DLP Cinema Projection

[Blu Man]

My local theater, which is a Regal cinema, has 1 DLP projector and 14 film projectors. I know that film is 4k, but I was curious as to what the Digital projector displays at. It's one of those DLP 3D capable projectors. But to see a movie digitally is $2.50 extra, which I'm not willing to pay if I would actually be seeing less definition/resolution. So do the digital projectors at theater's display at 4K resolution?

[Samsang]

Call the theater. I'm sure the manager (or perhaps a projectionist) will be happy to tell you all the specs of their DLP system.

[jceperley]

From what I know, DLP projectors are all 4K at the minimum. Could be wrong, though, but the resolution of DLP is higher than that of 35mm film. I know at the theatre I work at, we've got one DLP currently, with 2 more going online at the end of the month, and I believe that they're all at least 4K.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by jceperley

From what I know, DLP projectors are all 4K at the minimum. Could be wrong, though, but the resolution of DLP is higher than that of 35mm film. I know at the theatre I work at, we've got one DLP currently, with 2 more going online at the end of the month, and I believe that they're all at least 4K.

Some theaters are installing low cost 2K projectors. Others use 4K projectors.

[jeff92k7]

Originally Posted by Blu Man

But to see a movie digitally is $2.50 extra, which I'm not willing to pay if I would actually be seeing less definition/resolution. So do the digital projectors at theater's display at 4K resolution?

There are two types of DLP cinema projectors that are common. One is 2k resolution (2048x1080), the other is 4k resolution (4096x2160). While 4k does have a higher resolution, I don't think there are very many movies edited/printed at that resolution, though that may have changed in recent months. Last I checked, almost all movies were actually printed at 2k resolution - even movies that were transferred back to film for the actual projection reels.

I would pay the extra, because in my opinion, it's worth it. With DLP cinema, there is no fading of colors, no scratched film reels, no dust/hair on the frame, etc. DLP cinema also gives higher resolution audio tracks than the digital tracks recorded to the edges of film releases. I was skeptical at first for the same reason but after having seen a few DLP movies, I can honestly say they looked sharper/clearer than most film movies and the picture was definitely more vivid and colorful.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Most DLP projectors in theaters are 2k (Christie, Barco, Digital Projection, etc). There are a few that are 4k (Sony CineAlta 4k), but you will usually see these theaters advertised specifically as 4k as a selling point.

A new, well projected (new bulb, well focused, etc) 35mm print will beat the pants off of most digitally projected movies, but finding such a viewing environment is nearly impossible these days. As such, a good DLP 2k presentation is probably as good as it will get nowadays in commercial cinema. The material is usually encoded with JPEG 2000 which will provide higher bitrate video than what we get on BD. DCI has also spec'd a 12 bit color space (CIE XYZ) for commercial digital projected video, although this has not been universally accepted and applied.

I think it probably would be worth it to spend the $2.50 for the DLP theater, unless you know that the 35mm print was new/pristine and that the projectionist was a stickler for quality.

[Suntory_Times]

I think it's extremely cheap that there charging you more to watch a film on a new projector. Cinemas always will, and always have had to replace there projectors as with all equipement they only have a certain life. I personally rarely go to cinemas now. The few cinemas that are able to still project a descent image are all an hour away and far to expensive for my tastes (it two people go, you could more then afford to buy the blu ray upon release).

(Though there is a cinemas around 90 minutes drive away which is phenomenal (its a smallish art house cinema, that still usses all 35ml, and the image is just breathtaking every time I go there).

[Blu Man]

The cinema that I go to hasn't made any marketing claims about how there projector is 4K. But, i've seen numerous movie with the digital projector and I've never seen any pixalation at all. And it is blown up onto a massive screen (54ft). And as for what Brain said, I love watching a well maintaned copy of film, but if it is out of focaused it looks horrible. Next time i'm at the theater i'll ask the maneger and see what he say's. And to jceperley, I beleive you are incorrect when saying that DLP has much higher resolution then film. Film has always had higher resolution then digital and for a long time will. But if not taken care of properly it's no fun to watch.

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by Blu Man

My local theater, which is a Regal cinema, has 1 DLP projector and 14 film projectors. I know that film is 4k, but I was curious as to what the Digital projector displays at. It's one of those DLP 3D capable projectors. But to see a movie digitally is $2.50 extra, which I'm not willing to pay if I would actually be seeing less definition/resolution. So do the digital projectors at theater's display at 4K resolution?

From what I've experienced, I've only had to pay extra if it's a 3-D movie due to the pair of 3-D glasses. The other times they are playing movies on the digital cinema, we pay the regular admission price.

[Blu Man]

Originally Posted by Banjo

From what I've experienced, I've only had to pay extra if it's a 3-D movie due to the pair of 3-D glasses. The other times they are playing movies on the digital cinema, we pay the regular admission price.

Not at my two local theaters. No matter what movie it is you pay $2.50 extra for DLP projection.

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by Blu Man

Not at my two local theaters. No matter what movie it is you pay $2.50 extra for DLP projection.

That's stupid.

[Blu Man]

Originally Posted by Banjo

That's stupid.

No, it's buisness. Some people are dumb and think that there getting a lot better PQ when going digital. But a lot of my freinds could care less about whether it's digital or film.

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by Blu Man

No, it's buisness. Some people are dumb and think that there getting a lot better PQ when going digital. But a lot of my freinds could care less about whether it's digital or film.

It's still stupid and a bad business move. The consumers do not care whether the cinema is digital or not. They just want to watch the movie. They will go with the cheaper admission if they have the option to.

[Blu Man]

Originally Posted by Banjo

It's still stupid and a bad business move. The consumers do not care whether the cinema is digital or not. They just want to watch the movie. They will go with the cheaper admission if they have the option to.

Some people don't even notice that their buying digital tickets. My freind just go to what ever has the beat show time.

[HDTV1080P]

A 4K digital projector or a high quality 70mm or 35mm film projector will beat the quality of BLU-RAY in terms of picture quality but BLU-RAY has much better sound quality compared to most theaters.
Very few Cinemas offer 5.1 or 7.1 PCM sound tracks. Usually the old Dolby Digital and DTS sound tracks.

[Blu Man]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

A 4K digital projector or a high quality 70mm or 35mm film projector will beat the quality of BLU-RAY in terms of picture quality but BLU-RAY has much better sound quality compared to most theaters.
Very few Cinemas offer 5.1 or 7.1 PCM sound tracks. Usually the old Dolby Digital and DTS sound tracks.

That's not what I'm asking., but thank you. I am well aware that Blu Ray's pq is but a fraction of 4K digital projection and Film projectors pq. Blu Ray is great for home use but in terms of cinema sized screens, it is not up there.

[jceperley]

Actually, something I was surprised by is last week at the theatre I work at, we actually had a presentation in our biggest theatre and we were using a Blu-ray, and it actually looked pretty good. Obviously, it's not the quality of film or DLP, but to most people who aren't as knowledgeable about these things, they probably wouldn't have been able to tell.

But yeah, depending on the projection system, Blu-ray is only about half or a quarter of the quality of DLP. Our theatre, I'm about 95% certain that our current and upcoming projectors are all 4K.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Don't short change 2k digital projection though. Properly done 2k can be spectacular, even at large screen sizes and close seating distances.

These are screenshots from the BD of Casino Royale projected by a Barco DP-2000 3 chip DLP (2k projector) onto a 7 meter (~23 foot) wide scope screen in a home theater:







Just stunningly beautiful images without any pixel structure even at that size and larger.

[Blu Man]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

Don't short change 2k digital projection though. Properly done 2k can be spectacular, even at large screen sizes and close seating distances.

These are screenshots from the BD of Casino Royale projected by a Barco DP-2000 3 chip DLP (2k projector) onto a 7 meter (~23 foot) wide scope screen in a home theater:







Just stunningly beautiful images without any pixel structure even at that size and larger.

You really like showing that guy's theater don't you? But 23 feet is one thing but blown up on a 54 ft screen I bet that I could see some pixalization.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by jceperley

But yeah, depending on the projection system, Blu-ray is only about half or a quarter of the quality of DLP. Our theatre, I'm about 95% certain that our current and upcoming projectors are all 4K.

Don't know what you are trying to say here, but this doesn't make any sense. Blu-ray is an optical A/V data storage and retrieval system, whereas DLP is a projection technology.

BD quality is essentially 2k, which is what most commercial digital projection theaters show, albeit using a different compression technology (JPEG 2000 vs VC-1 or AVC or MPEG-2 on BD); so the resolution is the same. Film resolution can be much higher than that (35mm estimated to be at least 4k, 70mm has been scanned to at least 8k with room to spare), although this is with pristine prints, which are rare nowadays.