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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 01-27-2003, 07:40 PM:
 
Bill Langfield reports that there will be an upcoming demonstration down under of the latest and greatest in digital cinema projection, sponsored by ILM.

Got any questions I can hit these FOX/ILM people with to screw them up?? Write me up a list of MEGA PIXELS, LUMINACE, FOCUS, screen size, that sort of stuff. Anything.

Ask about the resolution for starters. Is it less than HD like the TI DLP systems? But HD is a format originally intended for consumer TV's. Why should cinemas invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a technology which is no better (and actually worse in the current generation of DLP projectors) than what will eventually be in private homes (given that a company like TI is a chip maker and the consumer market is the largest)?
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-27-2003, 08:36 PM:
 
Ok, here's the one that I never heard any DP evangelist talk about: How does the thing age? Most importantly, does the technology come with the distressing problem of "pixel death" where pixels stop functioning, leaving color dots all over the place? Or does the image just slowly begin to fade, or does the rez, contrast or both begin to drop off? Perhaps the white areas start to bloom or the black areas become devoid of detail like you see in CRTs. And what is the life expectancy before whatever it is that happens, happens? And how much does it cost to replace the thing that dies (or is it a series of things that can die)? And lastly, what's the light source? Xenon? And how efficient is it compared to film? TI's DLP requires 7K to light a screen that with 35mm film technology can be lit by a 4K xenon.

Ask em that!

Frank
 

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Posted by Larry Shaw (Member # 388) on 01-27-2003, 11:20 PM:
 
1. What are their light levels? The recent Christie newsletter mentioned 9 - 12 fL as a standard. If so, not apples to apples.

2. What will it cost to maintain this stuff (real world)for 10 years vs film equip?
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-28-2003, 08:26 AM:
 
For me, the most obvious challenges for Digital Cinema presentation quality are:

1. How close can you sit without being annoyed by visible pixel structure or "jaggies"? Although standard SMPTE 196M specifies a preferred viewing distance of 2 to 4 picture heights for film projection, modern theatre designs often have many seats much closer than 2 screen heights.

2. How black is black? I have yet to see a current digital projector that achieves a black level as good as film can achieve. A projector where dark blacks are just a dark gray does NOT satisfy me.

3. How are the highlights rendered? Do extreme highlights have detail, or are they "clipped" to a detailess white?

4. What is the light output (efficiency) of the projector? Will you need a much larger (and more expensive to replace and operate) xenon lamp to match an equivalent film projector?
 

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Posted by Bill Langfield (Member # 818) on 01-28-2003, 08:53 AM:
 
The person in question is Star Wars producer Rich McCallum.
I broke out in instant sweat when I found that out. He would shoot me down in a micron.

Steve, We have no idea what type of 'HD' projector they are going to use, we don't have that info, until they show up with it at 8am. It's simply the term they use in emails conferming stuff.
I realise SD & HD refers to STB for home TV's. (I have a SD STB, it's kind of okay)

You need to tell me what resolution FILM has (see eg. Q's below)

I dont know what home cinema has do with it, UNLESS you know someone who has a 15 metre wide home theatre.

I'd like to create a blow by blow like the EG.'s below:
(All using figures I MADE up, so I need a better list with REAL figures!!!)

1/ Film=20m 'pixels' Video= 5m pixels (Steve)
2/ Film=Pictures fully replaced at each refresh (well every second refresh) Video=pixels going nuts, ie slow refresh (Frank)
3/ Film=Xenon bulb 3k Video=xenon bulb 7k+ (Frank)
4/ Film=Projectors last ages (Centuries- Yeah!) Video=about six months till out dated (Bill/Frank)
5/ What will it cost to maintain this stuff (real world)for 10 years vs film equip? (Larry)
6/ Will projectionist's now get to press 'play' then drink beer or will they be fired? (Bill)
7/ In Star Trek, when 7 of 9 starts to make out with Ja... oh opps.

Bill.
 

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Posted by Duncan Smith (Member # 1556) on 01-28-2003, 09:02 AM:
 
I think I'd hit them with a few Q's about contrast ratio improvements (angle of tilt of the mirrors). When can we expect levels of over 3000:1?

How upgradeable is the software/firmware going to be? Performance doubles around every 18-24 months in areas of motion processing and block noise reduction.

How labour intensive is it to operate the equipment daily?

Is the maintenance an issue for the operator (projectionist) or a qualified engineer?

What is the lead time on spares and repairs should a component fail? (How many shows are you going to lose etc)

Will settings like colour temperature, gamma level be calibrated by an engineer or will they be adjustable (abusable) by the operator?

That'll do for now I think, hope they're appropriate.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-28-2003, 09:25 AM:
 
Here's some articles discussing Rick McCallum's views of Digital Cinema:

http://www.techtv.com/news/culture/story/0,24195,3384913,00.html

http://www.starwars.com/episode-i/news/1999/06/news19990603.html

http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/news/2002/02/news20020226b.html

http://www.projectorexpert.com/Pages/interviewrm.html

http://www.e-insite.net/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA217553
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-28-2003, 10:17 AM:
 
When will the file formats and distribution formats for digital cinema be standardized? Will these standard formats change frequently (necessitating constant upgrading), or will we be locked into inferior standards even when improvements are possible in a year or two?

What type (if any) of data compression will be used for whatever format is adopted? Will it be lossless or lossy? What is the compression ratio (original file size vs. file size after compression)? Will the audience perceive the negative effects of lossy compression on image quality?

And, the big question: who is going to pay for this and why? What would convince a theatre owner to spend hundreds of thousands per screen simply to continue doing what he is doing now for much less? Or, if the distributors will be paying, what sort of exclusivity agreements will exhibitors be forced to accept? What about venues which run film occasionally and aren't full-time commercial theatres? What about the high cost to independent filmmakers to create a digital "master" ($2000 for a one-off print vs. $150k+ for film scanning)?

Oh, and don't forget to ask this guy if he has ever actually seen "film done right." Has he ever watched a good 70mm print on a big screen, projected with top-notch equipment and operators? A 35mm dye-transfer print? Or even an EK print?
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 01-28-2003, 10:44 AM:
 
Scott Norwood wrote: "Oh, and don't forget to ask this guy if he has ever actually seen "film done right." Has he ever watched a good 70mm print on a big screen, projected with top-notch equipment and operators? A 35mm dye-transfer print? Or even an EK print?"

I suspect that Rick McCallum has experienced many examples of "Film Done Right" and knows it looks better, but would argue that most theatres "Do Film Wrong" or quickly damage prints. This assumes theatres/distributors will do a better job maintaining new digital projection systems, or be willing to pay someone to do it for them.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 01-28-2003, 11:15 AM:
 
Rather than talking about 70mm (which just isn't realistically going to happen in mainstream cinemas), I would ask them if it might not be more productive to work closely with exhibitors and printing labs to upgrade the 35mm experience in existing cinemas. There is MUCH that can be done. Instead of spending $150K on a new projector for every screen, what if they instead invest in film cleaners and Film-Guard? And make sure there's adequate illumination. Replace bad optics if necessary. Install optical-quality glass in the ports, not to mention cleaning the port glass regularly. And get labs to squeeze more resolution into release prints and raise image quality to the theoretical maximum that 35mm is capable of. This would be a hell of a lot less expensive for exhibitors, while significantly improving the quality of on-screen presentation across thousands of screens, without not making their current technology obsolete. The expression "Throwing the baby out with the bath water" comes to mind with the current unnecessary rush to digital...
 

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Posted by Helmut E. Dorausch (Member # 1356) on 01-28-2003, 11:55 AM:
 
#1) Who is going to CONVINCE the Production artists that have attached their names to a finished product, that some "free-spirit" 10th grader will NEVER "adjust" the end of a feature to his/her liking????
#2) HOW MANY people"currently" work in Willmington???????

 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 01-28-2003, 04:42 PM:
 
Well if you're going to be talking to Rick McCallum you might as well ask him if he can send in photos of 'film going over 50 feet of wires' for the picture warehouse.
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 01-28-2003, 06:41 PM:
 
Ask them if they will guarantee(in writing) that you will not have to pay for upgrades for the next 30 years. After all, isn't that the life expectency of a 35MM projector? Of course, we all know that properly maintained equipment will last MUCH longer.
 

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Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 01-28-2003, 07:26 PM:
 
Bill,

When and where is this presentation going to take place? Is it at Ye Olde Orpheum, by any chance?

Can I come along?
 

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Posted by Bill Langfield (Member # 818) on 01-29-2003, 07:14 AM:
 
Hey MICHAEL!! Yes its at the Orpheum on Feb 9th. Proberly from 10am. Please come along, bring John too. You guys would help MEGA asking Rich and tech people about this video stuff.
I have no IDEA. That is why I'm asking for help here. With you guys there that would be GREAT!

John T.
I think we ALREADY know video projectors need to be upgraded/replaced every few weeks!! But I'll have to see what they show up with. However, yeah, I'll ask how long until it needs an upgrade. The answer will proberly be 'it needs upgading now now, download the software, and the hardware will cost about as much as the projector'
I don't really know. We'll see what happens.

Daryl

quote:

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Well if you're going to be talking to Rick McCallum you might as well ask him if he can send in photos of 'film going over 50 feet of wires' for the picture warehouse.

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quote:

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#1) Who is going to CONVINCE the Production artists that have attached their names to a finished product, that some "free-spirit" 10th grader will NEVER "adjust" the end of a feature to his/her liking????

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quote:

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#2) HOW MANY people"currently" work in Willmington???????

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Huh?? You'll need to explain that question a bit more. (For my sake at least)

Bill.

[ 01-29-2003, 08:20 AM: Message edited by: Bill Langfield ]
 

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Posted by Mike Rendall (Member # 1499) on 01-29-2003, 07:42 AM:
 
Another important question I would feel necessary is, Have they standardised on the playback formats. I.e. some sort of laser disc, banks of Hard discs, or beamed through satellite ??

I have heard that the Digital Projection system in a certain famous cinema in London is always being modified for the film in question. I.e. for one film it may come off a laser disc, on another it would come of hard discs - both of which are distributor independant.

It may come back to the old story of certain distributors favouring digital sound formats of a few years ago....

Mike
 

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Posted by Bill Langfield (Member # 818) on 01-29-2003, 08:32 AM:
 
Mike,

Good question!! That is going on the list.

However, I think the answer will be 'hard-drive downloaded via satellite or internet'
(Or your internet ready frezzer)

Hopefully all this stuff (video projection in mainstream cinemas) is 20 years away.

Bill.
 

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Posted by Ray Derrick (Member # 1001) on 01-29-2003, 08:45 AM:
 
Oh my gawd! The wonderful Orpheum is going digital!?!?

Bill, the Orpheum has Panastereo sound processors! I forgot to mention that they have this built-in feature that, if you play a Digital Cinema soundtrack through them, a small alien-like creature emerges from the front panel with a minature keypad and starts blowing up all the cards, one by one. It was intended as a harmless joke, but the alien now says he knows more than we do about digital cinema. (gasp!)

You'd better upgrade to Dolby CP650's really fast. They have this "anything in = garbage out" filter.

R.D.
 

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Posted by Bill Langfield (Member # 818) on 01-29-2003, 08:58 AM:
 
Ray,

quote:

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Oh my gawd! The wonderful Orpheum is going digital!?!?

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quote:

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I suspect that Rick McCallum has experienced many examples of "Film Done Right" and knows it looks better

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The projectionist of the Stag Theater at Skywalker Ranch probably knows that he'll be castrated (and then fired) if he screws up George Lucas' presentation.
 

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Posted by Ray Derrick (Member # 1001) on 01-29-2003, 09:08 AM:
 
Bill, forget the DTS reader. I'll come along just so I can watch my processors blow up..... eh, I mean, so I can report back to all these good folk just how wonderful the digital experience is... well, might have been, had it been on 35mm film

RD
 

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Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 01-29-2003, 09:34 AM:
 
These are great questions to ask and am very interested in seeing the answers. Bill, will you be recording the other Q&A's for us to see?

Some of the questions regarding standards will be answered with the following that DC-28 and SMPTE currently have committees working on standards for distribution, playback and anything else technical in regards to Digital Cinema.

Upgrades is a good question but will probably receive a vague answer as it is too new to really understand. My impression will be the playback server may be the most influenced by upgrades. Projector upgrades will co-incide (sp?) with resolution upgrades, if they aren't there yet. (Don't start with the 'They will never reach film levels' argument here)

Finally, one thing that I have been biting my tongue is everyone calling it video. It is a different method for projecting an analog image on to a screen regardless of the medium and source. Until the MATRIX days are with us that we can have direct digital inputs into our brains, everything will be analog presentation.

90%+ of the audiences todays probably don't know what contrast ratio is, black levels, or even what the cinematographer is trying to convey with the film stock that was used during filming. They are there to see a story.

Off the subject, even home technology is getting away from analog storage and going digital by using Hard Drives for storage / playback but yet refer to the video in it's product name. PVR - Personal Video Recorder. These are the Dish-PVR, TIVO, REPLAY TV units that are becoming more and more popular today. DVD-Recorders are coming down in prices and encouraging people to transfer tapes to DVD.
 

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Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 01-29-2003, 10:06 AM:
 
Bill, I am free that morning, but I'm on at that other cinema the night before. If I can drag myself out of bed, I will be there. Sounds interesting!

I'm wondering what brought this on. Was the demo requested by the Orpheum, or were ILM/McCallum looking for a venue somewhere and the Orpheum put up their hand?

Also, who is the audience going to mainly consist of. ie. who are they selling this to?

If I got a chance to ask questions, my main ones would probably be:

- How do you upgrade the projector when better DLP/D-ILA chips become available, and who pays for the upgrades? With film, the upgrade is in the film stock itself.
- What about server/playback unit upgrades?
- Is there any chance of a 'no compression' system? Compression leads to visual compromises (after all, film is uncompressed).
- Can the system match the incredible contrast ratio of a movie like 'Minority Report', which was printed on Vision Premiere print stock? That film had incredible black levels due to the 10,000:1 contrast ratio available on that kind of print stock. (I prefer to get the argument away from resolution and concentrate more on contrast ratio).
- What sort of colour callibration/other video adjustments are required on an ongoing basis (or is it set and forget?)

I should also mention that with FilmGuard, it is possible to run a print hundreds of times without any dirt buildup whatsoever, thus nullifying the 'no dirt or scratches' argument that always seems to come up in favour of digital.

...that's it for now.

[ 01-30-2003, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: Michael Barry ]
 

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Posted by Ray Derrick (Member # 1001) on 01-29-2003, 10:24 AM:
 
Paul, you said...

"90%+ of the audiences todays probably don't know what contrast ratio is, black levels, or even what the cinematographer is trying to convey with the film stock that was used during filming. They are there to see a story."

I would add that 99.99% of today's (or any other day's) audiences would not understand the technical nuances of making a music recording, or the technical specs of their CD/DVD player or any other technical or production aspects of sound or vision media. But nearly everyone appreciates the entertainment value of a good recording or a well shot/produced/presented movie etc. Sure their primary interest is in the story or the enjoyment of the performance etc, but that technical excellence, which they don't understand or don't want to know about, has a profound impact on their enjoyment of the end product. To suggest otherwise is sheer nonesense.

Nobody doubts that VIDEO (sorry, but go bite your tongue), be it digital or analog will ultimately replace film in cinemas. The argument here is that it should replace it for the right reasons i.e it offers an improvement, not just because some companies want to make a quick buck on the back of the word "digital".

Now did I misunderstand the thrust of your post?
 

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Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 01-29-2003, 12:01 PM:
 
Ray, I don't think you got it wrong.

I guess that what I am getting at is that unless it is published, announced that "This was done for this, and this was done for that" the general audience isn't going to understand the nuance of what was trying to be done. Films that come to mind are "O Brother..." and some drug movie where the image was yellowish when in Mexico and regular colors when in the US.

(Please don't expand on this in this thread so it doesn't get more off track)

My point about the "video" comment (see other threads) is that others on this board refer to Digital Cinema as video. It puts a analog picture on the screen just like film puts an analog picture on the screen.

Bill, see if Rick can expand on the argument that companies use about film color fading just from regular use of a print. Maybe John P could expand on this.

Bill, also see if Rick has seen any output from Kodaks' system. (I am not slamming them as I only have exposure to DLP). It is currently only being used for dailies, I believe, but think he may have an opinion about it.
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 01-29-2003, 01:22 PM:
 

quote:

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... from John P.:
This assumes theatres/distributors will do a better job maintaining new digital projection systems, or be willing to pay someone to do it for them.

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John, methinks if you ever decide to change professions, you've got a future in comedy!
 

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Posted by Don E. Nelson (Member # 1049) on 01-29-2003, 02:54 PM:
 
My inquiring mind needs an answer!

How does the brain perceive and process the difference between an analog image as oposed to a digital image ?

Why are digital films still being projected onto the same analog screen surfaces that analog films are projected onto?

Will the new digital only projection screen materials, under development, improve the "look and feel"of a digitally projected image?

Is anyone working on digital sound reinforcement systems to go along with digital projectors?

Why is it that an analog music source can only sound like an analog source, but a digital music source can sound digital as well as analog, and some people (like me)actually prefer the analog processed sound from a digial source?

Do you think they will ever bring back the old tube type Digital projectors, as I recall, the colors were so much warmer (more like Technicolor) and the there wasn't as much harshness in the picture resolution?

Is anyone developing a Digital Projection Cinerama, three projector system operating from a single processed signal, eliminating the overlap edge image problem of film?

I own stock in a "film splicer cement" company, should I sell my stock now or buy more?

I am kind of set in my old ways, is it possible to program a little 24 fps flicker , digitally enhanced reel cue dots, soft focus, and a few poor reel changes into a Digital Projector so that the projected image more closely simulates the moving image I see at my local 5-plex movie house?

Why does buttered popcorn always taste better when I watch a film as oposed to watching a big TV image?


I have more questions, but I have to go break down a film.
Gee, if this was a Digital Theatre, maybe I could take a longer lunch break........no, the boss would probably have me just work a longer shift at the candy counter.
 

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Posted by Helmut E. Dorausch (Member # 1356) on 01-29-2003, 03:43 PM:
 
RE: "How many people work in Wilmington?"
Wilmington, (Ohio) is a city that (from what I understand)
consists of an awful LOT of people that work for Technicolor Film Services.
My point pertains to the number of jobs that would be eliminated, (primarily as it relates to distribution) if Digital were to become mainstream. (That doesn't even begin to take into account the large number of Fuji, and Kodak employees that could be affected)
35mm STILL has a long way to go!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 01-29-2003, 06:25 PM:
 
Bill I was referring to an interview that John Pytlak quoted in this thread.
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 01-29-2003, 10:19 PM:
 
I guess the most important question to be asked is this. Will this system replace every motion picture projector in our lifetime. My feeling is it will not, not in my lifetime. Lord willing the next 30 plus years. Now that doesn't mean that a vast majority of theaters doesn't have at least one maybe two or even three depending on how big the theater is. But every single screen not at this point or for a long time.

Problem is with this type of technology the waters can be very tricky when it comes to selling an exhibitor into something that could turn out to be a very expensive backfire. There are still a lot of huge hurdles ahead for something to replace something that has worked for a century.

Someone made the comment about the average movie goer not being able to tell about how black blacks should be and other things. Makes a good point why bother spending vast amounts of money for something the average movie goer isn't going to be able to tell the difference about anyway. So the picture looks the same on the last show as it did on the first show. Film done right can do the same thing. To be honest, the average film goer with no knowledge of anything in the booth or how film works will not give a crap about what the picture looks like so long as it is in focus and the sound is working properly. But if that popcorn is stale they will be out in a jiffy complaining to the ceiling demanding ther money back cusin you out. But it takes someone with an above average attitude torwards film to come out and say the film is a littl out of frame or focus. Hell, I had someone come out and ask me to fix the color because the film had sequences that were black and white.

Average movie goers don't care. Above average the ones who care about the art of films do care but they are a minority. Everyone on this site that takes part on FILM-TECH are part of that minority and I am proud to be associated with them. Lets keep doing film done right for everyone even if only the minority group are the only ones who care.
 

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Posted by Bill Langfield (Member # 818) on 01-31-2003, 05:14 AM:
 
Hey Ray/John/Barry, (I'll email too)

Turns out it is invite only. (Which Ray already guessed)

Brett is a bit (well a LOT) annoyed I mentioned it at all, 'on the internet'

He also said that Rich is there only to answer Q&A's, and has nothing to do with the projection side of it.

My reply was to say that, well I'm kind of proud that they are using our place to do do the demo. (But at the same time, like I keep saying video projection in cinemas scares the hell out of me)

There will be like about 700 industry people there, so I going to butt out, and leave it to those people.
I originally thought (assumed) it would be a few hundred and just a rock up if you want thing, clearly I've got it totally wrong yet again.

Ray, Brett thought you would have been invited anyway, he's not sure. Did you get anything?

This means my question list for the Q&A is dead.

Yet a again I make a fool of myself on the forum.

Bill.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 02-01-2003, 07:21 PM:
 
Hi Bill

Thanks for letting me know.

Michael, I guess they just wanted to make sure they put it in a cinema NOT using Filmguard so the comparison (Bill, they ARE doing a comparison, right?) would look more extreme...or maybe they've just heard about Brett's legendary film handling techniques.


 

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Posted by Bill Langfield (Member # 818) on 02-03-2003, 12:03 PM:
 
I can't remember what the nights schedule is, but I'm sure it was to compare scenes of a 'certain' movie
projected in digital video to the same scenes projected in 35mm.
I'll try to get more info, but as as said before, I just prefer to butt out now.

Regarding us not using filmguard, don't know if the demo ppl would let us, even if we were (using it),
perhaps like you said they don't (prefer) want to make the film look too good. (Unlike others we AT least use PTR's)

But, wouldn't this be a good time to go ok...
Here's the Film Demo, Video Demo, NOW watch the FilmGuard Demo. Which looked BEST ??!!!!
(Better make sure the lens and port are clean, and the Xebex cranked up nice and high, 160amps)

But now I'm wondering about the sound. In previous video projection, we just hook up the sound to
the A/V input of the Panastereo. Clearly this would not involve any kind of 'digital' format sound.
The DA-20 and DTS-6D are out of the loop in that case, Just Matrix 4 Channel analogue?

As for film handling techniques, I know your tongue'n'cheek there, but hey, it's GM who makes us
move prints from screen to screen to screen and with all those stairs... God I hate that,
When an usher and I are moving 10 of 'em on a Sunday night for a Monday Day,
I can tell you some of them are not handled too well!!

In general film handling we use all ideas presented here, with one major exception, in that we
use PTR's not FilmGuard. But it's my job to change that, and Brett wants it done.

Have you or anybody ever had feedback from Atlab, film companies or disibiutors about them getting
their film back coated with FilmGuard? (Think I might have already asked this one - because I thought
H**** had an issue with FG when it turned out to be someone hitting the film with WD-40)

(I'll edit this when I wake to myself)

Bill.
 

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Posted by Brett Elliott (Member # 1593) on 02-06-2003, 07:09 AM:
 
I did not know that my film handling was that well known to all and sundry. how are you John? long time no see
I have taken note of all that has been said in this forum and will do my best to get some feedback on the day in question but I might be just a little busy what with all those film movements and all those stairs that Bill was talking about.

All joking aside it will be interesting to see the comparison. I am not concerned at all about digital projection as it will not happen at the Orpheum , they will never replace the Century's jeee they just bought two new ones only 2 years ago.
I think we could get at least another 50 years out of them before we can seriously think about digital stuff, Im just getting the hang of this DTS SRD stuff.

I should make smaller replies then i might get to be Jedi Filmhandler one day.

Brett
 

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Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-06-2003, 08:14 PM:
 
Hi Brett!

Nice to have you aboard Film-Tech. At some point, go ahead and download the video called, 'Interlocking 101', because I've always wanted to interlock all 6 screens at the Orpheum, and I think we can find a way to achieve this.

Also, imagine playing a film in one theatre but taking up on the platter in the cinema of your choice. You'd never have to move a film ever again! Simply take up on the platter in the theatre where the film plays next, and you're done.

Seriously, I guess I won't be able to make it on Sunday by the sounds of things, but by all means please post your findings here. We need a full, detailed breakdown of the event with pictures if possible.
 

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Posted by Ray Derrick (Member # 1001) on 02-07-2003, 09:37 AM:
 
Bill, don't worry about getting another digital format through your Panastereo's, there are more 6 track inputs than you can poke your (walking) stick at. And I will be at the demo on Sunday (thanks Brett) provided I can get my sea kayak out of beautiful Sydney Harbour in time to get there by 9am.

Michael haven't they now got some Panalogic CA2000 automations in the newer cinemas at the Orpheum? Just replace the (shonky )Pennywise stuff in the older cinemas and all 6 cinemas CAN be interlocked (with some tricky roller arrangements) exactly as you suggest. (You of all people should know that!)

See you Sunday guys.

Ray

[ 02-09-2003, 04:45 AM: Message edited by: Ray Derrick ]
 

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Posted by Ray Derrick (Member # 1001) on 02-08-2003, 07:36 PM:
 
Well it turned out to be more of a demo of High Definition video and HD cameras than of digital cinema. The projector was a Barco RH with a 2k xenon. None the less very interesting morning and an impressive image for a relatively small projector. The audience were mainly TV, Film and Video production people. The image source was an HD SDI tape.

The best D-Cinema demo I have seen so far was the screening of Treasure Planet at CineAsia in December. On that occasion I think the projector was Chrisie DLP and the picture quality was superb. But what impressed me most was the (non-Dolby Digital) PCM audio. Very nice sounding and lacked all the harshness of Dolby Digital.

There is one thing though that really bothers me about digital projection which I noticed in Bangkok and also today and that is a noise that looks like heat flowing across the screen which is very visible on large areas of a single colour. Also I have noticed a subtle flickering effect at times in one or more parts of the image.

[ 02-09-2003, 04:47 AM: Message edited by: Ray Derrick ]
 

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Posted by Chad Calpito (Member # 1562) on 02-15-2003, 10:25 PM:
 
Even though I have had hands on experience with the Barco Industries DLP Digital Projector, I still prefer the standard 35mm Projectors for now. Yeah, the picture quality and sound quality is excellent and there is no film involved, but, let's just say for instance that there is a problem of some sort and the movie had to be stopped. Well, actually, the movie would have to be paused right where it's at; otherwise, if the operator stops the movie, then, it would go right back to the beginning of the movie. That is the only downside right now.

Chad
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-17-2003, 10:21 AM:
 
IMHO, with 1280 x 1024 pixels, just don't sit too close to the screen, or the "jaggies" and pixel structure are visible. Many high-end computer monitors do better than that.
 

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Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 02-18-2003, 09:04 AM:
 
But John, blow the standard 15, 17 or 19" monitor up onto a screen of many feet and see what happens. I can see the jaggies in the font on my screen in the "Preview Post" button and I am only 3 feet away.

Blowing anything up creates jaggies. I think we all agree that with higher densities coming on existing (D-ILA), and future chipsets (DLP?), the jaggies will be reduced, not eliminated, to where they be much less noticeable.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-18-2003, 09:17 AM:
 
Paul Konen wrote:

quote:

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. I think we all agree that with higher densities coming on existing (D-ILA), and future chipsets (DLP?), the jaggies will be reduced, not eliminated, to where they be much less noticeable.

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quote:

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QUESTION: There has been a lot of discussion about how much resolution is 'good enough' for theatrical projection. What should be the standard?

KENNEL: We are starting with 2K because we believe you need at least that resolution to create natural looking images that don't block up or have jagged edges. We also believe that in the long term we can do better than 2K. That's important, but resolution accounts for just part of the 'film-look' that audiences associate with a movie-going experience. Today's color negative films give the creative community the ability to record subtle nuances in contrast, colors and textures that are important components of their visual language. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to develop a system that retains all of that visual information. We are determined to set high standards for digital cinema, and we intend to make on-going advances in this technology that will enhance the cinema experience.

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