Motion Picture Times (1931)

July 7, 1931. MOTION PICTURE TIMES Page 15 riNr CLIPMENT NEW DEVELOPEMENTS_ Z THEATRE EQUIPMENT Automatic Inspector is Highly Efficient An automatic film inspector, cleaner and rewind machine that is said to detect tlie tiniest breaks, tears and poorly made splices in the film and at the same time remove oil and grit from the surface of the film at the high speed of 250 feet per minute, has been developed and is being marketed by the Film Inspection Machine Co. of Nev.’ York. The device is compact and requires little floor space. It is being manufactured in single and duo models for theatres and laboratories. With uncanny precision and reliability, it detects and stops the film at the small as well as the large breaks, both inside and outside or between the sprocket holes and open splices or splices that are badly made or are apt to open, or are just starting to open, the company states. The rewind from beginning to end of the reel is even and solid without pulling too hard on the film, and the machine itself cannot injure or scratch the film. It has no sprockets, and from the time the film leaves the upper reel until it is rewound on the lower reel, nothing touches the picture surface or the sound track. Driven by an enclosed motor, a speed of 500 feet per minute per reel is obtained when the machine is used for rewinding, mounting or demounting. O FIREPROOF SCREEN Patented Metal Mesh INs Raven Product After several years of exhaustive research and tests, an absolutely fire proof motion picture screen has been developed. It is made of flat aluminum metal mesh produced under United States patent No. 83752, owned by the Whiting & Davis Company of Plainville. Mass., and adopted for screen use exclusively by the Raven Screen Corporation. Laboratory tests by Electric Research Products, Inc., and the Radio Corporation of America, show that over a sound) range from 55 cycles to 6,000 cycles frequency, the attenuation is absolutely uniform. This is remarkable when compared with tests made on other types of screens. EASTMAN Brings Out a New Splicing System An improved system of treating the sound track at splices, a system that is said to eliminate the messy methods of painting, at the same time successfully silencing splice noise, has been brought out by the Eastman Kodak Research Laboratories. The new method was described to the industry more than a year ago, but production of the necessary “blooper patches” and the simple block for applying them has only recently made it applicable in processing laboratories and projection rooms, the company declares. A material consisting of a very thin clear film base, coated with emulsion and exposed to produce opacity, is used. The patches are five perforations long and are cut in a shape designed to cover the track completely for a distance equal to the width of a standard splice, but tapering toward each extremity until the sound track is completely exposed. The patching system, the company claims, obviates a condition in which imperfect painting of the sound track at splices frequently caused noises as objectionable as the extraneous sounds made by the reproducing system when an untreated patch went through. The older method caused more dissatisfaction in projection rooms than in laboratories, where skilled workers painting the sound track at hundreds of splices a day attained proficiency in the process. It is believed that greater speed, together with assured accuracy, even in the laboratories, can be gained by use of the new patching process. o NEW PORTABLE Projector Being Marketed by International A new portable projector, developed primarily for the educational and non-theatrical field but adaptable for use in small theatres where a Mazda 900-Watt light source or 1,000-Watt, 110 volt Mazda lamp will supply sufficient illumination, has been brought out by the International Projector Corp. of New York. Consisting of many advanced features, the new machine, it is claimed, is entirely self-contained. It is covered by an aluminum casing 18 inches high by 23 inches long, with a total overall width of about 14 inches. ECONOMY TIP Here’s New Way to Save Money N. M. LaPorte, in “Publix Opinion” made the following interesting remarks about economy on exciting lamps: “In the interest of economy, the practice of leaving the exciting lamps burn on both machines during the entire performance should be discontinued. The present practice was instituted to eliminate the click heard throughout the house when the switch is operated, throwing in the lamps. Under ordinary circumstances, this click occurs once for each roll of film, and we doubt very much whether it has ever been noticed. Quiet in operation. Does not interfere with sound sys« tern or radio. Recommended by three leading lamp manufacturers as the ideal rectifier for low intensity projection. Write for Complete information today. Garver Electric Co. Union City, Indiana Ask Your Dealer “The life of the exciting lamp is comparatively short, and they cost 78c each. By following this practice their life would be increased 90 per cent, due to using them only 5 % hours instead of 10 hours at present. “By following this procedure, you are also increasing the life of the three vacuum tubes in the film amplifier which is operated by the same switch. AUDIENCES DEMAND TODAY’S CRITICAL FAULTLESS PROJECTION HIGH INTENSITY AUTOMATIC REFLECTOR ARC LAMPS Offer you reliable light insurance giving you the most light of any reflector arc lamp made For Sale by Independent Supply Dealers. ^he Strong Blcctric Corporatioi\ 2501 LAGRANGE ST.. TOLEDO, OHIO Export Office: 44 Whitehall St., New York City, N. Y. A VJ^ Program ^ Is Only As Good As It Is Projected