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Topic: What Is Soooo Difficult About Platter Design?
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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"
Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 01-09-2006 04:22 AM
quote: Louis Bornwasser
Will: of course you are correct.
If you started with a Christie-style platter (easy threading) and used a disc that used a digital position sensor, you could program any possibility of motor actions. Wrap proof; self calibrating, etc.
The reason we don't already have this is: No demand and no way to pay back development cost. Louis
Your vision has come true some time ago with Kinoton platter systems (ST200E). They constantly recalibrate themselves and are basically wrap proof. You can even hold on to the platter and brainwrap it massively and then watch it recover and recalibrate within moments. They are built like a tank - literally: the platter decks run on the same bearings used for German tank tracks.
Some have made a big deal out of the fact that the threading path used to be different for the lowest deck. I hear that has been changed recently (although I haven't see it yet), but even without a change the difference is really only that when you come back from the projector, you use either a roller that directs the film onto the lowest deck, or another one that sends it up the tree. In any case, that takes even less brainjuice than moving a roller cluster or setting a payout/rewind switch like on some other platter models. No matter what personal preferences may be, the threading path is just much simpler than on any other platter. There is simply less rollers, less up and down and no go here and then come back at all.
The brain defines which platter deck is paying out and some don't like that, I have never understood why. Since the brain has a very broad but shallow base and connector, it comes out of the deck easily and never gets stuck or the connector damaged.
Since there are no moving parts on the brain, there is nothing to get stuck there or go out of alignment.
The platters have a threading and a run mode which is selected by whether the motor of the projector is running or not. During threading, the platter gives you some film and then stops for a moment so that there is no hectic pulling out miles of film and brainwrapping before the show even starts, and when the projector starts, the platter immediately starts up by itself before the brain takes over so it doesn't have to "catch up" with the projector.
The problem is that all that costs more money than other platter systems and that also answers the question why they aren't seen here more often. But they are extremely popular in Europe despite the costs because people know that they will rarely if ever lose a show because of platter problems.
There is a lower cost version now (FT3M) which is mechanically simpler and has a brain with a moving take up arm (and a hall sensor) but the steering routines are exactly the same and there is even a software tool to monitor the performance and correct functioning of the sensors.
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