The Directors Guild of America recently completed a total renovation of its flagship motion picture exhibition space at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles with installation of custom-built Dolby Vision laser projection and a Dolby Atmos immersive sound system encompassing more than 70 Meyer Sound cinema loudspeakers.
The Guild committee engaged the noted Gensler architectural firm, who in turn assigned the role of audiovisual specification and engineering to Tom Schindler, senior vice president at the San Francisco-based Salter consulting firm. Drawing on their unique perspectives as filmmakers, the Guild committee members insisted on a live audition in order to make a final decision. “We decided that, no, we’re not going to decide this just on the printed specs,” recalled one committee member, director Michael Mann, in a recent DGA interview. “We wanted to hear how they would sound as we moved around the space.” Anchoring the five front screen channels of the system are five Meyer Acheron 100 loudspeakers, each paired with an Acheron LF low-frequency extension loudspeaker. The main LFE channels receive potent reproduction from twelve X-800C cinema subwoofers, aided by eight 750-LFC low-frequency control elements for surround bass management. Surround channels are assigned to a cohort of 22 HMS-12 and 32 HMS-15 self-powered surround loudspeakers. A GALAXY 816 Network Platform supplies processing for the front screen channel systems.
Integration and installation of all audio and video systems was contracted to Diversified’s Media & Entertainment group. In addition to Dolby Vision projection and Atmos sound, the renovation included a new 50-foot projection screen, upgraded Norelco film projectors.
