and load up the next show, no need to run the hole thing through. Although for number 2 my only experience with platters is CFS (i know those suckers inside out, but have no experience with other makes) so forgive me if there is a platter system that can 'rewind' although i'm damn sure its not possible!
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