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This topic comprises 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
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Author
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Topic: Did I see D-Cinema done wrong?
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Brian Guckian
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 594
From: Dublin, Ireland
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 06-09-2004 06:39 PM
Surely there's a world of difference between D-Cinema grade DLP and the consumer version - firstly as Mattias implies, the majority of consumer DLP projectors are single-chip (with a colour wheel), not dedicated 3-chip for RGB.
Secondly, I believe the cinema-grade TI chips are physically different to the consumer versions (in size? - I'm not sure), and there are critical differences in software, etc.
BTW having seen the latest 2K DLP demonstration with properly-mastered material, I can confirm Michael Barry that you have indeed seen "D-Cinema done wrong"!
I experienced no problem with contrast, sharpness, black level, and so on; the demo was on a 30ft screen and it was terrific.
However, it was only as good as "film done right". And also, there seems to be many more steps needed to "get it right" with digital; many more variables. Look at the mastering, then the file creation, then loading the portable hard drive, then the server, then the software, encryption and user interface, then the projector, and the de-encryption, then the projector interface, then the audio...and so on. And all these have to talk to each other! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
Set up in a logical, clear manner with appropriate expertise, it all works brilliantly...but the worry is always there that with so many variables there are so many more things that can go wrong!
I too suspect that the screening "done wrong" was a letterboxed Scope picture blown up to fit the cinema's screen...Scope in digital MUST be shown with an anamorphic attachment, and the newer projectors should all be fitted with motorised turrets! (Amazing how so many of them come with stand-alone brackets that are relatively difficult to mount in the field).
Day After Tomorrow - seen two prints in different theatres here, A-Ok, was the film perhaps shot Super-35? (I checked IMDB but no specifics). That might account for the reported softness.
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Frank Angel
Film God
Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 06-13-2004 03:46 PM
Until the industry spokes people stop making idiotic, assinine statements like this:
quote:
Mr. Darrow also said that the most advanced Texas Instruments projector, which has 2k resolution, "already produces images better than the best film can do."
(yah, in his wet dreams) and the consumer marketing aholes stop this kind of crap:
"And the actors in the sitcom you've been following (for how long now?) have normal skin tones for the first time."
"so realistic you may find it difficult to believe your eyes" Geez, I can't believe my freakin eyes!
"That's why DLP Cinema™ technology wows audiences in digital movie theaters around the world. Yah, where, exactly are they being wowed, huh? In the less than 75 theatres here in the states? WOW.
....the DMX Series delivers a stunning 720p x 1280 HDTV picture. 720p x 1280....STUNNING indeed.
As of now, razor-sharp, all-digital picture quality is an affordable reality. RAZOR-SHARP is conveniently not defined; my 85yr old auntie thinks she sees thing razor-sharp too.
As long as this nonsense keeps up, the vidiots will continue to make themselves and their technology a laughing-stock.
It seems like Kodak is the only one in the battle for the cinema video market to talk with restraint about how Deeeee-Cinema is going to take over the world. Perhaps it's because they really know what film can look like.
"....Bob Gibbons, director of marketing and communications for Kodak Digital Cinema, said: "A better cinema experience is much more than just a big screen with a sharp image. It's also about how the customer is treated, how they feel when they're in the theater. It's the whole experience."
Amen.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 04-21-2005 12:09 AM
quote: Kevin Orman
Isn't the major selling point of DLP supposed to be that it will ALWAYS be perfect and cant be 'done bad'?
They could try to sell it that way, but anyone with even a pedestrian knowledge of film presentation and computer technology knows the "will always be perfect" claim is just not true. Digital technology breaks and fails just like analog technology -and sometimes with more disasterous results. It ain't "the blue screen of death" for nothing.
D-Cinema has all its own compromises.
The digital video image is lossy compressed, and sometimes with noticeably less graceful results than what you see end up on HD or even DVD. That's because it's typically done in a mad rush thanks to increasingly tight post production deadlines for meeting ever more demanding release schedules.
The D-Cinema presentation hardware on the market is horribly expensive to movie theaters, yet does not offer a demonstrably better video image than what home HDTV can do.
To me the cost difference between commercial D-Cinema and home HDTV seems to be an even more extreme cost imbalance than what has already existed in terms of surround sound for the home and the commercial cinema. Joe Six-pack can have DTS and Dolby Digital surround sound playing off DVD in his home for a few hundred bucks or less. A commercial theater has to spend around $20,000 or more for the cinema processor, amps, crossover and extra surround processor to have DTS and Dolby Digital ready to go in a booth rack.
quote: Brian Guckian
Secondly, I believe the cinema-grade TI chips are physically different to the consumer versions (in size? - I'm not sure), and there are critical differences in software, etc.
This is actually not true. I didn't notice this quote before, but still feel compelled to comment about it.
Texas Instruments does make a variety of different DLP micro-mirror chips in different resolutions and aspect ratios, with the 2K chip being the top of the line unit. However, you have to consider the HUGE cost it takes to build a production line for a computer processor. The development cost can easily run into the billions of dollars.
There are no specialized DLP chips that are only sold for commercial movie theater projectors. TI would lose their shirts if they did that. They have to sell millions of each type of DLP chip developed to recover their investment costs. Commercial movie theaters do not number in the millions. You're talking tens of thousands. That's a niche market --a high profile market good for marketing visibility, but still a niche market.
It is an absolute certainty the same 2K DLP chips used in commercial D-Cinema projectors will also be featured in DLP-based televisions and home theater projectors. And, yes, some high end models will feature three of those chips installed. You'll also see plenty of those DLP chips being used in computer projectors. There's already a variety of them using various DLP chips, even the 1280 X 1024 part.
The only big differences that will remain between a D-Cinema commercial setup and that of a home HD setup is the commercial system will have much more expensive and complicated hardware. All that for something a home user will pay between 1% to 10% of the theater's cost to get the same image quality.
If Sony can pull off a success with their 4K SXRD system, it may pose a better advantage for D-Cinema. 4K will not be the basis of any broadcast or home video entertainment standard for at least another decade. Commercial theaters would at least have some slightly comfortable and marketable separation between home theater with 4K. Well...that's at least until Sony comes up with 4K flat screen TVs for use with Sony Playstation 5.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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Darryl Spicer
Film God
Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000
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posted 04-21-2005 09:54 AM
I forgot about the very high end of home theatre....that is an area I can't afford to go to. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
quote: Mattias Ohlson
Three chip dlp is more light efficient than single chip designs so they need a less powerful lamp for the same brightness.
It may be more light efficiant but I don't think the lamps use less power. They just last longer in hours of use. In some projectors for high end home use it requires 2 lamps to reach the 6000.1 lumens just one lamp for 3000.1 lumens.
Done With Mirrors
Done with Mirrors: The Scoop on DLP
With the release of its 3-chip technology, Texas Instruments is providing video solutions for a variety of users.
By Bharath Rajagopalan
07/04 - The consumer-electronics industry continues to raise the bar. Rapid advancements in the introduction of new technologies are challenging the standards that have defined the market for years.
Front-projectors for home entertainment are no longer reserved exclusively for high-end theater enthusiasts who have the money and space to build a dedicated home-theater room. Today we are seeing mainstream acceptance of projectors optimized for home usage at price points as low as $1,500.
Moreover, screens have become optional, as consumers are projecting images on white walls, sheetrock and garage doors. According to Pacific Media Associates, the 2004 consumer projector market will reach 350,000 to 400,000 units, up from 233,000 units in 2003.
In this push towards the mainstream, Texas Instruments’ Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology has become a major driver in the acceptance of front-projection video systems. With a wide variety of home-entertainment projectors and TVs available from dozens of manufacturers, DLP technology is providing consumers with an affordable streamlined solution to meet their video needs.
How It Works
DLP chips are micro-electromechanical semiconductor devices, which feature up to 2.1 million microscopic and independently moving mirrors that can change positions more than 5,000 times per second. When a DLP chip is coordinated with a digital video or graphic signal, a light source, and a projection lens, its mirrors can reflect an all-digital image onto a screen or other surface by tilting the mirrors 12 degrees into an “on” or “off” position. The switching of the mirrors is determined by the color shining on the mirrors. The human visual system, communicating between the brain and one’s eyes, integrates the sequential colors to see a full-color image.
DLP projection systems are available in two different chip configurations: single-chip and 3-chip. Although the technology is inherently the same, the unique advantages of the two systems offer consumers a choice of benefits.
Single-Chip DLP Systems
Televisions, business projectors and many home-theater systems that utilize DLP technology rely on a single-chip configuration, which can create 16.7 million colors and process light at eight bits per color. Single-chip DLP projectors currently deliver brightness performance in the range of 1,000–3,000 ANSI lumens.
Advantages of the single-chip system include:
Higher Contrast: Single-chip DLP systems contain less complex optics, which allows for contrast ratios of up to 5000:1. Single-chip DLP can also provide deeper black levels, with incredible detail in dark scenes.
Mobility/Compactness: The single-chip configuration leads to the most compact, lightweight and efficient designs that deliver a range of brightness levels and performance to meet various application needs.
Single-Panel Precision: The single-panel precision of single-chip designs consistently offers a clean image.
Affordability: The cost savings in materials are passed on to the consumer. Single-chip projectors for the home are now available from retailers and the professional A/V channel starting at $1,500.
3-Chip DLP Systems for the Home
DLP technology-enabled projectors used for high-performance home theater rely on the 3-chip configuration, which is capable of producing no fewer than 35 trillion colors. In addition to home-theater applications, 3-chip designs can be found lighting up professional events and venues, including the Emmy and Academy Awards ceremonies, and digital cinema.
Advantages of the 3-chip systems include:
Higher Brightness: For home-theater projectors, brightness is amplified—up to 5,000 lumens. This allows home-theater enthusiasts to light up larger screens in dedicated home-theater rooms. The 3-chip projectors developed for professional venues range up to 27,000 lumens.
Ultimate Color Fidelity: The 3-chip architecture efficiently accommodates a wide color gamut, and many 3-chip projectors also feature xenon arc lamps, which provide a uniform color spectrum. Advanced color processing ensures extremely accurate color reproduction, and when combined with high brightness, 3-chip DLP colors appear to pop off the screen.
Greater Depth: The color- and signal-processing capabilities are more sophisticated with the 3-chip system, which can deliver up to 16 bits of grayscale per color channel on screen. Although single-chip DLP-based systems offer excellent performance, grayscale performance dramatically increases with a 3-chip system, to deliver substantially greater image detail and clarity.
Keeping It Digital
Both 3-chip and 1-chip DLP systems offer certain advantages over other technologies. DLP continues to serve as the only digital projection solution available to produce an entirely digital video infrastructure, and offers the maximum benefit of digital and HDTV source material.
Because of its all-digital nature, DLP is highly reliable. DLP systems have passed a multitude of environmental and mechanical tests, including accelerated life-cycle tests simulating approximately 20 years of use through thousands of hours of rigorous testing. More than 2.5 million DLP subsystems have been delivered to the marketplace over the past several years, which demonstrates its reliability.
In comparison, some transmissive technologies (images that remain static for a period of time, such as tickers on news channels, gaming graphics, network logos) will “burn in” to the screen. Because DLP is reflective, this is not an issue. Additionally, the switching time with DLP technology is extremely fast, which is optimal for fast-action video, including sports. Technologies with slower switching times tend to “blur” fast-moving images.
Believe Your Eyes
Manufacturers and consumers have gravitated towards DLP technology since its introduction. DLP projection systems have consistently ranked as best-sellers in the custom and custom retail industries. In addition, large-screen DLP TVs are exceeding all growth expectations. As of January 2004, Samsung led the large-screen HDTV market in sales with its DLP TVs. In choosing between the single-chip and 3-chip systems, the best advice for consumers is to evaluate both versions to see which version fits their performance and cost criteria.
Keep in mind that each version of the technology can address different needs and scenarios. Single and 3-chip DLP systems are built to serve different market needs. Single-chip projectors and TVs provide a theater experience at an affordable price for a variety of commercial and consumer applications. Three-chip systems meet the most demanding visual requirements required by large-venue applications and provide high-end home enthusiasts with the best solution on the market.
Bharath Rajagopalan, Ph.D., is projection products manager for Texas Instruments’ DLP products. For more information on DLP, call 1-888-DLP-BYTI or visit www.dlp.com.
Who Is Using DLP?
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