News - 03/26/1999 KC Star
Digital drive-in? It sounds great
Boulevard Drive-In installs new system in time for opening
By Robert W. Butler
The Kansas City Star
March 26th, 1999
"There's much better separation between the right and left sound channels, plus a better dynamic range - more highs and lows." Bob Foster; a local sound contractor Ozoner aficionados - meaning patrons of drive-in movie theaters - will get a special treat with the 1999 opening tonight of the Boulevard Drive-In: digital stereo sound. In fact, the Boulevard at 1051 Merriam Lane, Kansas City, Kan., is the first drive-in theater anywhere to install the DTS sound system, according to Digital Theatre Systems, the California-based firm that's a leader in theater sound design.
Unlike an indoor theater, where the audience is surrounded by speakers, the Boulevard's system relies on each car's FM stereo radio to carry the movie's soundtrack. A low-powered transmitter sends out a signal just strong enough to blanket the drive-in. Patrons must tune their radios to a particular frequency to receive the movie soundtrack
For those whose vehicles lack working FM radios, the Boulevard still offers individual speakers on poles that can be detached and hung on a car window.
Under this system the sound is only as good as that car's sound system. But Bob Foster, a local sound contractor who is installing the Boulevard's new system, says customers will notice a difference.
"There's much better separation between the right and left sound channels, plus a better dynamic range - more highs and lows," Foster said. "It even improves the sound from the speakers on poles. It's strictly monaural in that case, but the sound is still much better than at any other drive-in. And if you've already got a digital radio or an ED system in your car, the sound is really spectacular."
Theater owner Wes Neal said the sound upgrade was part of a general improvement program at the Boulevard after last October's flooding of nearby Turkey Creek, which devastated the theater. "We were under 12 feet of water," Neal said. "I had earthmoving equipment here for three weeks removing the mud and debris. Anyway, this theater is my hobby and I want it to be the best around. Other theaters are touting their digital systems. I figured we could, too."
The new digital sound system may also help the theater get high-profile first-run films, according to John Shipp, who books movies into the Boulevard. "George Lucas has announced that if you don't have digital sound you can't show his new 'Star Wars film'." Shipp said. "Of course there's no proof that the Boulevard will get a print of the film even with the digital sound system But at least it puts us in the running."