Radio City Music Hall

Digital cinema is indeed projected, but with higher resolution and color space than home format high definition. The most common means of delivery at the moment is to send a hard-drive in a lunch-box sized plastic case. Technicolor’s cases are orange, just like their film cases. The drives measure about 7" x 4.5" x 1.5", and may have a slip on extension, with a power connection to a power transformer and a USB output connection. The data on the drive is then input to a server either by USB or by slipping off the extension and plugging the drive directly into an opening in the server. The offload into the server takes about half to three-fourths of the time it takes to run the movie.

Once loaded into the server, the data shows up in a menue which shows all of the material being stored locally, and may include trailers as well as features. When the show is made up the traiilers may be dropped in ahead of the feature by moving a cursor on a computer screen and the total running time of the package is calculated automatically. The same drive may be used to program as many auditoriums as needed, and the shows complete with start/end and lighting cues may be programmed to start automatically.

Before the picture may be shown a digital key must be generated to tell the server that the dates and times of exhibition have been O.K.’d by the studio. The digital data is robustly encrypted, and doesn’t exist in analogue form until it is ready to be projected inside the projector. If the server is opened or connections are interrupted, the show is shut down. The “key” can be sent by e-mail, downloaded onto a memory stick and then loaded into the server.

Shows may swapped from one server in a multiplex to another, or stored in a show library if more storage capacity is needed. During operation all of the data about what is being shown on which screen can be displayed on a computer monitor along with the start and end times of the shows currently running. This makes digital presentation convenient since you don’t need a separate print for each screen.

Are digital “films” “projected”, sent to the screen via cable or played in a DVD machine? Will appreciate knowing how digital presentations work. Thanks in advance.

Digital I presume.
How is the presentation handled, lights curtsin etc.

Ziggy, you’re so correct, i’m so depressed I can’t go to therapy today

Last night, “Sex and the City 2” held its world premiere at the hall. A bunch of my high-school friend’s friend saw the movie and thought it was good. The movie opens tonight at 7 p.m. and at midnight at theatres everywhere.

I agree. No Rockette should be asked to do something so demeaning.

In later years during the easter show the part of the priest who lights the electric candles on the altar was portrayed by a rockette in disquise. This was in the setting where all the Rockets became nuns to help form the living cross while they all held easter lillies.

I remember going across the street for coffee& standing against wall so I could talk to the girls in line, I always made sure to ask the boss if I could do some organ work on these days thanks tinseltoes
brought back some fun memories for me

There was a brief outdoor shot of RCMH on HBO’s ‘The Pacific’ Sunday night.

Renewing link.

In a sense everybody may be right, since the seat count at the Hall frequently changes. When I first started learning about the Hall when I was in Illinois, it was listed as having 6,200 seats. Fred Kellers, who was a Vice President of House Operations told me that Roxy wanted to claim that the Hall had more seats than his former venue theRoxy. Thus, they counted even the toilets as “seats” along with the furniture in the lobby.

While that story may be fanciful, the number of seats did change. Even before the concert and telecast age, if the pasarelle (Sp?), or ramp along thefront of the orchestra pit was in for the Rockettes to move out into the audience for their finale, one or two rows of seats at the front of the orchestra were lost, thus reducing the number.

As oldjoe points out above, seating on the orchestra pit itself added seats for some concerts (they’re regarded as “VIP” seats, although I’ve always thought the sightlines were not particularly good unless the performer was working far downstage.)

The move of the house sound board from the Projection level to the 2nd Mezz. lost some seats, and the number constantly changes to accomdate various pieces of equipment as well as the demands of the various telecasts which originate there. Thus all of the above seating estimates may be correct at any given point in time.

There is no difference Den. Sorry to have upset you.