Philips DP70

Last updated

The DP70 is a model of motion picture projector, of which approximately 1,500 were manufactured by the Electro-Acoustics Division of Philips between 1954 and about 1968. [1] It is notable for having been the first mass-produced theater projector in which 4/35 and 5/70 prints could be projected by a single machine, thereby enabling wide film to become a mainstream exhibition format, for its recognition in the 1963 Academy Awards, which led to it being described as "the only projector to win an Oscar" (though this is technically incorrect, because the award was actually a Class 2 Oscar Plaque), and for its longevity: a significant number remained in revenue-earning service as of February 2014.

Contents

Research and development

Small-scale attempts had been made to use wide film for commercial theater exhibition around the time of the conversion to sound, of which Fox Grandeur was technologically the closest to the format the DP70 was designed to facilitate the launch of, two decades later. One of the reasons these early systems failed to establish wide film as an industry standard was that the projectors developed for them were incompatible with the existing 4/35 standard. In order to be able to project both, therefore, theaters had to be equipped with two sets of projectors, which involved significant extra cost and in some cases architectural modifications to projection booths.

The DP70 (DP stands for "Double Projector") was invented and developed by a team headed by Jan-Jacob Kotte of Philips between 1952 and 1954, as part of the Todd-AO system. A core objective of the project was to create a single machine that could project both the Todd-AO 5/70 format and the 4/35 format which was, and was likely to remain, the dominant standard for theater exhibition.

Service history

The first DP70s were exported from The Netherlands to the United States in the fall of 1954, and were used for the roadshow release of the feature that was made to launch Todd-AO, Oklahoma! DP70s were used exclusively as part of the Todd-AO system for the first few years, but were eventually sold independently by Philips and its resellers to theaters worldwide. The DP70 was widely praised for its versatility, reliability and ease of use, which was recognized by the Academy in 1963. During the 1960s, DP70 installations appeared throughout the world, mainly in prestige, downtown first run venues. As a result of the machine's success, dual gauge projectors were quickly developed and launched by Philips's main competitors, including Cinemeccanica of Italy and Century of the United States.

Almost 60 years after the first DP70s shipped from the factory, a significant number remain in regular, commercial use worldwide. In 1972 the cinema division of Philips was bought out by Kinoton, a German company that had handled European sales and support for Philips cinema products since 1949. [2] After-sales support for the DP70 passed to Kinoton at that point, which continued to manufacture and distribute replacement parts until the company was wound up in April 2014. [3] Accessories and modifications are available (some of them were made by Kinoton, others by aftermarket manufacturers) that will enable the DP70 to project every 5/70 and 4/35 format that was ever used on a significant scale, including the 35mm digital optical sound systems launched in the 1990s, e.g. Dolby Digital, and for 70mm DTS.

Though the projection of film itself in mainstream, first run theaters has been superseded almost completely by digital projection at the time of writing, DP70s remain in service in cinematheque-type venues that specialize in showing repertory and archive titles. Theaters in which DP70s are still running today include the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, the Gartenbaukino in Vienna, [4] Kino in Rotterdam, the Pictureville cinema at the UK's National Media Museum, Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester MA, [5] the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR and Rigoletto in Stockholm.

Nomenclature

The fact that the DP70 was a Dutch machine developed specifically for a customer in the United States resulted in it being known by several different names. The DP70 was Philips's original model name for the projector, and this is what projectionists in Europe tend to call it. In the United States, the American Optical Company (the AO in Todd-AO) used the Philips factory model number, EL4000/01 (the 60 Hz variant – the 50 Hz one, for sale in European markets, was model no. EL4000/00), as their catalog number for the machine. It was eventually marketed independently of Todd-AO by Norelco (a contraction of "North American Philips Electrical Company", i.e. the brand name used by Philips in the US). [6] The DP70 was originally sold in the United States simply as the "Norelco Universal 70/35mm Motion Picture Projector". After its acknowledgment in the 1963 Oscars, Norelco rebranded it as the AA (Academy Award). An improved version of the projector was also launched in 1963, which was branded as the AAII in the US.

All the projector mechanisms were built at the Philips factory in Eindhoven, though much of the peripheral hardware for the machines that were exported to the United States, e.g. bases and reel magazines, was manufactured locally, initially by the American Optical Company and later by Ballantyne.

Features

Overview

The DP70 consists of a monocoque, cast iron chassis containing the mechanism, which is completely oil-immersed on the non-operating side. Jan-Jacob Kotte believed that the use of heavier materials to absorb vibration reduced instability in the projected image, and this is certainly reflected in the design of the DP70: a complete outfit, including the bases and reel magazines, weighs 1,004 lbs – which is half a ton. The DP70 was also significantly more expensive than any single gauge theater projector on the market: a US customer was quoted $6,225 for one in 1966 ($44,942 in 2014, adjusted for CPI inflation), which was around the cost of a typical three-bedroom suburban home at the time. [7] The price asked for a double set without lenses asked in West-Germany in 1956 was 42,510.00 Marks, which at the rate of exchange at that time (4:1), related to $10,627.50 for the pair, or $5,313.75 per projector. [8] That price was higher than 35mm only projectors, but still reasonably low if compared to competitors like Bauer U2. [9] The low price and reasonable quality was an important part of the success. Because the DP70 was built to commission for a customer in the United States, it is a very unusual example of a European-designed piece of industrial machinery with fasteners that have SAE rather than metric dimensions.

Removable components

Detachable reel magazines can be fitted (e.g. to enable the projection of nitrate film in accordance with safety regulations), or removed (e.g. to enable projection using an external film transport device such as a platter or tower, or to fit an external audio reader) as needed. Special fire trap rollers for nitrate were also available, to comply with fire regulations in some jurisdictions. Separate magnetic and analog optical audio heads are built into the mechanism itself, enabling all 5/70 magnetic and 4/35 optical formats to be projected without the need to adjust or replace any audio components. The change of gauge is done by swapping some gate components, pad roller assemblies, reel spindles and the lens, and in some cases making minor adjustments to the lamphouse. This procedure can be completed by a competent projectionist in 5–10 minutes, which is a major reason for the DP70's popularity with venues that show 4/35 and 5/70 prints interchangeably.

Cooling

Because the DP70 was intended for use with 70mm film and in large theaters with a long throw to a big screen, several features were included to disperse the intense heat generated by the more powerful lamps with which it was often used. The gate assembly includes copper components which are silver-plated, and a liquid-cooled plate that is fitted with a water pipe surrounding the aperture opening. The use of liquid recirculating equipment and distilled water was encouraged. A single-blade shutter designed to rotate at very high speed (up to 3,600 RPM) doubles as a cooling fan. Unlike other projectors of its hi-power kind, the DP70 did not offer forced-air cooling of the film itself, which is known to be a key feature to prevent overheating of the film and the major nitrate-fire prevention measure. A water cooled pre-shield just assists in keeping the gate and metal parts cold, not the film. [10]

Motor

The DP70 as shipped from the factory was equipped for dual speed operation, at 24fps (the frame rate at which almost all 4/35 prints with a combined soundtrack are projected) and 30fps, the frame rate used in the original Todd-AO system. The original version of the DP70 used separate drive motors for 24fps and 30fps operation, whereas the AAII had a single motor and a dual locking pulley mechanism on the main drive shaft to change the speed of the mechanism. There were also several other more minor changes in the AAII.

Because many of the DP70s remaining in use today are in repertory venues that screen a wide range of formats, including prints of silent movies that require a lower frame rate than 24, very many have now received aftermarket modifications that will typically enable any speed between 16 and 30. Since US market DP70's came factory equipped with capacitor start capacitor run synchronous motors that lock their speed (1,800 RPM in the USA) to the AC line frequency (60 Hz in the USA), the most common way of doing this has been to add a variable frequency solid state AC inverter (Baldor Inverter) and suitable 3-phase motor. Most European units were sold employing asynchronous motors, which added slip to the synchronous speed (1500 RPM at 50 Hz) to achieve the required 24 frames (1440 RPM) and 30 frames (1800 rpm), without gearing requirements in the original construction.

Bibliography

Belton, John, Widescreen Cinema (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1992), ISBN   0-674-95261-8

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">35 mm movie film</span> Standard theatrical motion picture film gauge

35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on film, 35 mm is the most commonly used gauge. The name of the gauge is not a direct measurement, and refers to the nominal width of the 35 mm format photographic film, which consists of strips 1.377 ± 0.001 inches (34.976 ± 0.025 mm) wide. The standard image exposure length on 35 mm for movies is four perforations per frame along both edges, which results in 16 frames per foot of film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">70 mm film</span> Wide high-resolution film gauge

70 mm film is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is 65 mm (2.6 in) wide. For projection, the original 65 mm film is printed on 70 mm (2.8 in) film. The additional 5 mm contains the four magnetic stripes, holding six tracks of stereophonic sound. Although later 70 mm prints use digital sound encoding, the vast majority of existing and surviving 70 mm prints pre-date this technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IMAX</span> Large-screen film format

IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio and steep stadium seating, with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CinemaScope</span> Early widescreen filming system

CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinerama</span> Widescreen, curved screen projection process

Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146-degrees of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporation. It was the first of several novel processes introduced during the 1950s when the movie industry was reacting to competition from television. Cinerama was presented to the public as a theatrical event, with reserved seating and printed programs, and audience members often dressed in their best attire for the evening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movie projector</span> Device for showing motion picture film

A movie projector is an opto-mechanical device for displaying motion picture film by projecting it onto a screen. Most of the optical and mechanical elements, except for the illumination and sound devices, are present in movie cameras. Modern movie projectors are specially built video projectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd-AO</span> American post-production company

Todd-AO is an American post-production company founded in 1953 by Mike Todd and Robert Naify, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. For more than five decades, it was the worldwide leader in theater sound. The company retains one facility, in the Los Angeles area.

Sensurround is the brand name for a process developed by Cerwin-Vega in conjunction with Universal Studios to enhance the audio experience during film screenings, specifically for the 1974 film Earthquake. The process was intended for subsequent use and was adopted for four more films, Midway (1976), Rollercoaster (1977), the theatrical version of Saga of a Star World (1978), the Battlestar Galactica pilot, as well as the compilation film Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack (1979). Sensurround worked by adding extended-range bass for sound effects. The low-frequency sounds were more felt than heard, providing a vivid complement to onscreen depictions of earth tremors, bomber formations, and amusement park rides. The overall trend toward "multiplex" cinema structures presented challenges that made Sensurround impractical as a permanent feature of cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panavision</span> American motion picture equipment company

Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1954 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product lines to meet the demands of modern filmmakers. The company introduced its first products in 1954. Originally a provider of CinemaScope accessories, the company's line of anamorphic widescreen lenses soon became the industry leader. In 1972, Panavision helped revolutionize filmmaking with the lightweight Panaflex 35 mm movie camera. The company has introduced other cameras such as the Millennium XL (1999) and the digital video Genesis (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Projectionist</span> Movie projector operator

A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators".

Dolby Stereo is a sound format made by Dolby Laboratories. It is a unified brand for two completely different basic systems: the Dolby SVA 1976 system used with optical sound tracks on 35mm film, and Dolby Stereo 70mm noise reduction on 6-channel magnetic soundtracks on 70mm prints.

70 mm Grandeur film, also called Fox Grandeur or Grandeur 70, is a 70 mm widescreen film format developed by William Fox through his Fox Film and Fox-Case corporations and used commercially on a small but successful scale in 1929–30.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technirama</span> Motion picture screen process

Technirama is a screen process that has been used by some film production houses as an alternative to CinemaScope. It was first used in 1957 but fell into disuse in the mid-1960s. The process was invented by Technicolor and is an anamorphic process with a screen ratio the same as revised CinemaScope (2.35:1), but it is actually 2.25:1 on the negative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchell Camera</span> American movie camera manufacturer (1919–1979)

Mitchell Camera Corporation was an American motion picture camera manufacturing company established in Los Angeles in 1919. It was a primary supplier of newsreel and movie cameras for decades, until its closure in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film perforations</span> Functional element in motion picture film

Film perforations, also known as perfs and sprocket holes, are the holes placed in the film stock during manufacturing and used for transporting and steadying the film. Films may have different types of perforations depending on film gauge, film format, and intended usage. Perforations are also used as a standard measuring reference within certain camera systems to refer to the size of the frame.

Cine 160 is a 35 mm film projection process proposed by Allan Silliphant whereby a single frame of film would occupy a length of six film perforations. This could then be used for either of two currently proposed applications: 3-D film projection from two images each occupying 3 perforations, or making anamorphically squeezed prints of 1.85 ratio films, which would use a greater amount of image area. The system is named Cine 160 because the six-perf frame uses 1.60 times the area of a conventional print. This system has not yet received any mainstream application, however, and it is unknown how receptive theater owners will be to the prospect, which will require significant expenses to re-fit projectors to the format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultra Panavision 70</span> 65 mm motion picture widescreen process

Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were, from 1957 to 1966, the marketing brands that identified motion pictures photographed with Panavision's anamorphic movie camera lenses on 65 mm film. Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were shot at 24 frames per second (fps) using anamorphic camera lenses. Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65's anamorphic lenses compressed the image 1.25 times, yielding an extremely wide aspect ratio of 2.76:1.

The Whiteladies Picture House is a cinema on Whiteladies Road in Clifton, Bristol, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anamorphic format</span> Technique for recording widescreen images onto a 4:3 frame

Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorted image is "stretched" by an anamorphic projection lens to recreate the original aspect ratio on the viewing screen. The word anamorphic and its derivatives stem from the Greek anamorphoo, compound of morphé with the prefix aná. In the late 1990s and 2000s, anamorphic lost popularity in comparison to "flat" formats such as Super 35 with the advent of digital intermediates; however, in the years since digital cinema cameras and projectors have become commonplace, anamorphic has experienced a considerable resurgence of popularity, due in large part to the higher base ISO sensitivity of digital sensors, which facilitates shooting at smaller apertures.

References

  1. "DP70: The Story of the Todd-AO Projector".
  2. "Kinoton History". Kinoton.de. Germering, Germany: Unknown. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  3. "Kinoton is Latest Victim of Switch to Digital Cinema". Celluloid Junkie. Unknown: Unknown. 1 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  4. Gartenbaukino. "Technische Austattung". Gartenbaukino. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  5. "Lens and Lights | Projection". lnl.wpi.edu. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  6. "Norelco Universal 70-35 Projector" (PDF). in70mm.com. Buffalo, New York: Norelco. 1955. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  7. "DP70: The Story of the Todd-AO Projector".
  8. invoice from 1956–12
  9. Invoice from 1959–09
  10. Bauer Kino Technisches Taschenbuch