Platter history info wanted

[David Ferguson]

I'm reading up on the history of film platters, from its invention in Germany to the distribution around the world, and am trying to find a bit of info on them. So far I know that:

- They were patented in Germany 1964 by Willi Burth
- They were then manufactured and distributed either by Kinoton, or by Philips
- The first Kinoton/Philips one installed in the US was 1968, in Quincy, IL
- By 1974, 10 years later, Kinoton had installed 1000 platters
- Burth and Kinoton won a Scientific and Engineering Award in 1987 for the design and development of the platter
- There was a copy made by Bob Potts in the US, that may have been earlier than 1968, and it was air-driven?


So I'm interested in any history/stories/facts related to this, but in particular I'm trying to find answers to:

1. Was the platter developed/distributed by Philips, or Kinoton? My current guess is that it was Kinoton that developed it with Burth, but they then got Philips to distribute it. This aligns with Kinoton getting the Academy Award, but it being listed in Philips trade leaflets, and being distributed by Norelco in the US.
2. I'd love to learn more about the Bob Potts air-driven platter - when was it made, any ideas of how many were installed? Is Bob Potts still around? Anyone have any pictures or promotional material of them?

[Steve Guttag]

Check out the Film-Notes for Reel People (warehouse section). There is one by Lynn Shubert of Christie (and it is an inaccurate but still info) of the patter history. Bob Potts is definitely the father of the American Platters and I believe was instrumental to the AW1 for Christie. You can DEFINITELY see the Rotomatic's influence (Norelco). The whole take up thing is right from Norelco. However, Christie used fiberglass decks and electro-optical sensors rather than full mechanical for the payout speed control. I don't know who was "responsible" for the Simplex air drive platters but they were short lived. Eprad had their attempt as well. The vestiges were the MUT (Make Up Table) which was used extensively as a "Tower" rather than their failed platter.

In the USA, in the end, you had Christie, which evolved in the the AW3 by 1980 and was "refined" over the years, Drive In Manufacturing COmpany (DITMICO), which renamed as SPECO by the mid 80s, Potts and Potts knock-offs (like Film- Systems) and ORC. The Strong platters were Potts...same company manufactured them from the Potts design. They differed in the evolution of their control systems though both started with "micro switch" type controllers and Variac take ups.

[John Eickhof]

From what I understand, in the early days David is correct in the German origin at Kinoton, Steve is right on in the US, Bob Potts did design the first American platters, (after he left the christie design due to differences of opinion ) I had many conversations with Bob about this through the years) the Norelco (Northern Electric Company) div of Phillips brought the Rotomatic unit to Canada and the USA all of this in the early 1970s, I have advertisements from 1970 in Boxoffice with the Rotomatic units. The Simplex aeromatic was designed at GPL (General Precision Labs div of NTS) for the new Jerry Lewis Theatre circuit. It used high velocity airmotors to keep from infringing on Potts patents using the Lamb vacuum cleaner motors. However, sound levels of these exceeded 115 db! thus their life was very short lived, As well as poorly designed disc z under supports that were formed so the sharp leading edge tended to scalp the operator if their head was under a rotating disc! The DITMCO (SPECO) LP-270 was introduced around 1973-4 and was designed by Gene Higgenbotham and his brother George. Ironically, it was such a robust design that it was made pretty much unchanged up until the end of SPECO in the 2000s. Only the MUT was finally redesigned in the late 1990s. Other lesser makes were then spawned through the 1980s like the TECO (which resembled the green Rank Platter made by the Rank Organization) And there were several long play reel to reel systems like the Cinemeccanica towers, the Unicinema, Eprad had a very crude platter and their more popular SWORD and DBL-MUT unit plus local made things like Bill Tinney's transport, basically a modified Neumade work bench that held 13,000 ft reels. They worked well and I had install a dozen or so of them My observations are from actual conversations with most of these parties and or actual experience selling, installing and maintaining them in the field.

[David Ferguson]

Thanks both!

The Simplex aeromatic was designed at GPL (General Precision Labs div of NTS) for the new Jerry Lewis Theatre circuit. It used high velocity airmotors to keep from infringing on Potts patents using the Lamb vacuum cleaner motors.

Interesting, I had heard that Bob Potts had designed the Aeromatic, not that it was designed to avoid his patents! But I've found his patent now though, filed 1971, and a skim read doesn't show any mention of it being air-driven, so unless he designed an earlier one that I can't find the patent for, it was indeed not him behind the Aeromatic. And I'll definitely have a read through the patent and find the differences with the Kinoton/Philips, and how he got round their patents.

I had many conversations with Bob about this through the years

Do you, or anyone else, know if Bob, or anyone from Potts Enterprises, is still around? Would love to get a definitive answer to some of the questions I have...

[Steve Guttag]

Oh...I forgot...there was the Xetron/Neumade platters and were of their own design. Naturally, Big Sky (former Xetron/Neumade people) had their knockoff and "improved" version. MIT had their own evolution of the Christie platter as their people hailed from Christie.

SPECO did evolve their platter some. They developed the removable feed plates, played with the take up a bit with more rollers to deal with faster start up projectors and had the LP-280 that automatically would select modes instead of the old-school switches (who remembers changing those out?). Of course, the SPECO platter and magnetic films were not the best of friends being that they had welded on ribs on a ferrous deck. You could have a magnetically charged deck. Heck, they used magnets to hold the tails on! SPECO should get credit for a better "microswitch" type design by using magnetic reed switches and that they were 3-speed payouts (off, take up speed, high speed). The mass of the decks prevents it front going crazy when high-speed it set. So, it can deal with show start and then settles down to going between takeup and off.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

There was a Simplex Air platter in the theater in Kaysville, UT. Not still in service, but the owner did use it to make up films on. Then he transferred them to the AW-3's. He said the thing was a nightmare when it was being used...

Bob Potts used to fly up to the Chicago area in his Airplane and I'd pick him up at DuPage County airport in West Chicago. He had made the coolest folding bicycle that he carried in the plane in case he landed at an airport and the restaurant was a distance away. I don't remember what make of plane it was. No, he did not build the airplane!

[John Eickhof]

I think Bob's brother in law ( I can't recall his name but met him a couple times ) may still be, he owned Design and Manufacturing Co. in Urbana IL, he actually manufactured the platters for Potts I believe D&M was making them for strong too. Yes Steve, I forgot about the refinements to the SPECO, I sold a lot of them because I was never afforded a Christie dealership...Isold a few Xetrons though.

[Sean McKinnon]

Xetron and Neumade both had "potts" style platters as well as the Neumatic! NXP-3000 and NXP-5000! ORC had the NSP (or was it ESP) that was unique.

[Steve Guttag]

I wouldn't classify the Xetron/Neumade platter as the same as a Potts. There weren't the interchangableness on them as much as say a balco or CFS. Earlier Xetron had a dual microswitch thing though I suppose the take ups were similar. The laterones and Neumades were completely on their own. Xetron didn't use the same style motors either and would throw the prints, on the earlier ones, as the platter would jerk start/stop.

[Brad Miller]

SPECO did evolve their platter some...played with the take up a bit with more rollers to deal with faster start up projectors...

Unfortunately that came at a cost of a very loose takeup wind. It also made the final twist a bit short for the top deck on takeup.

Their removable brain design left a lot to be desired, but they did fix the weak center ring and as you explained above their 3-position payout design (full speed / takeup speed / off) worked extremely well.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

The prototype Big Sky platter was in The Centre Theater in Hardin, MT. I believe Mark's brother ran that theater, there were also a pair of Vic 4's there. That particular platter was never very stable, but his brother knew how to deal with it. It did not setup like a factory built Big Sky did. Apparently, that theater still operates on a "we're open once in a while" policy, according to their Facebook page. Have no idea what they ever did about digital system there. Hardin is literally with in spitting distance of the Crow Reservation and 15 min from Little Big Horn Monument...

When I was in the Chicago Burbs, I sold quite a few SPECO's, but for every SPECO I sold ten Potts. Went to D&M a number of times to pick up platters. Was a pretty darn large place in the middle of Corn Fields in Fisher, IL,, and yes, they did make the Strong platters. They made the decks on a spinning lathe that appeared to also have been made by them. The center hole was cut first and used as the reference on the lathe they used to roll the outer edge and trim off the deck edge. Didn't take them very long to roll and trim the edge... Like less than a minute. D&M is still there today...

[Mike Blakesley]

The Centre Theater in Hardin, MT. I believe Mark's brother ran that theater, there were also a pair of Vic 4's there. That particular platter was never very stable, but his brother knew how to deal with it. It did not setup like a factory built Big Sky did. Apparently, that theater still operates on a "we're open once in a while" policy, according to their Facebook page. Have no idea what they ever did about digital system there.

The Hardin MT theater did digitize, I'm not sure what they had (or still have) for equipment. They are mostly a restaurant/casino now and show oldies in the auditorium on the weekends. I don't know if they are using actual DCPs for the oldies or just running disks. My guess is, it's disks. It's pretty sad what happened over there, it was a pretty nice theater in its day and the lady who owned it was a good friend. But, proximity to Billings, Covid, and wacky studio booking policies combined to do them in as a first run house.

That theater and mine were the first two in Montana to have DTS sound, as far as I know. The owner (Dione Smith) retired some years ago and passed away early this year.

[Terry Monohan]

Seems like AMC Theatres around used the platter system at first in CA. So many union and regular projectionists lost their jobs during the early platter days and the managers had to learn to work the semi automated booth or turn the duty over to the the candy bar staff.

In San Jose CA when Ray Syufy put in platters at his roadshow curved screen dome Century Theatres they ruined so many 35mm/70mm prints by not having trained projection people in the booth. This was the same time they got rid of the union janitors. Many times I would go to see a film at his domes on their new platters with no one in the booth and the movie would start upside down. A few times the film got on the projection floor and got ruined, scratched up or torn up. So many studios told him they would not send any more 70mm prints as they were getting ruined on a platter. After a few months they did hire dedicated non union people that stayed in the projection booth at least at the start and rewind set up process for the next show. No more refreshment help running films and pulled out of the candy counter. The poor manager had to do so much in the start of the platter system days. They had to learn how to splice and assemble and tear down the large film reels.

Now most of the film platters are gone and no one is in the projection booth for video DCP shows, A few cinemas still left will still use the old platters or show change over 20 minute reels so some live person projection work is still around.

[Sean McKinnon]

I wouldn't classify the Xetron/Neumade platter as the same as a Potts. There weren't the interchangableness on them as much as say a balco or CFS

Agreed on the non interchangeables. I was thinking more appearance and take up style. the 1/4 phono plugs and the pins that would keep the feed plate from spinning were always an issue.