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Author
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Topic: Remote operating/monitoring projectors with 2 way radios
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Randy Stankey
Film God
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Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 08-03-2001 05:20 AM
I don't like the idea of using radio to remotely control anything except model airplanes and cars. There's too much chance of a spurious transmission/reception causing unwanted behavior.Now, if you were talking INFRARED... you have my attention. Yes, there is still the chance for unwanted operation but the difference is you can control the access points to the system. You have to be within X feet of an emitter/receiver for the remote to work. By putting them in areas with restricted access you can further reduce chances of interference. Put an infrared port on the back of each projector, and maybe one or two on the ceiling of the main booth hallway, etc. Then network them all together and maybe have a computer as the "hub" of the system and you might have a pretty righteous setup on your hands! So what's the remote control device? Easy! A Palm computer! Just point your Palm computer at the port on any projector and tap the screen. You can check up on the status (or remotely start, if you dare) each projector in the system. The Palm can even be programmed with the showtime schedule so that it can beep to remind you when to start the shows. Even though it would be too expensive for any regular theatre to install a system like that, let alone get anybody to maintain it, it has been a little ongoing gedanken experiment with me. (Excess windshield time gives you lots of opportunity to think about silly stuff like that. )
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Tom Sauter
Expert Film Handler
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Posts: 163
From: Buffalo, NY, USA
Registered: Sep 2000
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posted 08-03-2001 03:37 PM
I too occasionally have too much "winshield time", which has resulted in some interesting remote capabilities in the screening room that I operate. For example, we have wireless changeovers and I can dial up the theatre from my laptop and take control of a show. That's not to say I do, however. Its just fun to say that I can.The wireless (RF) stuff is quite susceptible to interference, specifically the police department that is right next door that is on an adjacent frequency! We have an integrated remote control system from AMX/Panja ( http://www.panja.com ) that is user programmable with an infinite number of peripherals. Our system integrates audio switching and volume, video switching, cinema processor input switching, a box o' relays for projectors, surveillance cameras, and slide projectors into a snazzy interface that can be operated by my laptop, a touch-screen, two-way RF touch-screens, etc. The possibilities are endless, however the practicality of it all sometimes stops me short of making some rediculous change. For example, it would only take about a day and a thousand dollars to upgrade the system to the point that from anywhere in the world I could: Unlock the theatre doors Turn on the lights Turn on pre-show music and slides Dim the lights and start the show Adjust framing and focus (monitored via closed circuit TV) Adjust the volume And lock up at the end of the night And then I would be out of a job, since I wouldn't have to show up anymore! The systems are fun to build and play with, but I would be totally screwed the second I got a few hundred miles away only to discover a brain wrap.
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