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I'm curious how many of you have a digi projector/ not THE DIGITAL CINEMA, but the dvd/vhs/data projectors? Do you use it much? For ads? "Saraband" Sony Classics was released only on digi and they said they were quite surprised to find that many theatres were without and it really hurt the films distribution. net gross world wide: 636K

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Michael Hurley
Impresario

we are getting a lot of use out of ours with 30 year olds playing video games (HALO) after the last show or before the first show. We've also used it for some sporting events and some locally produced product.
We,ve even had a couple filmmakers use it to show investors (trying to get money to convert from vhs to film). Also, the local schools have brought in their sports teams (and fans). We,ve only had one business meeting.

How much do yo charge for the HALO playing parties?

We have digital projectors to run preshow ads. So far they have worked out much better than the 35mm slides.

we charge $40 per hour. In the morning its extra money while we clean. At night the manager has to decide if he wants to stay and gets time and a half. The groups have been as large as 12 staying for 3 hours. I'm thinking of running a tournament

What's the economy like in your town? I'm wondering about how much to charge in my town for this. Do you have the live hookup as well? I do have dsl here and could charge extra for that.

I've been wondering how tournaments are set up, how it's structured and how much to charge. But there's a great market for this around here and that could take care of a chunk of that heating bill!

which projector? How long is the throw? How much did it cost?

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Michael Hurley
Impresario

Mike,

Would you like to me to look for some projectors for you. I know a projectionist that could offer a good deal on them.

Phil

we are somewhat of a tourist town in the summer (home of the "Perfect Storm". Pretty much middle class. Not a great summer this year. Throw is about 60 feet. I use a Boxlight 40t. Back a couple years ago it cost me around $4,000 plus a $1,500 lens. I imagine its cheaper now.

I want one, maybe two, too. Group deal?

John,
Tell us how your parties work? What other equipment do you need for this? Is your projector in the booth or mounted on the ceiling?

the projector is in the booth. There is a porthole next to the one for the projector.
On the back wall of the theater (front wall of the booth) i installed an electric plug and an RCA jack. The customers video game system plugs in here. I have RCA cords running to a Radio Shack 4 way box that sits on top of the sound rack. I have the video game plugged into one input, a vcr/dvd player into another and cable tv into the third. I'm trying to get permission from the local cable company to play the local high school football games when they are replayed on cable but no luck yet.We don't use the cable much because of copyright issues (but i split the sinal up to my office so its not so boring late at night). The video output goes to the Boxlight, the audio to the dolby 650 (so the games have great sound). I advertise availabilty at the front door and we get to put free coupons in the local phone book (i don't understand why that works for the phonebook company but it works for me. We are not connected to the internat.

1. if it's local high school football it may be on community access and it is not up to the cable guys but the local community tv chan.

2. thanks Phil/ I don't need a salesman or 3rd party help. If you know something: post it. Projectors or companies supplying them are not exactly hard to find; more like sorting between the 500 models. JW's answer is what I was looking for.

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Michael Hurley
Impresario

That long throw requires a special lens. (JW paid 1500. for his) We were lucky our projector came from another auditorium as it came with the lens. Otherwise, you have to mount it somewhere in the middle of the auditorium or in back of the screen, projected from the rear. I think the long throw is necessary unless you use some type of elevator thing to get the video proj. away from the film projector.

You can hang video in the middle like that but it's tricky to find the right place that doesn't interfere with the film projection and still looks okay. Better to get the long lens.

Mine is mounted outside the booth wall, just above the viewing port. Video source is inside the booth, and sound is hooked through the Dolby processor. My kid had his birthday party there with Halo and they had a great time!

I'm hearing that the best deals come from rental houses that are upgrading. And I'm looking for another one for the other aud.

s