Taken over by Vue Nederland in August 2015, the Dutch JT Bioscopen cinema chain was one of the first global adopters of Dolby Atmos immersive surround sound and already had several existing Alcons-equipped cinemas. Vue Nederland worked with cinema services specialists CinemaNext on the new installation, who have worked on projects with Alcons since the introduction of the company's C-series cinema systems. CinemaNext's first Atmos installation using Alcons products was completed in early 2013.
"Alcons products are very well suited to Atmos installations," says CinemaNext regional manager Matthew Jones. "A key requirement of Atmos is that, when sound is panned, there must not be any perceivable difference in its volume or quality. It needs the loudspeakers used in the 3D array to have very similar output and dynamic range to those used for the front channels. Alcons makes very high quality speakers which, in terms of sonic uniformity, are ideal for this kind of array.
"The client wanted a very high end audio solution for Vue Alkmaar. We had done several Atmos systems for them using Alcons in the past, so they were happy to choose it for the new site."
Three of the seven screens at Vue Alkmaar feature Atmos and all are full Alcons installations. In terms of size, Screen 10 is the largest with 420 seats, with Screen 1 (223 seats) and Screen 8 (148 seats) being smaller rooms.
"The sound of Alcons systems is unbelievable, thanks to their revolutionary pro-ribbon technology," says Gerrit Doorn, chief development officer at Vue Nederland. "Because Alcons speakers and amplifiers deliver the highest quality sound, they have become an essential part of Vue cinemas across the country. Sound is every bit as important as visuals in the cinema experience and the partnership between Vue Nederland, CinemaNext and Alcons ensures that our audiences always enjoy the very best movie experience. We are very pleased that this has been recognised by the ICTA award."
(Jim Evans)
