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Author Topic: DTS Digital Sound in a Drive-In Robert Schultz Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Tehachapi, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 06-13-2005 01:59 PM                        I just finished installing DTS in a Drive-In in California and it sounds GREAT in Stereo over the FM. I've had the system for a few years but just never had the time to actually put it into a theatre. This last week I finally had the time and I put it to use in one of my friends Drive-Ins. Has anyone else done this? I will have pictures on rsem.com in a day or so.  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 06-13-2005 03:50 PM                     Yes, a good number of drive-ins have done this, since at least the release of Star Wars Episode I.  |  IP: Logged William T. Parr Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 823 From: Cedar Park, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 06-13-2005 04:11 PM                     Ray Andres, my old engineer at UA in Corpus installed on of the first DTS units in his Drive In theatre in 1996 in Abilene TX.  |  IP: Logged Adam Wilbert Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 590 From: Bellingham, WA, USA Registered: Mar 2002 posted 06-13-2005 04:30 PM                        I've never worked in a drive in, but here is my (probably ignorant) best idea ever. 1) Broadcast the rear surround channels on a separate station. 2) Advertise to patrons to bring a battery powered boom-box (ghetto-blaster?!) 3) patrons throw the boom-box in their back seat and tune it to the surround station. 4) patrons adjust their car radio to play to the front speakers only. 4) Patrons can now make out in their car while listening to your movies in true surround. eh?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-13-2005 05:06 PM                     Jack Ondraceck's drive in, the Rodeo, up in Washington State has all CP-65's with DTS on two screens and SRD on one. Probably makes him one of the very few D.I.'s that are even able to properly decode the SR analog track..... I installed a MOD-2 DIT processors on each screen at the Melody Drive In near Bass Lake, IN. Fred still runs speakers as well as AM, and FM stereo. We installed an eq card in both the processors to eq the speakers to make them sound half way decent. Mark  |  IP: Logged Bruce Hansen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 847 From: Stone Mountain, GA, USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 06-13-2005 06:16 PM                     Do you mix the center channel into both the left and right channels, and the surrounds into the left and right? Do you use any compression because of the wide dynamic range?  |  IP: Logged Robert Schultz Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Tehachapi, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 06-13-2005 06:54 PM                        We are mixing the channels like this: L,C,LS,Sub = Left Channel R,C,RS,Sub = Right Channel I am using the standard mixing formulas for making the Lt/Rt tracks on a film, but I am not using an encoder, we are simpling mixing the tracks. I did make Center Channel 1 dB hot on both Left and Right so the dialog would come through very clean and crisp. When you sit in a car with a good sound system you actually get a phantom center with dialog and it sounds quite good. The FM unit I am using for this system has a built in Limiter and Compressor that I setup very carefully, but this did allow me to play the dynamic range of film tracks and still get a good volume level over the FM transmitter.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-13-2005 11:02 PM                     quote " am using the standard mixing formulas for making the Lt/Rt tracks on a film," No Ls and RS in a Lt Rt Matrix are encoded out of pahse to the centre channel  |  IP: Logged Robert Schultz Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Tehachapi, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 06-13-2005 11:41 PM                        When I say "mixing formulas" I mean LEVELS. Using an encoder on this system would be overkill for a Drive-In and most cars do not have the ability to decode an encoded Lt/Rt and create all the channels. The mixed system allows for all content to be heard and it simply desingates the content to the left of right side of the car at the right level. The system sounds great as a mix and the customers love it.  |  IP: Logged Ken Layton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1452 From: Olympia, Wash. USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 06-14-2005 12:57 AM                     I've listened to the digital sound at Jack Ondracek's Rodeo 3 drive-in (Port Orchard-Bremerton, Wash.) and it's fantastic! The main screen has Dolby Digital (and 7,000 watt lamphouse for a bright picture). The other two screens are DTS Digital with 5,000 watt lamphouses.  |  IP: Logged Robert Schultz Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Tehachapi, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 06-14-2005 01:30 AM                        Ken...do you know how they are mixing the channels? Is it similar to, or the same way I am doing it?  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 06-14-2005 03:16 AM                        I may have mentioned this before, but as long as a DI is investing in DTS and obviously concerned about quality sound, I suggest they look into using Dolby's Virtual Surround technology to create a surround sound environment. This process is used in many sound cards for computers and it's applied to TV and boom boxes all the time. It creates a fairly believable surround channel from two speakers. The one drawback that makes it impractical in large invironement is that to get the proper surround sensation, you have to be sitting pretty much between the two speakers, as you do in front of a computer monitor. This would work very well in the cab of a car as pretty much the whole cab is in the sweet spot. Sony makes a processor that will take the five channels and processes them for virtual surround. This is for headset listening, but no reason at all that it wouldn't be easily adapted for DI use after the processor. Once you got that in place, you've only got one thing left to do -- HYPE: The ONLY Drive-In in the WORLD that presents movie soundtracks in full Dolby Virtual Surround, creating a 360* soundfield that rivals anything you will find in an indoor cinema! The beauty is that I think this Sony unit (there must be lots of other manufactures out there as well who have incorporated this Dolby technology into their products) cost under $300! Small price to pay for the ability to offer surround sound. I heard this at a Computer Expo in NYC maybe 8 years ago now and it was damn impressive -- you would swear there were speakers behind your head.  |  IP: Logged William Hooper Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1879 From: Mobile, AL USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-14-2005 06:40 AM                        Wow, an untapped revenue stream for Drive-Ins. In the early days of FM stereo, when most music stations were on AM & most cars had only AM receivers, FM stations (& the sister AM's) made a tidy little stream by selling "FM Converters" to add FM to your radio. Go ahead & matrix it all down in the rack, & sell "Surround Sound Converters" at the snack bar.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-14-2005 07:32 AM                     Actually I would look at the SRS system as a surround option for driveins I built a cheap encoder for a drivein once and it worked very well even in a two speaker care the depth of the surround effect was still noticed as it appeared to move outside the car  |  IP: Logged Ken Layton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1452 From: Olympia, Wash. USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 06-14-2005 09:24 AM                     Jack has his digital sound system patched into a computer in the booth.  |  IP: Logged

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