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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Digital Cinema Forum   » media player for playing digital files (Page 1)

 
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2   
Author Topic: media player for playing digital files
Dave Ritchie
Film Handler

Posts: 65
From: Thames, New Zealand
Registered: Oct 2006

- posted 06-24-2007 05:37 AM      Profile for Dave Ritchie   Email Dave Ritchie   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
My boss informed me that we have been offered movies from the smaller companies (mainly art-house films) in a digital format and has asked me to set one of our cinemas up for this.
I have been sent a email that has offered to send the files

A- on DVD (I'm leaving this industry if we start playing DVDs to the public

Or B- on hard drive in 1.3k format

Of cause i'm going for the 1.3k till hopefully they can supply 2k

anyway for starting out we have a Panasonic PT-DW5000L projector and i have a budget of about $2000 to set up the computer and cabling and so forth- For a start i just really want to know what the best media player for the job is.

I sure i'll have more questions in the near future tho

Thanks for any help

Dave

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Michael Moore
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 188
From: Dover, DE / USA
Registered: Jun 2006

- posted 06-24-2007 10:24 AM      Profile for Michael Moore   Author's Homepage   Email Michael Moore   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Funny you posted this question, I have a very similar question; however it is abot projectors. We have a film festival every May, "Hearts and Minds Film Festival" we show primarily student documentaries, and narratives. We also show some professional smaller art films, as well as a very few big name docs. The first two year we projected with a small DLP from Dell; MP2300; I projected 60 fims over a three day period the bulb died on the last day! We have no choice but to show the films on DVD because the films are mostly from local film students. So we then show all the films in DVD format for this festival. I don't like it, but it is all we have for this festival, however I want to upgrade the projector. I want a projector that will work well with a 84 foot throw and still be bright. Is the Panasonic PT-DW5000L a good projector does anyone know of a better one to use that is economical as well?

I wish we could go with a higher quality but the company that supports this festival is small and they do everything on DVD.

I wish I could help with the media player question, sorry.

Mike

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 06-24-2007 11:00 AM      Profile for Scott Norwood   Author's Homepage   Email Scott Norwood   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
What size screen? Will you be buying or renting? What is the budget?

For "small" video projectors, I really like the Panasonic 7700, which is a 3-chip DLP unit. It has interchangeable lenses and tons of adjustments, but is not cheap.

I've also used and been happy with the Sanyo LCD models, particularly the XF45. This also has interchangeable lenses, though it is larger and heavier than the Panasonic model.

The Sony VPL-FX51 is also an LCD unit and is also good. It is tiny (it looks like a flying saucer) and quiet and the long-throw zoom lens is good for most theatres. The contrast ratio is not as good as the other two models, but the size and convenience may make up for that, and the image quality is otherwise quite good.

All of these are a couple of years old and there may be something newer that is better. Around here, the going rental rate is about $1k per day and more if you need a specific lens. See if you can get a manufacturer to sponsor you; Sony has been very good about sponsoring various film festivals with donations of free equipment rental.

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Jon P. Inghram
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 124
From: Wichita, KS USA
Registered: Jan 2007

- posted 06-24-2007 11:47 AM      Profile for Jon P. Inghram   Email Jon P. Inghram   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
For playback software on a PC, you might consider VLC.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

- posted 06-24-2007 01:57 PM      Profile for Steve Guttag   Email Steve Guttag   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Widescreen is the way to go nowadays.

Of Scott's favorites...the PT-DW7000 would be a better choice over the 7700.

For the Sanyo...you have from the PLV-80 (a lot of bang for the buck there) up to their PLV-HD150 with the PLV-80 and PLV-WF10 taking the lion's share of the sales. Note the PLV-HD100 and HD150 are both 2K projectors (1920x1080 and come with HDSDI inputs as well as HDCP compliant DVI/HDMI inputs). The PLV-80 is HDCP compliant out of the box but the PLV-WF10 has to have the HDCP compliant input module added.

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Michael Moore
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 188
From: Dover, DE / USA
Registered: Jun 2006

- posted 06-24-2007 02:56 PM      Profile for Michael Moore   Author's Homepage   Email Michael Moore   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Scott who at Sony do you contact for loaner equipment? I think in the long run that might be the best bet for us.

Mike

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 06-24-2007 09:37 PM      Profile for Scott Norwood   Author's Homepage   Email Scott Norwood   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Answered in private mail.

Thankfully, I haven't had to deal with HDCP yet, but I'm sure that it will come up in the forseeable future....

Edit: if you have a smallish screen and can live with the short-throw (non-interchangeable) lens that comes with it, I should also mention that Canon (the camera people) makes a really nice LCoS projector that sells for about $7k. The contrast ratio isn't so great, but the picture is otherwise gorgeous, without visible pixels.

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David Favel
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 764
From: Ashburton, New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2002

- posted 06-25-2007 01:48 AM      Profile for David Favel   Email David Favel   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Depending on the screen size & throw, well./.. there are so many options.

However for playback I suggest
panamedia australia
This is the Aussie site, but I am pretrty sure they have a U.S. distributer.
For 1.3k and pre show I am totally happy.

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Peter Castle
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 220
From: Wollongong University, NSW ,Australia
Registered: Oct 2003

- posted 06-25-2007 04:33 AM      Profile for Peter Castle   Email Peter Castle   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Dave Ritchie
My boss informed me that we have been offered movies from the smaller companies (mainly art-house films) in a digital format and has asked me to set one of our cinemas up for this.
I have been sent a email that has offered to send the files

A- on DVD (I'm leaving this industry if we start playing DVDs to the public

Or B- on hard drive in 1.3k format

Of cause i'm going for the 1.3k till hopefully they can supply 2k

anyway for starting out we have a Panasonic PT-DW5000L projector and i have a budget of about $2000 to set up the computer and cabling and so forth- For a start i just really want to know what the best media player for the job is.
We have a Panamedia system - a must if you want to incorporate the player into your automation system (we don't). Over the past few months we've screened several of these features, varying in resolution from 576p (DVD) to 720p (mid-range HD). We are waiting for the time when 1080 line format is available this way - can't see DCI-compliance getting popular in the antipodes any time soon. Be that as it may, DVD quality is often comparable to these digital files, most of which lack 5.1 sound but have lower compression rates.

We've done some audience comparisons with film features and blu-ray discs - our audience has preferred the disc in most cases.

So that others can comment with all the facts, we have a Kinoton FP25-E 35mm projector and a Panasonic DW10000 (full HD at 10,000 lumens) for video projection. Our screen is 22' in height.

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Patrick de Groot
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 161
From: Sprang-Capelle, Netherlands
Registered: Apr 2001

- posted 06-25-2007 05:31 AM      Profile for Patrick de Groot   Email Patrick de Groot   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Peter Castle
We've done some audience comparisons with film features and blu-ray discs - our audience has preferred the disc in most cases.
Do you mean you compared a 35mm film with a blu-ray disc? What title? Can you explain what you did? Did you also compare it yourself? What are your findings?

I found somewhere on the internet that the Panasonic is something like 65000 euro.

Specs
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Panasonic-PT-DW10000.htm

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Peter Castle
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 220
From: Wollongong University, NSW ,Australia
Registered: Oct 2003

- posted 06-25-2007 07:02 AM      Profile for Peter Castle   Email Peter Castle   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
"Babel", "A Scanner Darkly" and "The Fountain".

Small sample shown after completion of 35mm screening.

General opinion was the picture was more stable, and clearer, perhaps with a slightly different colour palette.

My opinion agreed.

Yes, the projector is quite expensive - but still cheaper than DCI.

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Phil Blake
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 558
From: esperance western australia
Registered: Nov 2003

- posted 06-25-2007 08:02 AM      Profile for Phil Blake   Author's Homepage   Email Phil Blake   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
we recently installed a Cine plus 2k media player locally made in Melbourne, they work well have a touchscreen with very easy to use functions , is capable of interface with automation it will play 2k files. They are network ready and can be controlled off site.If an operator has an issue I can log in at home and rectify the problem.
We also introduced a panasonic 5000 this end result is quite good on a 22 foot screen with a 30 foot throw . The file quality is the real issue , some are very good (20gig for a 100minute show) , and others are terrible and they are around 9 or 10 gig for a 100minute show.

have a look at the info on their web site

http://www.d-cinema.com.au

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Christopher Meredith
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 126
From: Jackson, MS, USA
Registered: Apr 2006

- posted 06-25-2007 05:11 PM      Profile for Christopher Meredith   Author's Homepage   Email Christopher Meredith   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I'm a Linux user so from that perspective, I would recommend a Linux-based machine with mplayer doing the work. This would get you 100% uptime and mplayer can handle pretty much anything you can throw at it. It's also very scriptable so you could easily build your own digital preshow.

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Dave Ritchie
Film Handler

Posts: 65
From: Thames, New Zealand
Registered: Oct 2006

- posted 06-25-2007 05:19 PM      Profile for Dave Ritchie   Email Dave Ritchie   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks all, we have had a demo of the Panamedia system and it looks very good. It looks like that in the future we will be fitting out all our screens with these and new projectors.

David i would love to come down and have a look at your cinema one day if i am ever in your neck of the woods

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Scott Christopher
Film Handler

Posts: 69
From: Adelaide, South Australia
Registered: Apr 2001

- posted 06-26-2007 07:51 AM      Profile for Scott Christopher   Email Scott Christopher   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I recommend Panamedia. The unit can be set up as a stand-alone or networked to a central 'Manager' computer for scheduling and adjusting the settings. The players settings are easy to understand and configure, this allows ease of installation in most projection/automation environments. The automation interface can be either dry contact or rs232. It's very easy to install.

If you're interested, feel free to contact me as I work closely with the people that build them.

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