High Performance Stereoô And General Cinema Announce ""Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace"" Playing At The Framingham 14 Theatre Complex
The new ""Star Wars"" prequel is being presented in digital sound with a full 8 channel HPS-4000Æ sound system at the General Cinema Framingham 14 (Massachusetts) theatre complex. Known as the finest presentation house on the East Coast, the Framingham 14 is home to 12 HPS-4000Æ sound systems, the most powerful motion picture sound systems in the world. It also happens to be the home of the John F. Allenís HPS-4000 reference theatre. Allen is the creator and designer of the HPS-4000 sound system and in 1984, was the first to bring digital sound to a commercial motion picture theatre. ""We are upgrading our HPS-4000 reference theatre from 6 channels to 8 so that our customers can experience íStar Warsí in the largest sound format available,"" said Lanark Thornton, general manager of the Framingham 14. According to the systemís designer, John F. Allen, the biggest of the 12 HPS-4000 systems at Framingham in theatre Number 5 has the acoustic power of over 10 symphony orchestras making it one of the most powerful in the world. Allen stated that the reason for such power is not to blast peoples eardrums, rather it ensures that when a filmís soundtrack calls for the loudest and most dynamic effects, the sound system will never distort. It is the distortion in other less potent sound systems that has caused so many complaints about loud movies. The sound in the HPS-4000 theatres is known for its effortless clarity and natural tone. Most digital films are mixed in a 6-channel format with 3 main speakers behind the screen, a subwoofer system as well as left and right surround channels. The Sony Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS) soundtrack format is the only one to offer 8 channels, bringing the total number of speakers behind the screen to 5 from 3. Presently there are over 1,100 screens equipped with 8 channels SDDS systems. The General Cinema Framingham 14 is the only theatre in the Boston area setup to present 8 channel SDDS soundtracks over an HPS-4000Æ playback system. For further information, contact Lanark Thornton at GCC Framingham, 508 875 6151; or John F. Allen at High Performance Stereo, 617 244 1737.