Dave,

About 3 years ago I went through the same process with the Hayesville
Opera House in Ohio.  

David Roepke
Ashland University Archives
Ashland University
Ashland, OH 44805
email [log in to unmask]
URL archives.ashland.edu
phone 419-289-5433

>>> [log in to unmask] 03/29/07 02:08PM >>>
We are looking into getting a heavy-duty digital film projector for a
very
large room. 

I not sure if you want to go digital as the cost for the equipment will
be about $25,000.  The equipment I got was used on ebay and about 25
years old.  This is a 35mm projector-cost for the equipment was about
$2000.  You will need two types of screens-flat ratio, and scope ratio
for the two formats of film as well as the two types of lenses for your
room.  Also you will need the 6000 foot reels, film splicer and
rewind/makeup area for the movies.  

 So we are trying to get away from the Laptop type of projector
and get something that is more of a theater style projector.

Would not use a video projector as the image is fuzzy.  You can rent
the DVD movies but these are not as good as the actual 35mm film.  If
you want to get first run movies you will need to be licensed by the
film studios and have a booking agent.  You can also rent non-theatrical
movies which are films out of release and are usually the titles which
have come out to the public on DVD-like what you can buy at Walmart. 
When they get to this point it is hard to draw an audience as people can
watch them at home for free.  Two sources for 35mm movies is Swank
Motion Pictures which has non-theatrical releases.  The booking agent we
use for first run movies is Tri-State Theatres in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Usually, depending on the film title you can get movies with in 4 weeks
of their release date.  Film studios prefer to run movies for 4 weeks
when they are released-after that you can get them for 1 week runs

If you need more information please let me know.

Does anyone have this type of setup in their museum? What equipment do
you
use?

Obviously you can buy DVDs now, but you would have to pay usage rights
to
someone.  What company do you go through for this?
Thank you for your help,
David

---------------------------------------------
David Lynx, Curator of Education & Technology
Yakima Valley Museum (509)248-0747
www.yakimavalleymuseum.org 

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