reopening as a new theater for this Fall’s Virginia Film Festival
“Regal Cinema’s movie theater monopoly in Charlottesville has ended, and the new kid on the block is planning to serve up something sure to have local cinephiles salivating: a Downtown theater that offers upscale food and cocktails along with indie film fare.
William S. Banowsky, Jr., owner of Violet Crown Cinema in Austin, is partnering with Downtown Regal building owner Dorothy Batten to open the next in what Banowsky hopes will be a successful chain of arthouse-cum-bar-and-restaurant theaters across the country (another is in the works in Santa Fe)."
“Rancho Cordova, Calif. — 22 October 2015 — Barco, the worldwide market share leader in cinema projection, continues to rapidly grow its industry-leading laser projection footprint with an installation at Starlight Cinemas in Southern California at its Dos Lagos 15 theater.
With numerous Barco xenon projectors deployed across its circuit, Starlight Cinemas has enjoyed delivering the finest image quality to its loyal audiences for many years. Now, the exhibitor has made the move to install a Barco Flagship laser projector to offer customers a premium moviegoing experience. Cinema integration partner Moving iMage Technologies (MiT) secured and installed the project, which is targeted to “go live” in late October.
“As the region’s premier theater chain, we are committed to offering our guests the ultimate in cinema entertainment,” comments Gary Wallace, chief of Projection and Sound for Starlight Cinemas. “Barco’s laser projection elevates the caliber of our movie showings and allows us to maintain our competitive edge in the market. We look forward to promoting this quality advantage to our guests.”
Starlight Cinemas selected the Barco DP4K-45L ultra-bright, Flagship Laser projector to illuminate its 68-foot screen in an extra-large auditorium suited to deliver premium movie experiences. The projector was selected for its ability to deliver a radically improved 3D movie experience, which relies on extreme brightness levels to ensure superior image quality visible for every moviegoer.
“Barco’s integrated Flagship Laser projectors offer the brightness needed to show movies in their best light,” comments Bevan Wright, executive vice president of operations at Moving iMage Technologies. “It’s the only way to achieve the brightness levels needed for high-quality 3D movie presentation.”
^ I saw ‘The Martian’ once at Arclight Bethesda (‘widescreen’ 3D/Dolby Atmos) and AMC Uptown (3D) – in both instances all the conference/meeting room scenes look unnaturally dark and drab – two different DLP systems shared the same darkness levels, it seemed very odd as cinematographer decision. Were those scenes brighter at all in ‘Ultra 3D’? The best use of 3D were the last thirty minutes of the movie.
I see that ‘The Black Cauldron’ is being shown Oct 15-18! wow – could a bluray materialize in 2016 – anyone planning on seeing this? I’d assume this is a DCP.
^ sorry for stating this, but it’s been on most exhibitor’s minds that ‘Hateful Eight’s 70mm release is the dumbest timing of the year, when most said large (and/or) 70mm screens will be playing ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
I just read about the DC metro area theater planned for the Tyson’s ‘Greensboro’ location (as a non ‘Icon’ complex)– I am surprised how close this will be to AMC’s Tysons' mall theater but with the amenities that this location offers it sounds like a much better theater setting. 7.1 surround sound in all it’s auditoriums is a plus, and with Arclight Bethesda proving that Dolby Atmos can be installed in smaller auditoriums there might be an incentive for Kersotes to pony up and prove it’s worth in delivering “ALL Cutting-Edge Digital Projection & Digital Sound”.
question: what projector’s are used here? are they 2K or 4K?
Spoke with a manager here this afternoon and he revealed that the ETX screen will be changing over to ‘Prime’ theater: recling seats (thus reducing the auditorium capacity) and ‘Dolby Cinema’ laser projector system. He stated ideally they’d want it up for ‘Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2’, but that it would definitely be up for the December release of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens"
I’m forgetting are there ceiling speakers on the BTX auditorium? Maybe Bow Tie could relook at putting an object based processor/system here: DTS-X or even AuroMax
yes, 12 is the XD screen. Actually none of the new ‘Everest’ movie was filmed in IMAX (Arri Alexa XT digital cameras to be exact).
Those old National Amusement seats scared the dickens out of me – the way they creaked, went back so far, I’ve never feared so much for my safety – I didn’t want to be ‘that guy’ who broke a chair at a movie theater.
I have to give credit to the sound system in auditorium #2 – I saw ‘Jurassic World’ three times in the theater; once in 3D / IMAX-laser – the best in terms of color, black levels and 3D depth, standard 2D / 5.1 sound at Regal Bethesda [the worst presentation] 2D / 7.1 here at the Angelika – and in terms of sound it was actually the best – the 7.1 mix was better than the IMAX-laser presentation by placing a lot of audio cues to the left/right rear center channels to dramatic, scary effect – in one instance a character’s demise is heard directly behind us the viewer to unnerving finesse . Because of the odd aspect ratio of the movie, (2.00:1) the vertical masking (to eliminate the minor black borders above and below the image) was nearly spot on and took up most of the tall screen. My fingers are crossed that maybe auditorium 2 might get upgraded to Atmos, or DTS' new ‘X’ object based sound system, since it seems like a waste of potential with the ceiling speakers already in place… time will tell.
so I had my first Auro ‘experience’ here this afternoon and I was quite impressed with the wind sound effects from “Everest”; audio cues between the standard side channels with the height side channels produced some great effects. Height ceiling sound sourcing still didn’t impress me, since it’s a mono source spread out to six ceiling inset speakers. Bass reproduction here, though has been consistently impressive, my brief talk with one of the managers revealed that some of the more bombastic bass heavy movies, have blown out/damaged the bass speakers (and subsequently replaced or fixed). Interestingly on another technical note, since I never knew the full explanation of this, but auditorium 12’s sound system while it can present Auro 11.1 soundtracks, retains the rear speakers, so that non-encoded Auro DCP’s that include 7.1 mixes will be replicated as such.
I am not really a fan of the seats, the way they lean so far back, it’s almost as if you might break them with one’s own weight and send you sailing backwards – like the former old ultra-squeaky seats that were at the old Merrifield and Reston theaters.
so I don’t know where I had read that screen 9 was upgraded to playback Auro 11.1 sound, well, that’s not the case. Went today to see ‘Everest’ / screen #9 and were there side surround height channels? – no… ceiling speakers? … no. In fact only auditorium 6 has the Auro system. There were/are plans to upgrade the system as such, but apparently its still forthcoming. (went over to the Egyptian instead – since ‘Black Mass’ was on screen 6 instead – why not just flip flop the two [shrugs]).
when are you going to do the 1980’s list Coates – I’m very curious to resee what played there since those were the years I most went to the Uptown (a lot).
Well now I’m curious to find my bluray copy of ‘Circus World’ it’s somewhere here in the mess er, video collection (organizational skills aren’t my strong suits)
‘We’re excited for the U.S. cinema debut of DTS:X, our next-generation immersive audio technology, with today’s opening of “American Ultra” at the Muvico Thousand Oaks 14 in California.’
there used to be a THX placard near the ticket desk, but I can’t recall if it’s there or not – I’ll check. As to THX trailers haven’t seen one in ages.
went this afternoon to see ‘Paper Towns’(Auditorium #2) – great reclining seats. Screen four is the largest of the auditoriums seating capacity of 183. Four of the auditoriums can present 3D features (Sony 4K projector). All the auditorium’s are outfitted to playback 7.1 surround sound features.
a few movies will be shown here for next month’s Virginia Film Festival – but not reopening as a full on theater (as far as I can tell).
reopening as a new theater for this Fall’s Virginia Film Festival
“Regal Cinema’s movie theater monopoly in Charlottesville has ended, and the new kid on the block is planning to serve up something sure to have local cinephiles salivating: a Downtown theater that offers upscale food and cocktails along with indie film fare.
William S. Banowsky, Jr., owner of Violet Crown Cinema in Austin, is partnering with Downtown Regal building owner Dorothy Batten to open the next in what Banowsky hopes will be a successful chain of arthouse-cum-bar-and-restaurant theaters across the country (another is in the works in Santa Fe)."
official reopening Friday Oct. 30th
http://charlottesville.violetcrowncinemas.com/
from Barco online news:
“Rancho Cordova, Calif. — 22 October 2015 — Barco, the worldwide market share leader in cinema projection, continues to rapidly grow its industry-leading laser projection footprint with an installation at Starlight Cinemas in Southern California at its Dos Lagos 15 theater. With numerous Barco xenon projectors deployed across its circuit, Starlight Cinemas has enjoyed delivering the finest image quality to its loyal audiences for many years. Now, the exhibitor has made the move to install a Barco Flagship laser projector to offer customers a premium moviegoing experience. Cinema integration partner Moving iMage Technologies (MiT) secured and installed the project, which is targeted to “go live” in late October.
“As the region’s premier theater chain, we are committed to offering our guests the ultimate in cinema entertainment,” comments Gary Wallace, chief of Projection and Sound for Starlight Cinemas. “Barco’s laser projection elevates the caliber of our movie showings and allows us to maintain our competitive edge in the market. We look forward to promoting this quality advantage to our guests.”
Starlight Cinemas selected the Barco DP4K-45L ultra-bright, Flagship Laser projector to illuminate its 68-foot screen in an extra-large auditorium suited to deliver premium movie experiences. The projector was selected for its ability to deliver a radically improved 3D movie experience, which relies on extreme brightness levels to ensure superior image quality visible for every moviegoer.
“Barco’s integrated Flagship Laser projectors offer the brightness needed to show movies in their best light,” comments Bevan Wright, executive vice president of operations at Moving iMage Technologies. “It’s the only way to achieve the brightness levels needed for high-quality 3D movie presentation.”
^ I would think the Arclight is showing the 6 FL version since the system uses Dolby 3D glasses – and the 3D looked fantastic.
^ I saw ‘The Martian’ once at Arclight Bethesda (‘widescreen’ 3D/Dolby Atmos) and AMC Uptown (3D) – in both instances all the conference/meeting room scenes look unnaturally dark and drab – two different DLP systems shared the same darkness levels, it seemed very odd as cinematographer decision. Were those scenes brighter at all in ‘Ultra 3D’? The best use of 3D were the last thirty minutes of the movie.
I see that ‘The Black Cauldron’ is being shown Oct 15-18! wow – could a bluray materialize in 2016 – anyone planning on seeing this? I’d assume this is a DCP.
^ sorry for stating this, but it’s been on most exhibitor’s minds that ‘Hateful Eight’s 70mm release is the dumbest timing of the year, when most said large (and/or) 70mm screens will be playing ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
I just read about the DC metro area theater planned for the Tyson’s ‘Greensboro’ location (as a non ‘Icon’ complex)– I am surprised how close this will be to AMC’s Tysons' mall theater but with the amenities that this location offers it sounds like a much better theater setting. 7.1 surround sound in all it’s auditoriums is a plus, and with Arclight Bethesda proving that Dolby Atmos can be installed in smaller auditoriums there might be an incentive for Kersotes to pony up and prove it’s worth in delivering “ALL Cutting-Edge Digital Projection & Digital Sound”.
question: what projector’s are used here? are they 2K or 4K?
Spoke with a manager here this afternoon and he revealed that the ETX screen will be changing over to ‘Prime’ theater: recling seats (thus reducing the auditorium capacity) and ‘Dolby Cinema’ laser projector system. He stated ideally they’d want it up for ‘Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2’, but that it would definitely be up for the December release of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens"
which screen / auditorium is the DTS-X system on? the MuviXL one??
I’m forgetting are there ceiling speakers on the BTX auditorium? Maybe Bow Tie could relook at putting an object based processor/system here: DTS-X or even AuroMax
yes, 12 is the XD screen. Actually none of the new ‘Everest’ movie was filmed in IMAX (Arri Alexa XT digital cameras to be exact).
Those old National Amusement seats scared the dickens out of me – the way they creaked, went back so far, I’ve never feared so much for my safety – I didn’t want to be ‘that guy’ who broke a chair at a movie theater.
I have to give credit to the sound system in auditorium #2 – I saw ‘Jurassic World’ three times in the theater; once in 3D / IMAX-laser – the best in terms of color, black levels and 3D depth, standard 2D / 5.1 sound at Regal Bethesda [the worst presentation] 2D / 7.1 here at the Angelika – and in terms of sound it was actually the best – the 7.1 mix was better than the IMAX-laser presentation by placing a lot of audio cues to the left/right rear center channels to dramatic, scary effect – in one instance a character’s demise is heard directly behind us the viewer to unnerving finesse . Because of the odd aspect ratio of the movie, (2.00:1) the vertical masking (to eliminate the minor black borders above and below the image) was nearly spot on and took up most of the tall screen. My fingers are crossed that maybe auditorium 2 might get upgraded to Atmos, or DTS' new ‘X’ object based sound system, since it seems like a waste of potential with the ceiling speakers already in place… time will tell.
so I had my first Auro ‘experience’ here this afternoon and I was quite impressed with the wind sound effects from “Everest”; audio cues between the standard side channels with the height side channels produced some great effects. Height ceiling sound sourcing still didn’t impress me, since it’s a mono source spread out to six ceiling inset speakers. Bass reproduction here, though has been consistently impressive, my brief talk with one of the managers revealed that some of the more bombastic bass heavy movies, have blown out/damaged the bass speakers (and subsequently replaced or fixed). Interestingly on another technical note, since I never knew the full explanation of this, but auditorium 12’s sound system while it can present Auro 11.1 soundtracks, retains the rear speakers, so that non-encoded Auro DCP’s that include 7.1 mixes will be replicated as such.
I am not really a fan of the seats, the way they lean so far back, it’s almost as if you might break them with one’s own weight and send you sailing backwards – like the former old ultra-squeaky seats that were at the old Merrifield and Reston theaters.
so I don’t know where I had read that screen 9 was upgraded to playback Auro 11.1 sound, well, that’s not the case. Went today to see ‘Everest’ / screen #9 and were there side surround height channels? – no… ceiling speakers? … no. In fact only auditorium 6 has the Auro system. There were/are plans to upgrade the system as such, but apparently its still forthcoming. (went over to the Egyptian instead – since ‘Black Mass’ was on screen 6 instead – why not just flip flop the two [shrugs]).
personally I think it was foolish to release a 70mm movie against a Star Wars movie… but, meh. that’s just an opinion on my part.
added picture of the restored outdoor theater sign.
when are you going to do the 1980’s list Coates – I’m very curious to resee what played there since those were the years I most went to the Uptown (a lot).
Well now I’m curious to find my bluray copy of ‘Circus World’ it’s somewhere here in the mess er, video collection (organizational skills aren’t my strong suits)
Does this theater have a screen that is outfitted to playback in Dolby Atmos – which one?
from DTS' facebook page:
‘We’re excited for the U.S. cinema debut of DTS:X, our next-generation immersive audio technology, with today’s opening of “American Ultra” at the Muvico Thousand Oaks 14 in California.’
there used to be a THX placard near the ticket desk, but I can’t recall if it’s there or not – I’ll check. As to THX trailers haven’t seen one in ages.
also because the entire complex is comprised of reclining seats, the seating capacity tops off at 873 patrons not 2000.
went this afternoon to see ‘Paper Towns’(Auditorium #2) – great reclining seats. Screen four is the largest of the auditoriums seating capacity of 183. Four of the auditoriums can present 3D features (Sony 4K projector). All the auditorium’s are outfitted to playback 7.1 surround sound features.
updated – added pics of the illuminated lobby ‘poster/photo’ wall in photo’s section
I have around a half dozen of the lobby’s ultra-cool poster wall