I was going to repost all the aspect ratios & sound formats we're currently able to run -- after the last board seizure I kept copies of all my posts -- but there seems to be a 2000 character limit now, & that post is way more than 2000 characters.
     Tony?  Dave?  Whats with that? :(

     The loss of the old board's data necessitates going through all this again.
     This will be the place where I let all the folks who are interested in technical gobblydegook know whats happening at the theatre, & how we're progressing.  I'll update it when new stuff comes online, if the board allows me to modify it (the old board wouldnt).  If it wont, then I'll just add another post.
     Heres a run-down of where we are as of date of post:

     ASPECT RATIOS
     We can now run six, which is more than most venues (the Harvard Film Archive can run seven.  We will be passing them soon.)  Here they be:
     1.19   Also known (inaccurately) as Movietone.  This is a non-existent ratio that has achieved currency through the efforts of technotwits like the folks at Criterion.  Thanks mostly to these blowholes, a number of prints are being released in this ridiculous format (the other reason has to do with incompetence at the labs), forcing me to have this plate cut.
     1.33   This is the old sprocket hole to sprocket hole silent ratio, which went extinct with the advent of sound.
     1.37   The standard Academy ratio; still in use.  Youve all seen this ratio: King Kong, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing.  The ratio used for 16mm, your old tube TV, and a host of other things.  Tens of thousands of films were shot in this format.
     1.66   The European ratio, though this is also inaccurate, as there are countries in Europe (such as Italy) which rarely touch it.  Used mostly in France, Belgium, sometimes Spain, etc.  Rarely, though occasionally, used in the US. 
     1.85   Standard flat ratio since 1954.
     2.40   Latest format for scope (coming after 2.55 & 2.35).
     Coming soon:  1.75, 2.35, 2.55, and the 70mm ratios.

     SOUND FORMATS
     Mono.  Duh.
     Dolby A-Type.  Standard 2:4 matrix with A-Type NR.
     Dolby SR-Type.  Standard 2:4 matrix with SR-Type NR.
     Dolby Digital.  Well-established AC-3 5.1 matrix.
     Dolby Digital EX.  The 7.1 matrix.  We're one of the few venues to have this available.
     Plus, for DVDs and other formats, we can decode AC-3, AC-3EX, DTS, Pro-Logic, and uncompressed six channel pass-through.
     Coming soon:
     Magnetic (35 & all six 70 formats): we are down to missing only a few Dolby cards.
     DTS (35 & 70): we have found the processor & have a line on some readers.

     Theres still a lot of work that remains, but we are getting very close now.

Shouldn't the availability of a live orchestra via the newly re-discovered orchestra pit be listed under sound options? :)

da_Bunnyman wrote on Oct 27^th, 2011 at 4:31pm:

Shouldn't the availability of a live orchestra via the newly re-discovered orchestra pit be listed under sound options? :)

     That would be possible only if the orchestra were sitting there assembled, ready & waiting, to be utilized at a moment's notice.
     Since thats not the case.....
     Nope!   ;D

     Very slight update for the small number of you who are interested in such things:
     I have at long last acquired almost all the needed equipment for the 70mm upgrade, and discussions with the technicians on how to go about this have started in earnest.  Making this happen will require a great deal of work, and no small amount of money: wiring, hook-ups, switchers, remotes, etc, etc, etc.
     While I am trying, desperately, to have at least the four 70mm Dolby mag formats up & running before February, I cant guarantee their availability at this moment.  I'll know better by next month.
     Keep your fingers crossed.

     At long, long last, I can finally announce that the 70mm system at the Somerville is up & running.  It has been an endless, difficult, rocky road, & I never thought I was going to reach the end of it, but here it is, & here I am, & the dad-blasted work is done.
     I havent run the full battery of tests yet -- that will happen after the marathon -- but Ive run enough to know that it should all work.
     I wont bore you with all the technical stuff; suffice to say that what I wanted wasnt a cake walk.  Equipment that hadnt been made in over twenty years had to be located, then it had to be installed, then it had to interface with the current system, then it had to be made to work properly (lots of glitches), then it had to be balanced, and EQ'd, and then retested.  I thought it would never end.
     But it's all in place now, & the Somerville is the only theatre in a wide area that can run 70mm properly.  That "properly" is important.  There are quite a few venues that can still run the format, but just because you can stick the film in a machine & hit the screen with it doesnt make it proper.
     From the dawn of movies to the present day, there have been ten different 70mm sound formats.  One is so ancient, no one can run it.  The another is not worth the bother to set up, because it sucks.  That leaves eight, and we can run all eight here.  Not many theatres -- even in the heyday of 70 -- could do that.  We can.
     We can also run 35mm mag, which almost no other venue in America can handle.  We can.  So if, for instance, we were to book a four channel mag Tech print of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, we could run it, and run it properly.
     As I said, it hasnt been easy.  But it's done at last, & 2001 should hit the screen & be the best 70mm presentation any of you has ever seen or heard before (70 is my personal specialty, which I have not had an opportunity to exercise in decades).
     When the final little tweak was done this past Friday, I stood in the booth in disbelief.  It's actually done.
     Wow.

     So, to amend the previous list, we now add:

     ASPECT RATIOS
     2.21  Standard 70 ratio.

     SOUND FORMATS
     Format 20.  35 mag with no surrounds and Academy filters.
     Format 22.  35 mag with surrounds and Academy filters.
     Format 23.  35 mag with surrrounds and A-Type or SR NR.
     Format not numbered.  35 mag with surrounds & no Academy filters.
     Format 40.  Standard 6 channel magnetic with Academy filters (yes, we installed the two needed additional speakers).
     Format 41.  Same as above, but with A-Type or SR NR.
     Format 42.  Standard Dolby 6 Track mag, with A-Type NR.
     Format 43.  Dolby 6 Track mag with split surrounds and A-Type NR.
     Format 44.  Standard Dolby 6 Track mag, with SR NR.
     Format 45.  Dolby 6 Track mag with split surrounds and SR NR.
     Format not numbered.  Standard Todd-AO 6 track with no Academy filters.
     DTS 35.  DTS standard 5.1 track.
     DTS 35ES.  DTS 7.1 track.
     DTS 70.  DTS reproduction of Formats 42 or 43.
     DTS 70b.  DTS reproduction of Format 40.

     Maybe ten other theatres in the world can run all those.  At long, long last, so can we.

Cool stuff. Look forward to the Print report for THIS ISLAND EARTH, THEM, IRON GIANT, 2001 and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. http://sf.theboard.net/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1329522075/15#15


David the Projectionist wrote on Feb 8^th, 2015 at 9:41pm:

At long, long last, I can finally announce that the 70mm system at the Somerville is up & running.  It has been an endless, difficult, rocky road, & I never thought I was going to reach the end of it, but here it is, & here I am, & the dad-blasted work is done.      I havent run the full battery of tests yet -- that will happen after the marathon -- but Ive run enough to know that it should all work.      I wont bore you with all the technical stuff; suffice to say that what I wanted wasnt a cake walk.  Equipment that hadnt been made in over twenty years had to be located, then it had to be installed, then it had to interface with the current system, then it had to be made to work properly (lots of glitches), then it had to be balanced, and EQ'd, and then retested.  I thought it would never end.      But it's all in place now, & the Somerville is the only theatre in a wide area that can run 70mm properly.  That "properly" is important.  There are quite a few venues that can still run the format, but just because you can stick the film in a machine & hit the screen with it doesnt make it proper.      From the dawn of movies to the present day, there have been ten different 70mm sound formats.  One is so ancient, no one can run it.  The another is not worth the bother to set up, because it sucks.  That leaves eight, and we can run all eight here.  Not many theatres -- even in the heyday of 70 -- could do that.  We can.      We can also run 35mm mag, which almost no other venue in America can handle.  We can.  So if, for instance, we were to book a four channel mag Tech print of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, we could run it, and run it properly.      As I said, it hasnt been easy.  But it's done at last, & 2001 should hit the screen & be the best 70mm presentation any of you has ever seen or heard before (70 is my personal specialty, which I have not had an opportunity to exercise in decades).      When the final little tweak was done this past Friday, I stood in the booth in disbelief.  It's actually done.      Wow.      So, to amend the previous list, we now add:      ASPECT RATIOS      2.21  Standard 70 ratio.      SOUND FORMATS      Format 20.  35 mag with no surrounds and Academy filters.      Format 22.  35 mag with surrounds and Academy filters.      Format 23.  35 mag with surrrounds and A-Type or SR NR.      Format not numbered.  35 mag with surrounds & no Academy filters.      Format 40.  Standard 6 channel magnetic with Academy filters (yes, we installed the two needed additional speakers).      Format 41.  Same as above, but with A-Type or SR NR.      Format 42.  Standard Dolby 6 Track mag, with A-Type NR.      Format 43.  Dolby 6 Track mag with split surrounds and A-Type NR.      Format 44.  Standard Dolby 6 Track mag, with SR NR.      Format 45.  Dolby 6 Track mag with split surrounds and SR NR.      Format not numbered.  Standard Todd-AO 6 track with no Academy filters.      DTS 35.  DTS standard 5.1 track.      DTS 35ES.  DTS 7.1 track.      DTS 70.  DTS reproduction of Formats 42 or 43.      DTS 70b.  DTS reproduction of Format 40.      Maybe ten other theatres in the world can run all those.  At long, long last, so can we.

L.A. Connection wrote on Feb 8^th, 2015 at 10:48pm:

Cool stuff. Look forward to the Print report for THIS ISLAND EARTH, THEM, IRON GIANT, 2001 and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA.

     2001 is the only print to have arrived so far.

Great and exciting news David.  I've seen 2001 in 70mm 4-5 times, but seeing it in the Somerville's main house should be a treat.


David the Projectionist wrote on Feb 8^th, 2015 at 9:41pm:

We can also run 35mm mag, which almost no other venue in America can handle.  We can.

Well NOW you're just rubbing it in... ;)