Valentine’s Day 2024 saw the opening to the public of Suffolk’s first luxury cinema, Everyman Bury St Edmunds. Located in the basement of the former Debenhams store, this three-screen cinema features a sumptuous bar area and all the usual special offerings Everyman bring to their venues. Bell Theatre Services Ltd were tasked with the technical design, equipment specification and installation of the sound and projection equipment, as well as the complex background music system. Central to the operation of the whole complex is a QSC Q-SYS system programmed by our in-house Q-SYS certified engineers. Audio processing and control for all three screens, as well as the background music, is handled by a core 110fV2 with 100% redundancy in the event of a core failure. A further backup exists for network devices critical to the operation of the cinema by a fully redundant network, such that in the event of a network failure all audio and automation functions continue without interruption to screenings. Audio transport to the amplifiers is also via the Q-SYS network, reducing the amount of analogue audio cabling required.
All loudspeakers within the cinema are by QSC and feature SC-2150 stage speakers, SB-7218 sub bass loudspeakers and a mixture of SR-800 and SR-1000 surround loudspeakers. The public area background music system speakers are a mixture of AC-S6T and AC-C6T with the low frequencies being handled by AD-S82Tw sub bass loudspeakers. Microphones for conferencing facilities are by Sennheiser and are fed directly into the Q-SYS system via Dante, allowing easy routing of the microphone outputs to any auditorium, or part of the building on the Q-SYS network. HDMI video distribution for satellite and Blu-Ray screenings is fully integrated into the system and video signals can be routed anywhere in the building at the touch of a button. The Q-SYS system provides hard of hearing and visual narration (audio description) to Phonic Ear 2-channel infra-red transmitters within each auditorium.
Projection is by NEC NC1202L-A and NC1402L-A laser projectors equipped with Dolby IMS3000 servers each with 10.5TB of storage.
The whole system, including projectors and servers, is controllable from a single touchscreen with a custom user interface by our in-house design team.
As an additional touch and a nod to cinemas past, we provided a Cinemecanicca Victoria 8, complete with gold-plated spools, for display in the foyer.
For more information about how Q-SYS can improve your cinema and your customer’s visit experience, please feel free to call us anytime.