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I am a bit of a newbie so please bear with me. I have a general question about projectors. I'm looking to purchase a cinema pub that does some conference business as well. However, the companies that rent out the cinemas during the day have no real way to project Microsoft Powerpoint presentations, their own movies, tv, etc. since there is just a conventional 35mm film projector in place.

I'd like to have the ability to install a good quality office projector (hung from the ceiling) that will allow me run these types of inputs onto the screen, however is there a way to have it run these AND film in order to get rid of the standard movie projector? In other words, I'd like to know if there is a device or technology that you can run the 35mm film through that reads the film and outputs a signal via component video, s-video, RCA, etc.? This way, you could connect that kind of device to a typical office projector and project the film. This kind of projector would also allow you to plug in DVD players, tv signals, laptop computers, etc. I figure if movie projectors have the technology to read film, couldn't there be a cheap device that acts as the film reader only, and convert to a signal?

Any thoughts?

A digital projector should be able to do what you are explaining...except for the 35mm part. There has been lots of discussions here about the conversion to digital. Search and check them out. For a quick answer the two main issues concerning digital 'film' projection is that it is VERY expensive and is not as widely accepted as 35mm is. So as it stands now, you still would benefit from having two projectors. One for your presentations and computer work and a 35mm for film.

Geo

Thank you - however I really don't want to go digital due to the cost. Having an outsider's perspective has perhaps allowed me to come up with this new idea .....

Think of the head of a VCR at your home. The film of the VCR tape runs through a few readers that take up an area no bigger than a piece of bread - VCR's are incredibly cheap, so why isn't there (or is there) a technology that can read 35mm film, and have a few RCA jacks on the back to send the signal to a typical office projector? See what I mean? You'd have the best of several worlds (except digital) at less cost than a standard movie projector!!!

you're right, it sounds like it should work but I've never heard of such a device. I would sure want one if there were one.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by eop8:
<B>Thank you - however I really don't want to go digital due to the cost. Having an outsider's perspective has perhaps allowed me to come up with this new idea .....

Think of the head of a VCR at your home. The film of the VCR tape runs through a few readers that take up an area no bigger than a piece of bread - VCR's are incredibly cheap, so why isn't there (or is there) a technology that can read 35mm film, and have a few RCA jacks on the back to send the signal to a typical office projector? See what I mean? You'd have the best of several worlds (except digital) at less cost than a standard movie projector!!! </B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

They already have "film-to-video" converters---they're called "telecine machines". They've been around for 50 years and they're still incredibly expensive. And yes, they are made in 35mm, 16mm, and 8mm models.

The quick answer to your question is "no". The equipment DOES exist, though as Ken says, getting ahold of one would put the whole project way out of range of your "low price" goal.

Early telecines were projectors, modified with special shutters, small lamps and fast-start drives. As I understand them, modern versions are more-or-less like scanners, and don't run at standard speeds.

Think of it this way... if this equipment was that easy to get ahold of, film piracy would explode. Anyone who could get a print could just run it through their digital setup and voila! Instant DVD.