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Author Topic: Some Vintage DLP Cinema Pics Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 04-24-2016 10:03 PM                    I went to see a silent film presentation (off DVD presumably) at a wonderful small movie palace only about 40 minutes away that I was completely unaware of, the Hoosier Theatre in Whiting, Indiana. Walked in and what should I see but this blast from the past, a first generation (1.2K) DLP system. I was like OMG! For those unfamiliar, this is a separate projector head (the diagonal thing) and lamphouse. In those early days, the movie often came on a stack of DVD/R's that could take hours to load. Seemed odd that this small theatre could have been on the cutting edge but the owner explained that the setup actually came out of an ILM screening room and they had hoped to use it to show alt content but it never really worked out. And now, of course, they are digital with a Christie + GDC setup. And as long as I am dredging up DLP history, do you remember DPI (Digital Projection Inc.) as one of the DLP Cinema licensees? Neither does anyone else. They dropped out and NEC signed on. But here is a 2K projector head made by them and affectionately called "The Egg." Again, a separate lamphouse system. This was at Ebertfest 2007 at the Virginia Theatre (Champaign, IL) and provided by Jame Bond's Full Aperture Systems. Bond wasn't sure but felt it may have been the only one in the country. Has anyone else seen one of these?  |  IP: Logged Buck Wilson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 894 From: St. Joseph MO, USA Registered: Sep 2010 posted 04-25-2016 12:38 AM                     So did you buy it?!?! Seems a strange thing to keep in a lobby.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 04-25-2016 12:52 AM                    LOL no. Even if they gave it away, I'm not sure what I'd do with it. Hope it finds a good home though.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-25-2016 06:52 AM                        On the topic, here is the very first DLP installation in the US, which was used for the Star Wars screenings at the (now closed) Loews Meadows Six in Secaucus, NJ. in 1999: And here is the first DLP system in our market, installed at the General Cinema home office theatre in 2000; the first screening was Disney's Dinosaur.  |  IP: Logged Martin McCaffery Film God Posts: 2481 From: Montgomery, AL Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-25-2016 07:52 AM                        Sad how quickly digital equipment becomes "vintage."  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-25-2016 08:42 AM                     The blue ones are the hand built T.I. Projectors. There is one of those at GDC in Burbank that is in working condition. Mark  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 04-25-2016 10:50 AM                     The first DLP projectors I recall seeing were like the ones in the photos Scott posted. Basically it was just a Christie 35mm projector console with the "DLP Box" bolted on front where the 35mm projector head would have normally been. A friend who collects "Star Wars" stuff gave me a couple of these stickers which were apparently handed out at the first "Phantom Menace" digital screenings. I've been able to find very little technical info on the Boeing system online, but from what I have been able to scrounge up, it seems that Boeing mainly provided the encryption and satellite distribution technology. I'm not sure who built the projectors. According to an old press release I found online, Boeing sold off it's digital cinema division to Access-IT in the early 2000's Maybe someone here can contribute more info.  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 04-25-2016 11:23 AM                       DPI sold their TI "cinema" license to to NEC and went on to build non DCI spec DLP projectors for other applications.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 04-25-2016 02:52 PM                     MKPE has a bit of early digital cinema history on their website: http://mkpe.com/digital_cinema/history/ - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-25-2016 08:05 PM                     Okay...I've looked (searched) and haven't found the picture here on F-T that (I think Joe made) spoofed of the "Technicolor" digital projector. It morphed a MarkVII projector with a Technicolor metal shipping can. Where is it?  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-26-2016 03:16 PM                     What was the reason why the head on these early units, was pitched 45 degrees from vertical? I heard it had to do with the chipset, or similar.. thx -Monte  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-26-2016 03:59 PM                     I always want to get one of those heads and mount it on a Simplex Heavy Duty base and put a Peerles Hycandescent behind it and take a pix called "Old meets New"  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-26-2016 06:22 PM                     The original thought was to use existing lamp/power sources so the entrance and exit parameters are known thus the optics had to shift around to fit. Once the burden of not having to use existing light sources, they could alter the light path so it was convenient for the projector.  |  IP: Logged Pete Naples Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1565 From: Dunfermline, Scotland Registered: Feb 2001 posted 04-27-2016 08:55 AM                     I have some pictures of a Barco D CineStar on a Kinoton console I'd share in this thread, but for some reason I can't see the 'upload' button. Come to think of it I can't see the left hand site of the site like I used to.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 04-27-2016 10:28 AM                        quote: Jim Cassedy I've been able to find very little technical info on the Boeing system online, but from what I have been able to scrounge up, it seems that Boeing mainly provided the encryption and satellite distribution technology. I'm not sure who built the projectors. This was a VERY early concept, right? If this is what I heard about up here, it was short lived. I was only aware of the distribution part. At the time, Boeing had a lot of unused bandwidth available, and content distribution seemed like a good prospect. Reality eventually set in and, after they worked out the logistics, the idea was scrapped. If encryption was part of the deal, I didn't hear of it. I don't think Boeing had anything to do with the projectors... and probably not directly with the exhibitors, either. But... this was a long time ago, so there may be parts of this I've forgotten.  |  IP: Logged

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