IMAX vs. Dlp, which is a better?

[fireNYRgm]

Having never seen a movie in either i was wondering which theater would be best to watch a movie in...im referring to PQ and AQ, which is better, and are they even comparable?

I live in Northern New Jersey and recently two theaters with dlp projectors opened fairly close, and theres an imax maybe 45 min. away....just wondering which is worth my $10?

[dewey79]

Originally Posted by fireNYRgm

Having never seen a movie in either i was wondering which theater would be best to watch a movie in...im referring to PQ and AQ, which is better, and are they even comparable?

I live in Northern New Jersey and recently two theaters with dlp projectors opened fairly close, and theres an imax maybe 45 min. away....just wondering which is worth my $10?

There is no comparison, there is a regal IMAX in Burford GA and it will blow you away. Thing is, the picture is way biger and it is clearer. As far as sound, I have heard some theaters's sound like AMC on their largest screens, and it is a very sastisfying experience because it has the base and everything, but IMAX sound tops it.
There is more seperation between the voice and base, and each of them are louder than a regular Theater. It just has a lot more clarity and loudness to it.

I don't know about going to a muesem with IMAX wich may be just as great, but a commercial IMAX theater I would recommend.

[Flux88MPH]

Originally Posted by fireNYRgm

Having never seen a movie in either i was wondering which theater would be best to watch a movie in...im referring to PQ and AQ, which is better, and are they even comparable?

I live in Northern New Jersey and recently two theaters with dlp projectors opened fairly close, and theres an imax maybe 45 min. away....just wondering which is worth my $10?

They are different because of the differnce in screen ratio. Both are like watching Blu-rays, but the IMAX is way beyond in resolution.

A standard IMAX screen is 22 m wide and 16.1 m high (72.6 ft x 52.8 ft), but can be larger. The intent of IMAX is to dramatically increase the resolution of the image by using much larger film stock at a resolution comparable to about 10000 x 7000 pixels (70 megapixels).

In DLP there are currently two types of projectors for digital cinema. Early DLP projectors, which were deployed primarily in the U.S., used limited 1280×1024 resolution which are still widely used for pre-show advertising but not usually for feature presentations. The standard for digital projectors now calls for three levels of playback to be supported: 2K (2048×1080) at 24 frames per second, 4K (4096×2160) at 24 frames per second, and 2K at 48 frames per second.

[JadedRaverLA]

IMAX will blow away DLP. The screen is considerably larger, the sound system is MUCH more powerful (and the sound format is lossless), and the projected image is much brighter.

If you are watching a "standard" DMR IMAX blow-up from a 2k DI, you won't really get the IMAX benefit, but it's still interesting to see a movie on a huge screen.

If you have a DMR move with a 4k DI (or much better still, a movie that was shot in IMAX or, like TDK, had portions shot in IMAX with an 8k DI) you are dealing with roughly 4x (for 4k) - 16x (for 8k) the resolution of standard 2k digital projection! Given the insane resolution and the size of the screen, the effect is mindblowing.

DLP projection, which is currently at 2k (there are a few 4k projectors, but they are SXRD/LCoS models, not DLP) only really has benefits over 35mm prsentation. The lower resolution isn't as much an issue, and it at least doesn't deteriorate with each showing the way 35mm film does. It does very well with animated material that has a completely digital-to-digital production pipeline, but is less impressive with film-sourced materials.

[fireNYRgm]

so would you compare the two as say watching a dvd in 5.1 and then watching a bluray in 5.1 lossless? either way, thanks to you guys i know where im going to see the dark knight on friday now

thank for the responses, very informative

[dewey79]

Honestly, it looks better than bluray.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by fireNYRgm

so would you compare the two as say watching a dvd in 5.1 and then watching a bluray in 5.1 lossless? either way, thanks to you guys i know where im going to see the dark knight on friday now

thank for the responses, very informative

As for audio, IMAX uses lossless audio, and with a FAR more impressive sound system than anyone is likely to have at home. DCI has set standards for audio that include lossless PCM as an option for digital projection, but every theatre I've seen with digital projection are using DD, DTS, or SDDS audio.

The PQ difference (and the "feeling" of a 7 story screen) is even more pronounced, though, and not something that's easily quantifiable.