A gift of the Century Projector Company, the Century Model C projectors have been installed in the Dryden Theatre since it opened in 1951. These MacHines are "closed head" projectors, so called because the entire film path from feed magazine to takeup magazine is enclosed. This makes them safer for running nitrate print film. Other safety features on the projectors include fire rollers or fire valves located between the body of the projector and the film magazines and a fire shutter. The fire rollers help prevent a fire from spreading to the roll of film in either magazine. The fire shutter cuts off the hot beam of light when the projector is either slowed down or stopped, helping to keep the film from catching fire. The projectors were originally set up with carbon arc lamphouses, replaced in 1979 with xenon light sources as carbons were being gradually phased out. The Century projectors' sound reproducers have also been upgraded over the years to ensure the best possible sound from vintage sound tracks. The projection booth of the Dryden Theatre also includes two Kinoton FP38E projectors for modern prints on 35mm and 16mm stock, as well as a Barco digital projector.

[source: Nitrate Picture Show program, 2017-May-5]