Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1948)

field, often without plans, specifications or professional advice. Both the contractor and the supply dealer have been in many cases as much in the dark as the new owner. L ntil fairly recently, even a few equipment manufacturers had no idea what it was all about." "TWO 50QS BETTER'N ONE THOUSAND" Air. Poorman thinks two drive-ins of 500-car capacity each are better than one accommodating a thousand cars. "It is not an argument against drive-ins to admit this," he explains, "but rather an argument /or, shall we say, a little better judgment on the part of the drive-in builder to stay within reasonable bounds. The drive-in has to consider relative picture size and off-side angles the same as a regular theatre. Many regular theatres are also poorly designed, with side seats allowing only a weird, distorted picture at best. "Metered light may show a brighter screen in some regular theatres, but it has been my privilege to witness some mighty fine, sharp, clear, bright pictures on various drive-in screens. Shall we go so far as to admit that perhaps 'light lumens' are not quite equal, that 'image relativity' is slightly less from the far ramps, and even that the best small speaker may not be up to its multi-cellular big brother?" — whereupon Mr. Poorman points to the popularity of drive-ins for the incontrovertible answer: "A picnic out of each show (a good American pastime) . . . the satisfaction of dad who can now go to a movie and enjoy it, without benefit of shoes, shirt or shave if he wants to!" As we said, it's a condition, not a theory. Products Promised Not yet ready for description in our "About Product for the Theatre" department, but promised with sufficient authority for notice here are a new steel screen tower, a "new method of sound distribution which distributes high-fidelity sound and heat simultaneously if desired — in fact, more than one such sound-heat system seem to be now on the way. Park-In Theatres have developed the steel tower, and both they and Drive-In Theatre Equipment Company of Toledo, have indicated the marketing soon of speaker-heater equipment. And the Ballantyne Company of Omaha has written us that they will shortly announce an in-car speaker. Yet another admissions control system for drive-ins is also reported to be on the way. These systems (two of them were described in Better Theatres last year) register the number of admissions and cars, serving the dual purpose of counting up the day's sales and counteracting collusion, and one of those announced eliminates an at LaVezzi Machine Works 4 6 35 WEST LAKE STREET CHICAGO 4 4, ILLINOIS, At Your Service All of the departmental editors of Better Theatres welcome letters from readers, either* of comment or of inquiry concerning matters of theatre planning and physical operation. If the subject of an inquiry is one likely to have general interest, it may be dealt with in the proper department (without identification of the source of the inquiry should omission of fhe name be requested). Other inquiries will be answered by mail. Merely write to Service Department, Better Theatres, Rockefeller Center, New York 20, N. Y. • SYNCRO DYNAMIC PROJECTOR SOUND AND PROJECTION FROM A SINGLE UNIT • SYNCROFILM "400" SOUND HEAD THE SOUND THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE • SYNCROFILM "E" SPEAKER PERMANENT MAGNET HIGH AND LOW FREQUENCY •SYNCROFILM "20" AMPLIFIER 20 WATT UN DISTORTED OUTPUT EXPORT OFFICE 13 EAST 40th STREE1 NEW YORK 16, N Y Cobl? Add-* i.. "ARIAS" WEBER MACHINE CORPORATION ROCHf ST£R 6, N. Y. WORLD'S LARGEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS Of SOUND PROJECTOR EQUIPMENT CORPORATION BETTER THEATRES, FEBRUARY 14. 1948 S3