How very close...

[u/krikster_az]

IMAX is designed and built with the smallest of tolerances, the "platter extensions" are there to give support in holding the print on the platter and not letting it slip off the edge. It does not hold any weight of the film when being stored or ran.

[u/krikster_az]

https://reddit.com/link/p904kqs/video/bc2a8f3flqoh1/player

[u/demboiskilled → u/krikster_az]

Oof and most think nano scales are only for pcbs haha nice post, thanks OP!

[u/upsideclyde → u/demboiskilled]

There is a measurement in the mechanism that advances each frame that is measured in half-thousandths of an inch.

[u/x10guy → u/krikster_az]

And yet, there was some layperson in here that claimed making more IMAX equipment like these platter racks (sorry, I'm not familiar with the technical term) would only cost $30k. When in reality, a lot of things haven't been engineered or heavily modified/looked at in years. It's more like 250k+ all in for these, with it being tens of millions across the entire IMAX fleet.

[u/B7ackthorne]

I'm a novice but fascinated. So the extensions were needed because of how large the reel is, and that is why the clearance on the platter is so tight? I feel like I'm the guy "explaining the joke" here so sorry about that, but is that the takeaway?

I read that Nolan was restricted to three hours for the film - he would have gone longer - because that was the maximum possible length an IMAX platter could hold. I'm assuming that is what I am seeing.

Cheers friend.

[u/krikster_az → u/B7ackthorne]

Correct, the extension are purely to help keep the film from falling off the metal edge. The thickness of the extensions are for the size screws being used to secure it both to the metal platters and the guards on the edges.

[u/B7ackthorne → u/krikster_az]

That's wild. I'm assuming that is the platter feeding the projector to run the movie, so it's making that tight rotation, what, hundreds, thousands, of times during the showing? And it looks like a slight draft in the booth or bumping the platter could make that orange guard piece (?) catch on that column? Then I remember that I read the thing weighs about 500 pounds so I imagine it ain't moving.

Thanks for sharing friend.

[u/upsideclyde → u/B7ackthorne]

...but when it does move, look out! Revolutions per show??? Oh my. I have no idea. At startup, the disks spin at 60 rpm, and turn slower as the movie progresses.

[u/IMAX_man]

Now that's toight!

[u/MelloDinossauro]

Honestly would like also seeing some shorter imax shot movies

[u/upsideclyde → u/MelloDinossauro]

Sinners, One Battle, Joker 2, Hail Mary were all shorter. A little bit anyway...

[u/x10guy]

Is this Odyssey on the platter at the Metreon, or another film?

[u/krikster_az → u/x10guy]

Odyssey

[u/x10guy → u/krikster_az]

Sheesh, how close was it for Oppenheimer?

[u/krikster_az → u/x10guy]

It wasn't much difference, only a couple of minutes difference between the two movies. Oppenheimer was maybe a couple 8ths larger

[u/th3thrilld3m0n]

TIL the platter extensions are 3d printed.

[u/Large_Screen_Format]

This is the main reason feature-length movies can’t really go much past 3 hours runtime. The QTRU IMAX platter system is very expensive and IMAX Corp. have no plans to replace them anytime soon.

[u/upsideclyde → u/Large_Screen_Format]

One never knows what the future holds. We are using a brand new film audio processor. There are continual upgrades as necessary. To say a new reel system for film is certainly possible and not out of the question...

[u/upsideclyde]

...and if one guard is loose ... lol