Ireland is to become the 1st country in the world to have completely digital cinema

[Beamtracer]

That's sad. What's in it for the public? Less pixels. Film still looks a whole lot better than a HD video projector screen.

If I'm going to watch a movie on an electronic screen, I may as well do it at home.

[woodyradica]

Must admit I havent been to a digital ciniema yet.

Can anyone who has, make any constructive comments on the quality diference ?

[Pilchard]

I saw The Incredibles in a regular cinema, then a few days later at the Emipre in Leicter square, digitally.

Digital version won hands down, but then again it was an all CG source.
Have not seen live action screened digitally.

Yes you can watch HD stuff at home, but is you HD screen many many feet long? hehe!

:)

[Zithen]

All the digital projection I've seen has been amazing and much better than celluloid or indistinguishable from film. And with new laser projectors on the horizon with over 4K resolution, I'm looking forward to it.

[jussing]

Digital projection rocks celluloid any day of the week!

I'm against many new digital "improvements" - I hated DVD for its compression artifacts when it got out, I hate Cinealta for the moment (I think there's a great future in it, but right now it looks like DV crap compared to celluloid).

-But digital projection - WOW. It's clearer, sharper, steadier....

Don't forget, that with digital copies you save at least one analogue to analogue transfer - and it shows.

- Jonas

[NUKE-CG]

Ireland? WTF. Any way :)

I hope in the near future it's digital, then cinema's around the world can get the movies over a secure network in a few minutes using some dedicated fibre lines to main hubs, and then individual cinema's grab it from that.

Though I'm sure Disney/Pixar/Blue Sky/Dreamworks movies will still be delayed for months before they reach NZ, stupid out of sync school holidays and the power of a few more $$$.

[L.Rawlins]

Wouldn't a picture that expansive with image clarity that crisp make my eyes bleed? :D

They'd have to start selling Anadin alongside the popcorn. Headaches abound. Surely. Especially for those up front.

[maxrelics]

I think at first there will be some people who don't like it, but once the kinks are worked out, it'll be really nice. Isn't it easier to transport films from theater to theater when it's all digital?

[flipnap]

i think the biggest problem is going to be technology maintanence.. calibration issues, dead pixels and such.. and what happenes when they start digitally transmitting movies and companies figure they can go cheaper with more compression.. these are the things that bother me.. what is the acceptable number of dead pixels before a theater has to reoutfit..

[resullus]

I saw SW Episode II on a digital screen. It looked fantastic, just not worth the near hour drive to the only one in town. I came in with a critical eye, expecting to catch pixelation or jagged edges. Nothing abnormal was visable even on the biggest screen in the cineplex.

[Triple G]

Ireland? WTF. Any way :)

I hope in the near future it's digital, then cinema's around the world can get the movies over a secure network in a few minutes using some dedicated fibre lines to main hubs, and then individual cinema's grab it from that.

The thing that worries me the most about this projected situation is that this will make it that much easier for studios and directors to demand last-minute (literally) changes to shots...recut them, and then upload it to the distribution server(s). You think studio environments are hectic now... :argh:

[jbo]

i think the biggest problem is going to be technology maintanence.. calibration issues, dead pixels and such.. and what happenes when they start digitally transmitting movies and companies figure they can go cheaper with more compression.. these are the things that bother me.. what is the acceptable number of dead pixels before a theater has to reoutfit..

all valid concerns, but it's not as if film projectors don't have their own similar problems... often times, theaters will dim the bulb to save money. (though i guess that may apply to digital projectors as well). I've also been to the movies numerous times where the projection wasn't quite rectangular or didn't fit on the screen perfectly. does anyone know what resolution these digital projectors are?

triple g - good point

[flipnap]

jbo thats my point, all the regular problems with standard projection, bulb dimming, non square projection etc, will still be a problem with digital, but along with all the other technical things that can happen.. trust me, ive seen digital and i love it when donw right.. I live in texas and our theater is a beta tester for TI (since TI is right across the street from them) and saw the incredibles on one of the nations first tru 2k digital projection system and my jaw dropped.. my problem isnt with the technology, its with when it becomes so widespread and localized and theater owners start scrimping...

[jussing]

One possible disadvantage tho, when I saw The Incredibles digitally projected, the sound was horribly off synch... don't know where the error was, but if sound sync is an issue with digital projectors... eek!

I've also been to the movies numerous times where the projection wasn't quite rectangular or didn't fit on the screen perfectly.

I've heard from a guy who works in a projection room, that the picture that comes out of the projector doesn't have very sharp edges, so they deliberately show it a tad larger than the screen. -So essentially, the screen is what crops the image.

- Jonas

[Borjis]

I drove up to Seattle to see EP II Digitally at the Cinerama. The drive was just under
2 hours and it was worth every bit of time to get there.

Not sure about others experiences but the picture quality was absolutely superb there.
and that wasn't even the 2k version of the projector.
(my eyes are used to uncompressed 10-bit projects. I do post work on a regular basis)


I wouldn't be worried about bad pixels. The highest Picture quality and robust/reliable hardware
performance is the only equipment allowed to be used in the Digital Cinema Initiative for
theatrical projection. Surely there will be standards to quickly address a hot pixel should
it occur.

But then again, Hot pixels may not be an issue at all. It could be something else if it happens at all. Hot Pixels are a term to describe bad pixels for LCD technology. DLP being a whole 'nother animal may not be susceptible to this it all. And I don't know if its possible
for a micro mirror to become stuck.

[paperclip]

Yay!

I wonder if the cinema in my home town will be digitized? I'll let you all know once I go and see what it's like.
Anyone know whether this would make captioning in cinemas more freqent?

[jbo]

Hot Pixels are a term to describe bad pixels for LCD technology. DLP being a whole 'nother animal may not be susceptible to this it all.

good point... i figured that they worked the same as off the shelf digital projectors(usually with a small lcd screen with light passing through) but they don't. it still seems like pixels could die though...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DLP

[halo]

i can only hope some of the cinemas in the Uk get a serious revamp one day...having seen digital projection and then seeing the same movie on film i'd say that digital may at least resolve the problem of dirty or bad print films making it onto the screen.

Mind you its only as good as the glass and projectionist and after heving to sit through an out of focus and wrong aspect ratio "boundin" i do wonder if the staff actually watch what is on screen.

A friend of mine tried to inform the cinema during the showing of "boundin" and told them that their aspect ratio was out...the reply was "the what is out?"... :banghead:

At least this may go some way to reduce the lag for films' release dates across the globe if it catches on...

[dcashmer]

good point... i figured that they worked the same as off the shelf digital projectors(usually with a small lcd screen with light passing through) but they don't. it still seems like pixels could die though...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DLP
Jesse,
I've sent you a few messages and emails regarding your Mach 5. Please contact me at dtc@execpc.com.

Thank you.

Dan

[Borjis]

good point... i figured that they worked the same as off the shelf digital projectors(usually with a small lcd screen with light passing through) but they don't. it still seems like pixels could die though...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DLP



If there is a possible way to have the micro mirrors fail so they don't move,
that would likely do it.

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