Film-Tech Cinema Systems
Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE


  
my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home
  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Large Format Forum   » OK, so WHAT, pray tell, is IMAX Digital? (Page 1)

 
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2 
 
Author Topic: OK, so WHAT, pray tell, is IMAX Digital?
Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 05-01-2007 04:17 AM      Profile for Frank Angel   Author's Homepage   Email Frank Angel   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I guess IMAX isn't impressive enough....someone's got to put the word digital in front of it.

Orlando' s first all digital Cinema
Posted on Apr 30, 2007 8:19:31 AM
(From this Monday Mornings Orlando Paper).
"Premiere Fashion Square goes all digital this week. The 14 screen multiplex in Fashion Square Mall becomes the first all digital theater in town."

"Years of promises, complaints about the cost of switching to digital projection, shortcomings in earlier projectors, and the like (I've been writing about digital jump for 7 years or so, seems to me) finally pay off with no more scratchy prints, scratchy sound, misframed films and other projection problems based on a century-old system Thomas Edison was right at home with." (Don't you just want to ding a 5in hub off the top of this writer's pinhead?)

"We HOPE it's all perfection from here on out. We will see, though." (Ok, a little redemption for that line, but not much)

More digital screens are coming online with each new digital release. Spider-Man 3 will be IMAX digital when it opens at Regal Point Orlando. (You see my delemma here, right?)

But EVERYTHING at Premiere Fashion Square will be digital from now on.

It don't mean a damn thing if it aint got that digital swing.

 |  IP: Logged

Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007


 - posted 05-01-2007 04:55 AM      Profile for Chris Slycord   Email Chris Slycord   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
edit:
http://media.seekingalpha.com/article/20269

IMAX is transitioning to digital.

 |  IP: Logged

Ben Wales
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Southampton. England
Registered: Jul 99


 - posted 05-01-2007 04:04 PM      Profile for Ben Wales   Email Ben Wales   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I always assumed that the founding Father's of the Imax system was for the Ultimate Big Screen experience, and that was 15/70mm (world's largest format).

First Imax has be dump down with DMR Blow-Ups and now Digital Cinema [dlp] .

Perhaps now it should be renamed DMAX?.

 |  IP: Logged

Mike Olpin
Chop Chop!

Posts: 1852
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Jan 2002


 - posted 05-02-2007 04:41 AM      Profile for Mike Olpin   Email Mike Olpin   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Somebody at the paper didn't bother to fact check. The Point Orlando theatre is a standard IMAX GT.

The rumor I've heared is that Ruben H Fleet center, which has IMAX projector serial number 002, will be getting the first IMAX Digital projector.

 |  IP: Logged

Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999


 - posted 05-02-2007 03:30 PM      Profile for Frank Angel   Author's Homepage   Email Frank Angel   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Well, it really sounds like they are agressively going to move to digital. When you read the print cost factor, you can see why, but on the other hand, they'd better be sure they can still get the resolution that distinguishes them as IMAX or they will wind up a totally different animal. Many people said they lost their soul when they rolled out the IMAX-mini concept. If that was loosing it's soul, going digital will be sending it to the lowest depths of hell.

 |  IP: Logged

Mark J. Marshall
Film God

Posts: 3188
From: New Castle, DE, USA
Registered: Aug 2002


 - posted 05-02-2007 03:51 PM      Profile for Mark J. Marshall     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
What is the resolution of an IMAX digital projector?

 |  IP: Logged

Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999


 - posted 05-02-2007 04:00 PM      Profile for Paul Linfesty   Email Paul Linfesty   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
According to the source above, it employs two Sony 4K projectors.

 |  IP: Logged

Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 05-02-2007 08:01 PM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
So basically the "IMAX Digital" image resolution will be roughly equivalent to two 1.85:1 35mm film frames? Funny thing is 15-perf 70mm is about 10 times that size.

16K scans don't even address the full resolution potential of 15/70 material.

It's kind of sad the comments in that news article were all pretty slanted in the direction of money. Perhaps I missed it, but I didn't spot anyone issuing concerns about whether two Sony 4K digital projectors could realistically equal the brightness and ultra high resolution of true 15/70 photography and projection. Overall, this deal just sounds like a way to save a buck and greatly water down the IMAX concept.

 |  IP: Logged

Cameron Glendinning
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 845
From: West Ryde, Sydney, NSW Australia
Registered: Dec 2005


 - posted 05-02-2007 11:07 PM      Profile for Cameron Glendinning   Email Cameron Glendinning   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
[puke]

 |  IP: Logged

Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999


 - posted 05-02-2007 11:19 PM      Profile for Paul Linfesty   Email Paul Linfesty   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Bobby Henderson
It's kind of sad the comments in that news article were all pretty slanted in the direction of money.
Same with everything else today. It used to be people made quality products in the hopes of making money down the road. Today its all about the next quarterly statement. Quality be damned. "Maximizing shareholders value" trumps maximizing quality presentations. The unfortunate thing is, I'm not sure many people even care anymore. [Frown]

 |  IP: Logged

Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 05-03-2007 09:27 AM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
And that lack of ethic will be the thing which eventually removes the United States from its position as the world's prominent economic and cultural power. At some point all this "good enough" crap is going to bite us in the ass. Actually, it's already been doing that in a number of formerly American-dominated industries. We'll just keep adding to the list.

 |  IP: Logged

Brian Guckian
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 594
From: Dublin, Ireland
Registered: Apr 2003


 - posted 05-03-2007 06:46 PM      Profile for Brian Guckian   Email Brian Guckian   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Presumably this would have a huge imapct on the market for 65mm negative and 70mm print film in the future, if their 2x4K system is successfully deployed. Although acquisition might still have to be 65mm for the forseeable future. Any comments on this side of things?

 |  IP: Logged

Cameron Glendinning
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 845
From: West Ryde, Sydney, NSW Australia
Registered: Dec 2005


 - posted 05-03-2007 08:11 PM      Profile for Cameron Glendinning   Email Cameron Glendinning   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Lets just hope that this is reserved for the Hollywood blow ups. I don't think this technology could possibly be good enough for replicating the full academy 15/70 frame.
I do think that if the 8k IMAX digital image was used for the dmx blow up only, concentrated on the 2/3 area down the screen in a cinema like wide screen frame it may be similar to the image quality currently used and would make financial sense.
If the 8k was used to fill the whole screen, Hollywood blockbusters would only be using 4k for their presentation, less for scope. Providing no advantage over a similar equipped regular multiplex screen of the future.
Lets hope that to some degree that "The Dream Is Still Alive" @ imax head office.

 |  IP: Logged

Paul Linfesty
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1383
From: Bakersfield, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 1999


 - posted 05-03-2007 10:21 PM      Profile for Paul Linfesty   Email Paul Linfesty   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Do two overlapping 4K projectors give you 8k resolution? I think it's only to increase brightness, not resolution.

 |  IP: Logged

Tristan Lane
Master Film Handler

Posts: 444
From: Nampa, Idaho
Registered: Feb 2002


 - posted 05-04-2007 04:04 AM      Profile for Tristan Lane   Email Tristan Lane   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Paul Linfesty
Do two overlapping 4K projectors give you 8k resolution?
There's a common misconception when referring to [dlp] resolutions such as 2K and that one is simply double the other. The "#K" designation is just a simple way to specify what native resolution of the chip is.
In reference to D-cinema "#K" is referring to a rough number of vertical lines of native resolution of the chip. This number also also assumes that an aspect ratio in the ballpark of 1.89:1 is maintained. Technically 2K DLP is actually 2.048K, and 4K SXRD is 4.096K. The pixel area of 2K is 2048x1080, whereas 4K is 4096x2160. This would mean that 4K has 4 times the pixels as 2K. "8K" would carry 4x the pixes as 4K, or 16x the pixels of 2K.

In relation to the digital IMAX thing, using 2 4K projectors side-by-side with images overlapping will only still give you 4K.
I'm not sure what I think about this. Trying to create a digital technology that matches 15/70 is going to take much more than what 2 4K projectors can offer.

 |  IP: Logged



All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2 
 
   Close Topic    Move Topic    Delete Topic    next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:



Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.3.1.2

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.

© 1999-2020 Film-Tech Cinema Systems, LLC. All rights reserved.