Digital IMAX vs Regular 4K

[Spike M.]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

Lack of alternatives. I haven't been to the 4K Atmos theater enough to know if I like it more. It's not as bright, which is no big deal for 2D (Only seen Lucy there). I've never been there for 3D yet.

The Empirical 4K Atmos Theater in Portland (OMSI) was one of the more terrible theatrical experiences I've had. I was looking forward to it being a suitable replacement for D-IMAX, however it was sorely disappointing. Orange ambient light flooded the bottom portion of the screen, blowing out half of the image's black levels to a disturbing degree, the sound had an echo which destroyed clarity, the image looked terribly unsharp and washed out, and the volume level, despite an employee sitting in the theater "monitoring" the audience, was so low that even if it was world's best sound system it would have underwhelmed.

This is a theater utilizing the most expensive and largest Klipsch sound system, with Atmos, a dual 4K Barco set-up, and a 4 story screen. My point is that IMAX seemingly has a better quality standard, despite the smaller screen size and 2K projection. Presentation's in IMAX theaters are fairly consistent, whereas Atmos theaters are sort of a crapshoot. I feel comfortable when I go to an IMAX because of brand uniformity, I don't feel that way about the alternatives trying to dig into their market.