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The Future of Digital Cinema

Posted by michael on from the floor-still-covered-with-jujubes dept.

prostoalex writes "This article on ABCNews talks about two different technologies, aimed at bringing the cinemas up to the standards of this digital age. It points out some interesting information regarding the status quo such as "of the more than 35,000 movie screens operating in the United States today, only 60 are digitally equipped, largely because of the technology's $150,000 price tag"."

3 of 259 comments (clear)

  1. digital needs more resolution by _|()|\| · · Score: 5, Informative
    So expecting a similar quality payoff from Digital Video, three of us made an effort to see Attack of the Clones in a digital theater. We were disappointed.

    I thought the digital version of Star Wars II looked terrible. The individual pixels were clearly visible. For example, the Star Wars logo had poorly anti-aliased "jaggies."

    I suspect that the screen was too large and/or I was sitting too close. I'm sure the DVD will look spectacular, but I don't think digital has enough resolution to compete with film, yet.

  2. Re:70mm by noz · · Score: 3, Informative

    I agree, but 70mm is not the answer. Maxivision48 would be twice the size of the film print, and 2 canisters and 4-7 reels is a heavy print to ship, move, and platter/tower.

    Yes, 70mm is amazing, but the film stock is sooo expensive and huge. A similar flaw with this maxivision concept. 35mm is excellent quality. Enjoy a well projected show.

    P.S. Dirt and scratches ideally are not an issue. Throughout a films first-run screenings, they should be well treated. If you see too many scratches, don't go back to the same theatre.

  3. Comments on DP and economics.... by nedron · · Score: 5, Informative
    Frankly, anyone who has actually seen a digital projection of a film sourced production can't help but see that it is nowhere near the quality one gets from straight film production. It does make sense to perhaps project video projects (like the recent Star Wars video sci-fi) in a digital projection center, but it makes no sense to digitally project something that originated on film.

    As to the economics, that $150K(US) is an estimate (low in my opinion) per screen. So, for each of your 20 screen theatres you're talking 3mil.

    Why do you pay $6(US) for 50 cents worth of popcorn? Because that $6 pays for real estate, salaries, food, benefits, etc. Basically, the concession income pays for virtually all of the construction and operating costs of a theatre. Theatres make virtually no money on ticket sales since the vast majority is paid to the distributor. The only reason they even show the film is to get you to come in and buy concessions. The $6 price also helps defray the losses (yes losses) from people who sneak their own food and beverages into the theatre. If everyone would buy one bucket of popcorn and one soda, theatres wouldn't have to charge $6 for popcorn.

    I know, I managed a movie theatre for a number of years.

    --


    * As is generally the case, my opinions do not reflect those of my employer.