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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => Pro AV Forum => Topic started by: Simon Barz on November 10, 2018, 09:34:32 PM
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Hey Guys!
I’m looking to purchase a proper sound system for a portable outdoor movie setup that we rent out. The screen's size is 150" and typically have up to 100-200 people attend.
Any suggestions as to the best portable full-range system for outdoor movies?
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Hey Guys!
I’m looking to purchase a proper sound system for a portable outdoor movie setup that we rent out. The screen's size is 150" and typically have up to 100-200 people attend.
Any suggestions as to the best portable full-range system for outdoor movies?
Do you have a budget or expected target market?
Are we talking a private movie screening for A-list actors or some friends want to get together and watch a movie?
What are other rental companies using in your area?
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Assuming this is just for casual use in stereo, I'd be looking at one of the following column arrays combo systems (in order of my preference):
RCF Evox 8 or J8
EV Evolve 50
Turbosound IP2000 or IP500
JBL Eon ONE
Easy to set up, self-powered, and have a sub included.
Hey Guys!
I’m looking to purchase a proper sound system for a portable outdoor movie setup that we rent out. The screen's size is 150" and typically have up to 100-200 people attend.
Any suggestions as to the best portable full-range system for outdoor movies?
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There are lots of options here, ranging from what Tim has suggested above (small stereo system), up to a full Atmos system with subwoofers capable of producing the VLF that modern movies require.
What's your budget, and how much space (both in terms of at the venue, and transport) can you allocate?
I'd set off with 5x decent 12" 2-way boxes and some subwoofers that hit 30Hz solidly for a decent movie experience. I think a centre channel gets more important with larger audiences, so 5.1 seems like an obvious step. Keep the rear speakers at a fairly low level so they're not killing those sat nearby.
Chris
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Not to hijack, but since we're on the topic. . .
Every time I think about playing back a movie using Atmos or Dolby Digital over a pro audio rig I run into the same snag. What do I use to decode various Surround Sound formats from the HDMI feed of a Blu-Ray player? $4k for a Dolby cinema processor seems a bit excessive. Also, no love for movies encoded in DTS so that would require a separate processor.
I'd figure to use an Aux buss for each channel once I get the discreet channels broken out of the encoded feed, but haven't figured out the intermediary step. . .
There are lots of options here, ranging from what Tim has suggested above (small stereo system), up to a full Atmos system with subwoofers capable of producing the VLF that modern movies require.
What's your budget, and how much space (both in terms of at the venue, and transport) can you allocate?
I'd set off with 5x decent 12" 2-way boxes and some subwoofers that hit 30Hz solidly for a decent movie experience. I think a centre channel gets more important with larger audiences, so 5.1 seems like an obvious step. Keep the rear speakers at a fairly low level so they're not killing those sat nearby.
Chris
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Not to hijack, but since we're on the topic. . .
Every time I think about playing back a movie using Atmos or Dolby Digital over a pro audio rig I run into the same snag. What do I use to decode various Surround Sound formats from the HDMI feed of a Blu-Ray player? $4k for a Dolby cinema processor seems a bit excessive. Also, no love for movies encoded in DTS so that would require a separate processor.
I'd figure to use an Aux buss for each channel once I get the discreet channels broken out of the encoded feed, but haven't figured out the intermediary step. . .
MKarantz AV7705 is only 2k... but I hear your point. Which is why a computer with a sound card could be nice to do the decoding.
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Not to hijack, but since we're on the topic. . .
Every time I think about playing back a movie using Atmos or Dolby Digital over a pro audio rig I run into the same snag. What do I use to decode various Surround Sound formats from the HDMI feed of a Blu-Ray player? $4k for a Dolby cinema processor seems a bit excessive. Also, no love for movies encoded in DTS so that would require a separate processor.
I'd figure to use an Aux buss for each channel once I get the discreet channels broken out of the encoded feed, but haven't figured out the intermediary step. . .
Hi Tim,
It's not something I've gone past the hypothetical stage with in a professional environment. At home, I'd actually use my laptop and a multi-channel USB soundcard.
They're usually 3.5mm stereo outputs, so I'd go from those to pairs of 1/4" jacks, into DI boxes, into the desk. Gives you the best chance of isolating ground loops and any other weirdness.
Once you've split out the analogue audio as you need, it's easy to do what you like with it, as you've mentioned.
Of course, when you're using a laptop, you need something stable. I find Win10 with VLC media player works fine at home, but again, I haven't tested that out on the road.
Cheers,
Chris
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We use the Crestron HD-XSP in an auditorium. It handles DTS and Dolby no issues. We have it feeding a rack of Crowns and have JBL speakers. About $2500 MSRP.
The film professor loves it.
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Sweet, that's going in the acquisitions queue.
We use the Crestron HD-XSP in an auditorium. It handles DTS and Dolby no issues. We have it feeding a rack of Crowns and have JBL speakers. About $2500 MSRP.
The film professor loves it.
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Not to hijack, but since we're on the topic. . .
Every time I think about playing back a movie using Atmos or Dolby Digital over a pro audio rig I run into the same snag. What do I use to decode various Surround Sound formats from the HDMI feed of a Blu-Ray player? $4k for a Dolby cinema processor seems a bit excessive. Also, no love for movies encoded in DTS so that would require a separate processor.
I'd figure to use an Aux buss for each channel once I get the discreet channels broken out of the encoded feed, but haven't figured out the intermediary step. . .
Just done a outdoor screening for the start of the family and friends summer movie season.
I picked up a Atlona AT-HD570 HDMI Audio De-Embedder from ebay for next to nothing. Passes HDMI and de-embeds audio to 4 audio pairs on 3.5mm jacks - FL/FR, LFE/FC, RL/RR & RLC/RRC.
Used an XR18 as interface to amps - each channel to an aux, channels controlled via a single DCA. Works brilliantly.
Doug
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I love watching movies outdoors.
You're awesome.
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Not to hijack, but since we're on the topic. . .
Every time I think about playing back a movie using Atmos or Dolby Digital over a pro audio rig I run into the same snag. What do I use to decode various Surround Sound formats from the HDMI feed of a Blu-Ray player? $4k for a Dolby cinema processor seems a bit excessive. Also, no love for movies encoded in DTS so that would require a separate processor.
I'd figure to use an Aux buss for each channel once I get the discreet channels broken out of the encoded feed, but haven't figured out the intermediary step. . .
I have a Pioneer Elite SC-95, it has 11 channels of amplification and it also has RCA pre-outs for each channel. I have connected 5 passive PA speakers directly to it and they get plenty loud for a backyard movie. I've also connected the RCA pre-outs to external amplifiers using cheap RCA-->XLR-M adapters and it works just fine. The AV receiver handles all of the decoding, routing, and level control. As an added benefit it also supports Apple Airplay so we can play music before starting the movie.
We've also used the Denon DN-500-AV which provides individual XLR outputs for up to 7.1 channels of surround. I believe it's discontinued and replaced with the DN-700, which i haven't used. But I have a couple installs with the DN-500 and no complaints.