Large Format/"Premium" Theaters (IMAX 15/70, Digital IMAX, XD, ETX, RPX, etc.)

[avs commenter]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Bond 25 is 70mm not digital.
But yes I lament the movement to digital only screens.
This is how the few good ones in the UK stack up


I got a countdown that was the standard "filmed and mixed with IMAX stuff" one.

I need the black bar on top London version!

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Disagree totally, the 12 channel mix won hands down here, their soundmixers at Disney have no idea what to do with Atmos

the Atmos mixes have been so hit and miss in my opinion.

really? I thought the 12-channel mix wasn't all that. It had power and oomph but overhead sound cues (... where? you could have fooled me).

[Rodney-2187]

Dolby @ AMC Prime is my preferred format in my area. I've seen Endgame three times in Dolby, but today I saw it in IMAX and the sound was so much better.

This is the first time for me. Dolby always seems better. It was especially noticeable when I saw Blade Runner 2049. The sound was amazing for that movie.

Is there any reason for this? My local AMC has become very proficient at screwing things up.

I travel a lot and have noticed no real consistency between RPX, Dolby, IMAX, XD, and others. What is best in one area may not be in another. Is there any type of quality control? I know some of it is the movies themselves, but I think a lot of it is the theater operators.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Rodney-2187

Dolby @ AMC Prime is my preferred format in my area. I've seen Endgame three times in Dolby, but today I saw it in IMAX and the sound was so much better.

This is the first time for me. Dolby always seems better. It was especially noticeable when I saw Blade Runner 2049. The sound was amazing for that movie.

Is there any reason for this? My local AMC has become very proficient at screwing things up.

I travel a lot and have noticed no real consistency between RPX, Dolby, IMAX, XD, and others. What is best in one area may not be in another. Is there any type of quality control? I know some of it is the movies themselves, but I think a lot of it is the theater operators.

is the overhead sound cues used more aggressively for the Atmos mix than for the 12-channel IMAX mix?

[Rodney-2187]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

is the overhead sound cues used more aggressively for the Atmos mix than for the 12-channel IMAX mix?

I'm probably not articulate enough, nor as well versed in audio terminology. I've just noticed on past comparisons that the Dolby picture and audio quality were always superior. The colors were brighter and the darkness was darker. Everything looked and sounded crisper. The highs were higher and the low were lower. There was always lots of thunderous bass.

The next best theater in my area I'd say is the Regal RPX. The sound is very good, and the picture is decent.

Last would the the IMAX. The picture has always looked great, but their sound was just mediocre.

For Endgame it's the exact opposite. The picture was slightly better in Dolby, but the sound was just pitiful. I decided to see it in IMAX today because the entire movie was filmed in IMAX. I was blown away by how much better the sound was in the IMAX theater. I'm not sure why, so I thought I'd see if anyone else noticed anything similar.

I know sometimes it can be the movie itself. For instance I noticed Blade Runner 2049 sounded exceptional in every theater I saw it in. (Dolby still best though.) I noticed the trailer for Godzilla sounded better in Dolby than Endgame following it.

They're building an Alamo Drafthouse near me. Hopefully that will put an end to wondering where to go for the best picture and sound.

[BluBonnet]

Having watched Endgame in both true IMAX and Dolby, I'm more pleased with the IMAX presentation simply because there is more image at the top and the bottom - and even more importantly, because of the sheer size of the screen, which makes for a truly epic experience.

Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I've ever watched a 3-hour movie in an IMAX screen without intermission.

[Rodney-2187]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Having watched Endgame in both true IMAX and Dolby, I'm more pleased with the IMAX presentation simply because there is more image at the top and the bottom - and even more importantly, because of the sheer size of the screen, which makes for a truly epic experience.

Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I've ever watched a 3-hour movie in an IMAX screen without intermission.

Did you notice a difference in sound?

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

the Atmos mixes have been so hit and miss in my opinion.

really? I thought the 12-channel mix wasn't all that. It had power and oomph but overhead sound cues (... where? you could have fooled me).

Speaking of Atmos mixes, is there a sweet spot for hearing it right.
I've been sitting in the far back row in order to see the screen.

[Rodney-2187]

I'm just sick of my local theaters. They've played the wrong movie, not played it in 3D, didn't turn the lights off, all sorts of repeated problems. I went to a special screening of Bumblebee and the manager had changed auditoriums last minute, only he changed it to a smaller auditorium and it was sold out, so everyone was playing musical chairs and some were turned away.

One time I had a fanango ticket and confirmation number, but they said it was invalid. I was irate. They gave me another seat for free. I noticed just before the movie started, that no one ever sat in my original seat, so I just went and sat there with no problems.

So whenever there's a problem, I automatically default to incompetent theater operation, at least with the theaters near me at this time.

Which would you say is a bigger determining factor in quality?

1. quality of source (film, sound mixing)
2. theater equipment
3. theater operation

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by Rodney-2187

I'm just sick of my local theaters. They've played the wrong movie, not played it in 3D, didn't turn the lights off, all sorts of repeated problems. I went to a special screening of Bumblebee and the manager had changed auditoriums last minute, only he changed it to a smaller auditorium and it was sold out, so everyone was playing musical chairs and some were turned away.

One time I had a fanango ticket and confirmation number, but they said it was invalid. I was irate. They gave me another seat for free. I noticed just before the movie started, that no one ever sat in my original seat, so I just went and sat there with no problems.

So whenever there's a problem, I automatically default to incompetent theater operation, at least with the theaters near me at this time.

Which would you say is a bigger determining factor in quality?

1. quality of source (film, sound mixing)
2. theater equipment
3. theater operation

For me, all of the above.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

Speaking of Atmos mixes, is there a sweet spot for hearing it right.
I've been sitting in the far back row in order to see the screen.

usually in between the two rows of ceiling speakers, 2/3'ds of the way (middle) in the row seating.

Acoustically - Atmos can sound wonky depending on theater setup, I've encountered echo chamber / voice bouncing into the surround channels at Tyson's Dolby Cinema screen sitting in my preferred seating - sitting slightly off center, removes the effect (this flaw also happens at the AFI Silver's main auditorium as well).

[Dreamliner330]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

Also, did you guys notice a new IMAX promo instead of a countdown? I liked the change but the content is lame. Not as bad as the Dolby leaf thing, but pretty cheesy. The space part was cool because it went silent and sounded like a vacuum. Lol.

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

I got a countdown that was the standard "filmed and mixed with IMAX stuff" one.

Found it. It's called 'Infinite Worlds' and it played instead of the countdown:

https://vimeo.com/327148380

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

Bond 25 is 70mm not digital.
But yes I lament the movement to digital only screens.
This is how the few good ones in the UK stack up


I got a countdown that was the standard "filmed and mixed with IMAX stuff" one.

the BFI IMAX screen is dual Xenon ?!? - ew

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Rodney-2187

Did you notice a difference in sound?

You know, I tend to get absorbed in the story of the movie so much that I don't pay that much attention to the sound, not enough to really pick apart very specific differences. I'm always amazed at the people who can pick apart all the channels of sound and what not, because I can't understand how they are able to still follow the movie.

[CinemaFirst]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

You know, I tend to get absorbed in the story of the movie so much that I don't pay that much attention to the sound, not enough to really pick apart very specific differences. I'm always amazed at the people who can pick apart all the channels of sound and what not, because I can't understand how they are able to still follow the movie.

True. Ideally, I would like to be totally absorbed by the film, sound included of course. If I'm struck by the sound during the presentation, and not too distracted from the film, that's ok.

A second screening helps in this regard as well, that allows more focus on the (sound)presentation.

[xbs2034]

Disney is never going to be the go to for immersive sound mixes, and I found Endgame’s IMAX sound perfectly fine, but rarely impressive.

Blade Runner: Final Cut, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Overlord are the types of films I think of which show off how great the 12 Channel IMAX system can be.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by CinemaFirst

True. Ideally, I would like to be totally absorbed by the film, sound included of course. If I'm struck by the sound during the presentation, and not too distracted from the film, that's ok.

A second screening helps in this regard as well, that allows more focus on the (sound)presentation.

TBH, I think the last time I felt truly impressed by a theater's sound system was when they first started using THX sound - this was the first thing that I felt was truly a quantum leap over the previous sound systems used in movie theaters.

Since the heyday of THX sound system, I honestly feel everything else has seemed like very small, incremental change - nothing earth-shattering or anything. I mean, you can tell there's a fairly good sound system in the auditorium, but it honestly doesn't impress me in the least anymore.

I've been to all kinds of auditoriums with all the latest sound systems, but none of these impress me at all. Maybe that is the ultimate compliment, that you feel the sound seems so natural that you just don't pay any particular attention to the exact configuration of the sound or speakers.

[Fang Zei]

How many “bespoke” dcp formats are we up to now?

-Imax xenon
-Imax laser (presumably projector-agnostic i.e. same 1.90:1 file could be played on either the dual projector setup or the new two-in-one build at the same optimized quality? Although I’m guessing movies with 1.44:1 material would need to be further custom-delivered)
-Dolby Cinema

Is that it for now?

These other “premium large format” venues like RPX, Prime, XD, whatever Alamo calls theirs, and this new one THX is cooking up ... those would all still only be using the same ‘ol same ‘ol regular dci-compliant dcp as any normal theater, right?

[xbs2034]

Wouldn’t 4DX and ScreenX require their own files, though I think they use the base DCP file (at least for 4DX, not sure with Screen X) and add their own stuff onto it. But yeah, while IMAX and Dolby are custom, chains do their own premium large format screens are just using the regular DCP.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

the Atmos mixes have been so hit and miss in my opinion.

really? I thought the 12-channel mix wasn't all that. It had power and oomph but overhead sound cues (... where? you could have fooled me).

The Marvel mixers have no clue how overheads work in any format