Inflatable Movie Screen - Seasonal - Store and Cleaning

How to store your inflatable movie screen – fall Cleanup & storage

A cool wind is blowing in from the west for our friends and customers in the mid and northern climates. As the weather cools and the leaves are come off the trees, it time to think about caring for your AIRCSREEN. A little time now may save you effort and money next spring.

We recommend a thorough cleaning of your inflatable frame and screen surface. At this time of year, be especially careful that organic like leaves are not trapped in the screen when it was last used or cleaned, as these will leave permanent marks on the screen surface. Also make sure the screen is completely dry!

Clean your outdoor movie screen surface with water with Fantastik or Simple Green.

We strongly recommend checking all of your outdoor movie equipment for damaged parts. It makes sense to also make a list of what you have. That way, next spring, you can be sure that nothing is missing.

If you need a new surface or movie screen bungees, a spare blower or a repair, call us at Outdoor Movies at (301) 838-4544 x102 or connect with us through our website at www.outdoor-movies.com and we'll help. 

Examples of Competing Inflatable Screens

During the outdoor movie buying season, the most frequent question we get is, "what is the difference between the AIRSCREEN inflatable screen and the competitor's?" For comparison purposes we thought that it would be helpful to post some images taken from the public Internet.

For images of AIRSCREEN - from Outdoor Movies - Inflatable Screens, and AIRSCREEN's outdoor screen gallery. 

Outdoor Movies Awarded New Patent for Inflatable Screens

Outdoor Movies received a new patent for the invention of the airtight seal in use on all Aeropro and many Classic AIRSCREEN inflatable screens. This invention improves the performance of the movie screen in wind. This represents a major improvement over zippers and standard closures in use on a typical inflatable screen. The benefit to the outdoor movie screen user is that the AIRSCREEN frame does not feel soft like a typical inflatable but is as hard as a solid structure. The AIRSCREEN inflatable screen does not flex or move in wind and/or weather.

The patent  was applied for in 2008 and awarded without amendment making the patent broad. The patent additionally applies to all inflatable structures, not just inflatable screens.

For more information
www.outdoor-movies.com
www.airscreen.com
866-448-3456 (USA)
301-838-4544 (Direct)

Glasses Free 3D Coming?

Might the following "preview" the possibility of large outdoor 3D displays for a outdoor movie presentations without glasses? I will write a follow up next week.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) and Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHI) today unveiled Dolby® 3D, a 3D HD format and suite of technologies designed to deliver full HD 3D content to 3D-enabled devices, including glasses-free displays. Dolby 3D is being demonstrated at the NAB Show® (April 16–19, 2012) at booth SU1212.

The two leading companies have undertaken the joint project to improve the 3D viewing experience on displays of all sizes, including smartphones, tablets, PCs, and televisions. Dolby 3D is a complete system designed to work throughout the chain to deliver clear glasses-free 3D content that operates over existing distribution systems.

"Philips® has a long history in 3D technologies and video innovation, and Dolby has a proven track record of enabling technologies to enhance entertainment experiences. Together, we identified a business need where we could bring a unique offering to the market that improves the end-user experience," said Ruud Peters, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Philips. "By unveiling Dolby 3D, we introduce a 3D HD format capable of powering glasses-free 3D displays of any size, enabling broadcasters, operators, content aggregators, and device manufacturers to deliver HD-quality 3D on any device."

Ramzi Haidamus, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Dolby Laboratories, stated: "We believe that Dolby 3D can help drive the adoption of 3D—creating a comfortable, customizable, truly enjoyable glasses-free 3D viewing experience while enhancing 3D display performance. Armed with the innovative glasses-free 3D display technology from Philips, based on years of extensive research and development in the field, we plan to bring the same philosophy to 3D that Dolby has brought to the audio space—integrating our technologies and strengths throughout the entire content chain. Consumers will know that when they see Dolby 3D content on a 3D-enabled device, it will look its very best."

"Dolby and Philips are committed to taking the 3D experience to the next level and delivering a high-quality solution for all 3D display devices, including today's glasses-based devices and tomorrow's glasses-free displays. Working on cutting-edge technology with two leading companies is very exciting, and I'm thrilled to lead this unique joint effort," said Guido Voltolina, General Manager of the joint project.

The focus of the project will be to work with original equipment manufacturers of display panels and entertainment devices to enhance the performance of 3D consumer devices to make viewing of 3D content just as convenient and appealing as viewing of 2D content on a high-quality screen is today. This project is uniquely positioned to enable the industry's adoption of 3D by working on standardization and licensing of the technology.

The Dolby 3D experience will seamlessly integrate into the use cases and viewing patterns of consumers on the go and in the home, making the use of 3D devices an enjoyable daily experience. Content owners and broadcast operators have the unique opportunity to differentiate their offerings by encoding 3D titles in Dolby 3D for maximum fidelity on Dolby 3D enabled devices while maintaining compatibility with existing 3D products. The system will enable a 3D HD format, including tools for 3D content creation and real-time 3D content conversion.

Future of projection - 4K cinema, 13.1 Surround, 55k Lumens

The article below offers a stunning look at the future. It is from a blog posted to Rental & Staging Magazine:

The 2nd Annual Moody Gardens Digital Cinema Symposium kicked off Monday at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas. Barco, teaming with museum cinema integration company D3D Cinema, is the event’s host, and Barco–as much of the electronics industry played with gadgets at CES in Vegas– unveiled some impressive large-screen milestones here in Galveston, on day one of the two-day event.

In demos for an audience of select reporters, theater owners, consultants, and analysts, Barco has demo’d its Enhanced 4K DLP Cinema 3D offering, Auro-3D multi-channel three dimensional audio system, and a new prototype Laser projector.

Barco first released its 4K DLP Cinema projector in 2010– but Barco is now exploring higher frame rates. The specification of 48fps in the DCI spec ushered in 3D. But further evolution of frame rates will see the ability to achieve 60, 96, and 120 fps performance– to be able to do 30fps, 48fps, and even 60fps 3D. And DLP technology– that Barco (as well as the other DLP Cinema licensees Christie and NEC) uses for its light engine– can more easily move to these faster frame rates– with a software upgrade– than can Sony’s SXRD technology.

We all learned years ago– in film school or in the field– that great audio can make the difference in the movie experience. And we attendees of this Digital Cinema Symposium were reminded today by Brian Claypool, Sr. Director, Strategic Business Development, Media and Entertainment, Barco, that in fact Barco got it’s start in audio– as the “Belgium American Audio Company”. And we experienced a very impressive demo Monday of the new Auro-3D system from Barco and Auro Technologies. Auro-3D is a sound system designed along three spatial axes (width, depth and height) rather than the two axes as found in traditional surround sound.

The full Auro-3D loudspeaker layout is defined for up to 13.1 channels, but 11.1 will be the more common format for movie theaters. Auro-3D technology is compatible with existing formats, standards and distribution mechanisms, so according to Barco, “only a minimal hardware and installation investment is required to upgrade from traditional 5.1 to the Auro-3D 11.1 audio format.”

In the demo at Moody Gardens, Barco played some custom-produced recordings of city streets in Brussels, Belgium, as well as clips from “Red Tails”, the new movie that will be released to theaters this month, that is produced by George Lucas and based on the Tuskegee Airmen, the group of African-American combat pilots during World War II. I can say that the only time I’ve ever heard such dynamic, three dimensional sound was in a very custom (and expensive) demo in a Cirque Du Soleil theater in Las Vegas. The aural modeling achieved in the Barco demos Monday was awe-inspiring. The addition of the “height” channel that adds on a layer, and particularly the overhead channel really brings the audio to life.

Barco is trying– in competition with Dolby and a small group of other companies– to bring audio back into the movie theater experience in way that is as dramatic, and market-defining, as was the introduction of THX in movie theaters years ago. Auro-3D goes beyond Dolby’s previous 7.1DS format, and it does not use the rather complex and expensive “wave field synthesis” approach that IOSONO tried a few years back but alters the perception of spatial sound by adding multiple speakers in a hemispherical array. And key to this offering from Barco is that no extra distribution is needed from the studios. With Auro-3D, audio tracks can be created in the multiple source points originally, or upmixed from 5.1 to 11.1. But if a system is 5.1, it can extract just those tracks from 11.1 material. No need to release separate 5.1 and 11.1 material.

Barco has completed the first Auro-3D installations in the United States at select commercial theaters for Cinemark (in Dallas), Regal Entertainment Group (Los Angeles) and AMC Entertainment (Miami).

But certainly the most dramatic demo at the Digital Cinema Symposium was Barco’s showing of a prototype Laser projector. How many “prototype” demos have I seen, over the years, of new projection technology? Too many to count, and typically demos are done in smallish, darker-than-the-inside-of-a-cow rooms, and showing material that avoids things like skin tone. Not so this demo. I was very impressed. Although Todd Hoddick, Vice President Entertainment, North America, at Barco, prefaced the demo by asking the audience to bear with any glitches in the prototype demo, I can report that the admonition was totally unnecessary. The audience saw a stunning display on a massive screen (about 80 ft. wide at least), with a light output they have never seen anywhere. 600 watts of laser light into the 4K DLP (with a 1.38 inch chip), super high contrast, with amazingly uniform light output to the last inch of every corner of the screen. And although Hoddick explained that the “de-speckling” necessary for the laser-produced image still had a bit more to go in development (speckle is the introduction of image artifacts resulting from the interference of narrow bandwidth light), Barco did an amazing job of eliminating the speckle. Clips from “Pulse” (upcoming movie release from the producers of the Broadway hit “Stomp”) and from original 4K material shot with a Red 4K camera, projected onto the massive Harkness screen, were stunning. It’s impossible to describe the combined, synergistic effect of simultaneous very high light output (55K ANSI Lumens), higher contrast, and 4K resolution.

The benefits of Laser projection are easily listed:

• higher brightness (55K now, in this prototype– and in ANSI, not Center, Lumen measurement)

• unlimited dimming for 2D and 3D

• more energy-efficient than a high lumen projector using a Xenon lamp

• higher contrast, because of the more collimated light source

• wider color gamut (Barco projected, for comparison, the DCI standard color bar, vs the native color gamut color bar in the demo. The native color bar showed deeply saturated color)

• no light fall-off in edges or corners of screen

The challenges yet to overcome for Laser: cost is still too high for significant penetration; and very importantly, regulatory bodies have not signed off on the safety concerns (the light beam emitting from the projector onto the screen is not an issue, it’s the safety concerns surrounding the projector housing that is at issue).

Barco is showing Laser to the cinema and large venue world now, and stressing that when it does come, owners of their Xenon lamp DLP projectors will be able to retrofit to the new technology. In the meantime, there is plenty of keen interest in what’s available today, from the company: things like their “Dual 4k”– double stacked 4K Barco projectors that can put 83K Lumens on a single screen, and the new Auro 3D. And– coming soon from the company, their own Media Block. That last development will be another milestone– more on that to come.

Outdoor Movies - Trends in Playback - iSeries Outdoor Movies Package

At home, how do you watch a movie?  Do you use your iPad, AppleTV, Netflix, laptop... is portable media obsolete or almost obsolete? Does this affect the Outdoor Movie business.  I believe that it does. The studios hate discs because encryption is easy to break so the content is so easily pirated. I believe content will live on a device ie iTunes but eventually moves onto the cloud ie iTunes match.

Turning this "belief" into something actionable required us to rethink how we look at our outdoor movie packages, so we devised the iSeries Outdoor Movie Package,  which offers a Mac based playback platform with BluRay and storage/cloud based capabilities. The goal was to offer something for today and tomorrow.

What do you think?

Outdoor Movies 3D Package?

It is with interest that we have seen a seller of outdoor movie screens announce plans to offer  a 3D outdoor movie system. Their press release and website are understandably short of details. We will be interested to see which technology they have chosen.

As a leading pioneer in Outdoor 3D, and with our experience screening a 3D movie to 5,000 viewers using the RealD system on our projectors, we know what the challenges are!  Pioneering technologies comes at a price.

The basics of 3D are simple, there is a movie for the right eye and a movie for the left, so you actually show two movies. A 3D projector and polarizing filter alternates the image very quickly. The glasses make sure each eye only sees the movie it is supposed to see.  The challenge for outdoor display is that showing two movies at once (3D) requires enough light to show the two movies. So the projector must be 50-100% brighter for an equivalent brightness to a 2D display. So there is no real "cheap" 3D.

Stay tuned, there will be more news on this topic! We welcome your comments and feedback.