GFS Projection and Sound Equipment: Updated September 2009

Like most community film societies, GFS shows films by using an LCD projector with a DVD player. We screen our films in the local Borough Hall which provides excellent raked seating for up to 200 attendees. In practice we usually have an audience of 120 – 140 from a total membership of 200. However, we must set up the seating and equipment on each occasion. Equipment portability and ease of connection is, therefore, important!

Our equipment has cost approximately £9,000.

Image

Following a successful bid to the 'National Lottery Awards for All' we purchased a Sanyo PLC-XP100 projector that delivers 6500 ANSI lumens and a contrast ratio of 2000:1. (This is particularly valuable when setting up equipment as full blackout is not necessary for a workable image.) It also offers a full range of connections including DVI- D, Composite and S-video. It supports an up-scaled HDMI input at 1080i. In addition it has excellent lens shift capabilities. The down side is the weight of the projector which is considerable (11.75 kg) and the need to insert and remove the lens at each screening to avoid damage when transporting it.

Overall, using 1080i HDMI the PLC-XP100 delivers an excellent image equivalent to that of a modern HD television – but very much larger! A long throw lens (LNS-T32) is used to project over a distance of 20m onto a 6m wide x 4.5m high roller projection screen provided by the Borough Hall.

We use two DVD players to ensure that we have backup and so that we can show a 'short' before the main feature without having to run through ‘setting up’ procedures in front of our audience!

Both DVD players - a Denon 1930 and a Cambridge DVD99 - provide a comprehensive range of controls and outputs including HDMI at 1080i and digital sound.

Audio

We have followed others in opting for good quality stereo PA equipment (HK Audio LUCAS Performer – total output 900w RMS) augmented with an additional centre speaker (HK AUDIO PRO8A 600w RMS). All speakers are 'active' – they have their own amplifiers – which simplifies setting up and avoids problems when sending signals over a large distance. The three speakers are controlled using an AV Processor with pre-amplified outputs.

This enables us to operate in a Dolby 3.1 mode where the centre speaker is designated to provide the central sound track (almost entirely speech) and the L and R speakers with their subwoofer provide the stereo sound and associated low frequency contextual sound.

The AV Processor is an Arcam AVP700 which provides a huge range of connection and sound protocol selections, direct switching between DVD players and – importantly – direct sound delay (Lip Sync) control. (We use a delay of 125ms.)

For sound, the DVD players are connected to the Arcam using digital coaxial cables. The Video signal from the DVD players is connected via HDMI connectors which are switched with the sound signal. (There is no HDMI processing – this is merely a 'pass through' capability to enable switching.)

The result is impressive when compared with standard stereo. Central sound (voice) is far more distinct and stereo performance is enhanced due to the absence of central sound from the L and R speakers!

Summary: GFS Equipment

Projector	Sanyo PLC -XP100 with long throw lens T32 ANSI Lumens: 3500 Contrast Ratio 900:1 www.ivojo.co.uk/sanyo-plc-xp100.htm	Connection to AV Processor: DVI (HDMI) S-Video
Sound System	HK Audio LUCAS Performer 900 W RMS HK Audio Pro 8A 600W RMS www.hkaudio.com	Subwoofer with integral amplifiers Centre speaker with integral amplifier Satellite speakers x 2 Speaker stands x 2 3 x 30m microphone cables
DVD Players	Denon DVD 1930 www.denon.co.uk Cambridge DVD99 www.richersounds.com
AV Processor	Arcam AVP700	Arcam AVP700 Audio to DVD players: Digital coaxial cables Video connection to DVD players: HDMI
Projector Stand	Unicol: Base, column and platform

September 2009