D-BOX: A New Dimension in Home Theater D-BOX Motion Simulation Chair In an industrial park just outside Montreal, a company called D-BOX is adding an entirely new dimension to the home-theater experience. D-BOX has invented a technology that translates onscreen movement to motion in your viewing chair, adding a visceral thrill to movie watching. All you have to do is pop a DVD into any player, sit in a special D-BOX motion-simulation chair or in a conventional chair atop a D-BOX platform, and hang on for the ride. The D-BOX system is composed of two elements. The first is the motion-simulation chairs containing the electro-mechanical actuators that make them move. You can install conventional home-theater seating on DBOX’s motion platform (what the company calls the Odyssee system), or choose stand-alone Quest chairs that require no special installation. The actuators are driven by an outboard box about the size of a large DVD player called the Kinetron Controller.
The second element of D-BOX, and where the real magic lies, is the “motion codes” that tell the motionsimulation systems how to move. Creating the motion codes is a highly sophisticated process—one that distinguishes D-BOX from “shaker” chairs that merely vibrate when fed by a subwoofer signal. D-BOX employs six full-time “kinetic artists” who painstakingly program every motion down to the smallest detail. It takes two to four weeks of full-time work to program one film. While sitting on a motion platform, the programmer watches the film and selects the combination of motion-simulation movements that best conveys what’s happening on the screen. He may watch a particular three-second segment dozens of times to find just the right movements and vibrations to create the impression that the viewer is experiencing the onscreen action. The frequency and amplitude of the movement and vibration are then tweaked and perfectly synchronized with the film. A film may have as many as 5500 individual motion cues.
The motion codes for the more than 400 films D-BOX has encoded thus far are stored on a hard drive inside the Kinetron Controller. Codes for newly released films are sent to DBOX owners in monthly CD updates, and are also available for download on the Internet. The D-BOX controller automatically recognizes the DVD that is playing and loads the appropriate motion codes. ), D-BOX creates motion codes for about twelve new films per month. I’ve had two short (five minute) demos of D-BOX at trade shows, and about an hour of seat time at the company’s factory during a recent visit. The two experiences were radically different. In the short demos, I was consciously aware of the novelty of a moving chair and paid attention to how onscreen action was being translated into seat movement. The experience was interesting, but not compelling. Once I sat in the chair for more than a few minutes, however, and watched an extended scene, I no longer focused on the seat motion; instead, I became involved in the film in a completely new way.
The motion seemed a natural extension of the movie. In action scenes such as the Mini chase toward the end of The Italian Job, D-BOX amped up the thrill factor to the point where I felt my heart beating harder and my palms getting sweaty. D-BOX created a more immersive and compelling experience, and was loads of fun. On the factory tour, I had the opportunity to examine the actuators and support mechanisms that make the chairs move. I was greatly impressed by the massive construction and fine machining of the parts. This is serious hardware. I learned that the most powerful of these actuators can each lift 600 pounds as much as 1.5" 200 times per second. Each actuator contains an optical encoder that tells the Kinetron Controller the actuator’s precise position at any given moment. The actuators can move slowly up and down while simultaneously moving quickly up and down—representing, for example, a car going over a hill while the engine is vibrating. You’re probably wondering how much a D-BOX system costs.
The Quest chair sells for $5300 in NuSuede with a manual recliner. A leather version with motorized recliner is $6999. Add $2999 for the Kinetron Controller, which can control up to four chairs. You can use your PC as the Controller with a $799 kit from DBOX, saving $2200. The Odyssee platform system ranges in price depending on how many chairs you intend to mount on the platform and how many axes of movement you want (two axes or three). A full-blown Odyssee system can run up to $30k. This isn’t cheap, but D-BOX is like nothing you’ve experienced before. D-BOX has more than 100 U.S. dealers, all of whom can demonstrate the system. If you take D-BOX for a test drive, be sure to spend at least 30 minutes watching a movie you like. But be forewarned: The demo may immediately induce you to get out your checkboo 27001 US Highway 19 North Lakeside 18 & IMAX 1650 Town Center Drive Merritt Square 16 & IMAX 77 East Merritt Island Causeway Merritt Island, FL 32952
Dolphin 19 & IMAX 11471 NW 12 Street Hollywood 16 & IMAX 4250 Old Greensboro Road 3780 Gulf Shores Parkway Gulf Shores, AL 36542 Liberty Township, OH 45069 Cobb Village 12 Cinemas 1600 Village Market Blvd., SEEmagine has recently partnered with Northwoods Entertainment, the acquirer of Muller Family Theaters, and we are so excited to welcome you to the Emagine family. We are working hard to set up showtimes for your local theatre, and will share exciting updates on location information, tickets / showtimes, and venue rental information on this page here. Be sure to check back here, follow us on social, and bookmark our website for future use. D-BOX Gaming Chair: A $15,000 Toy for the Rich Gamer by Manveer Wasson on January 8, 2008 4:02 AM EST D-Box was showing off their new GP Pro-200 RC and FS gaming chairs at the HP/Voodoo booth. These chairs offer a totally immersive gaming experience by including a surround sound system built around the chair, force feedback controls, and motion actuators on the base to simulate movement.