The Traumpalast cinema in Backnang in the German state of Baden-Württemberg recently opened after nearly eight months of work to remodel the building, and to celebrate is showing the new James Bond film Skyfall. The theatre has a total of five auditoriums and seating to accommodate more than 600 moviegoers. Kinoton was contracted to completely digitize, automate, and network it.
The service technicians of Kinoton's Southern German branch installed five high-quality Kinoton DCS Digital Cinema Solutions-one in each auditorium-with lamp outputs between three and 4.5 kW. Three were equipped with a 3D system from Dolby. To save time, all of the D-Cinema projection systems can be maintained from a distance by Kinoton's Remote Service.
The D-Cinema equipment and all of the auditorium functions are linked by Kinoton Digital Cinema Automation (DCA). The side and main curtains, lighting, and sound processors can be operated both from control panels in the individual projection rooms and auditoriums and-simply, reliably, and completely-via playlists stored on the D-Cinema servers. Practical DCA interface modules also allow Kinoton to quickly and effortlessly add new equipment and functionality to the cinema's DCA system.
The Backnang Traumpalast also boasts a leading-edge Kinoton TMS (Theatre Management System). Instead of operating each D-Cinema server individually, staff can manage all five auditoriums via the Kinoton TMS from a central control booth. This capability made it possible to save space by designing small equipment-only projection rooms. The playlists for all auditoriums are centrally created and distributed to the servers. A few mouse clicks are all it takes to send films and trailers to auditoriums for showing. This saves a noticeable amount of work. Also very practical are the possibilities for remotely monitoring the equipment in the projection rooms to check the status of ongoing shows and nip any problems in the bud.
It is safe to say that the Traumpalast chain of cinemas is unique in the cinema industry in terms of the design, colors, and variety of its interior architecture, decorating, and furnishing. And Heinz Lochmann, who has now opened his sixth Traumpalast cinema in Backnang, is very happy with how successfully the building has been converted. "The all-blue Backnang Traumpalast looks amazing, it shines like the stars in the Traumpalast logo," he stated. "Everything is just right, from the façade across the lobby to the individual auditoriums. The Backnang Traumpalast carries our concept into a new dimension."
