For years, the George Eastman House's Dryden Theatre has used projectors from 1951 and a sound system from 1988. Although the theater is part of a film and photography museum, people still watch movies there in the here and now, and the venue is long overdue for an equipment upgrade.

And so the Dryden has closed for 2 1/2 weeks for upgrades: a complete replacement of the projectors and sound system, along with a few other minor changes. The theater will reopen on July 13.

Assistant Curator Jim Healy is careful to use the term "technical upgrades" instead of "renovation," because the theater itself will look the same to the audience when it reopens. But because of the theater's enhanced visual and aural capabilities, "connoisseurs of cinema," he says, "will notice a considerable change."

The changes include new projectors - custom-built Kinton FP 38E dual 35mm-16mm models - plus new speakers, a new PA system, an infrared hearing-impaired system, and a new screen. Even if audiences aren't hit over the head by this round of changes, life will be easier for the people who run the projectors. "I think it'll make our nightly exhibitions go a lot smoother," Healy says. The old projectors, which have the now-rare capability to show old 35-mm nitrate prints, will be kept around for showings of nitrate films.

Healy says the upgrade is the second of a series planned for the Dryden; the first was a lobby overhaul, and the next, which should be the most extensive, will be the renovation of the Art Deco-inspired theater itself.

"The complete renovation, when it comes, will include new seats, new carpet, and a whole new look to the theater," says Healy. That schedule is up in the air: "It's in the works, and I can't put any finite date on it yet, but we're in the planning stages," says Healy.

The Dryden reopens Friday, July 13, with an appearance by actor Farley Granger and a showing of his film "Strangers on a Train." Information is available at the Eastman House website.