Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

South Bay Drive-In goes digital

Projectionist loses job

The South Bay Drive-In Theatres on Coronado Avenue in South San Diego recently updated its projection booths to digital. The digital conversion is being forced on all movie theaters by the major movie studios, which are expected to eliminate the production of movies on 35-millimeter film by the end of this year.

The South Bay Drive-In is owned by Los Angeles–based DeAnza Land and Leisure Corp., which is completing a conversion of 21 screens at the six drive-ins it owns at a cost of $2 million. The South Bay theater has three screens and operates a swap-meet on the grounds on Wednesdays and every weekend.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The conversion of the South Bay theater meant closing for four days so the projection booths could be retrofitted with special glass windows, more vents, stronger air-conditioning, and an internet connection. The projectionist who ran the 35mm projectors was the first of several employees to be let go, according to theater employees who asked not to be identified.

Now a theater employee inserts a jump drive into a server the size of a refrigerator and then enters an encryption key to play the movie. The encryption key is sent via email after the movie arrives and is only good for the duration of the licensed showings for the theater. After that, the encryption keys no longer work.

John Vincent, president of United Drive-In Theater Owners Association, said in a recent interview posted online that the evolution to digital is a tough expense to take on for drive-ins, but the technology comes with a marked improvement in movie quality.


"We've heard this time and time again from the theaters that have converted, especially one that did it last year, that the feedback from the customers was great," Vincent said. "They really appreciated the brighter picture. No matter how good your setup was with film, it could only be so bright or you would melt the film."

The South Bay Theatres, reflecting prices at drive-ins nationwide, charges $7 for adults and $1 for children ages 5 to 9. Younger children are admitted free. Customers get two movies for their ticket.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Next Article

Bait and Switch at San Diego Symphony

Concentric contemporary dims Dvorak

The South Bay Drive-In Theatres on Coronado Avenue in South San Diego recently updated its projection booths to digital. The digital conversion is being forced on all movie theaters by the major movie studios, which are expected to eliminate the production of movies on 35-millimeter film by the end of this year.

The South Bay Drive-In is owned by Los Angeles–based DeAnza Land and Leisure Corp., which is completing a conversion of 21 screens at the six drive-ins it owns at a cost of $2 million. The South Bay theater has three screens and operates a swap-meet on the grounds on Wednesdays and every weekend.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The conversion of the South Bay theater meant closing for four days so the projection booths could be retrofitted with special glass windows, more vents, stronger air-conditioning, and an internet connection. The projectionist who ran the 35mm projectors was the first of several employees to be let go, according to theater employees who asked not to be identified.

Now a theater employee inserts a jump drive into a server the size of a refrigerator and then enters an encryption key to play the movie. The encryption key is sent via email after the movie arrives and is only good for the duration of the licensed showings for the theater. After that, the encryption keys no longer work.

John Vincent, president of United Drive-In Theater Owners Association, said in a recent interview posted online that the evolution to digital is a tough expense to take on for drive-ins, but the technology comes with a marked improvement in movie quality.


"We've heard this time and time again from the theaters that have converted, especially one that did it last year, that the feedback from the customers was great," Vincent said. "They really appreciated the brighter picture. No matter how good your setup was with film, it could only be so bright or you would melt the film."

The South Bay Theatres, reflecting prices at drive-ins nationwide, charges $7 for adults and $1 for children ages 5 to 9. Younger children are admitted free. Customers get two movies for their ticket.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Next Article

Five new golden locals

San Diego rocks the rockies
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader