Digital Theater Projection & Blu-ray

[Bueller]

One thing that's sort of foreign to me is the whole idea of film transfers, and it was never something I thought about until fairly recently. I've seen featurettes on Jaws & The Wizard of Oz that sort of show the process, but it got me thinking.

My local theaters are digital projection. With this, studios have to prep their releases for digital theaters. Basically what I'm wondering, is the transfer that ends up on a Blu-ray release this same transfer that was shown in digital theaters?

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by Bueller

One thing that's sort of foreign to me is the whole idea of film transfers, and it was never something I thought about until fairly recently. I've seen featurettes on Jaws & The Wizard of Oz that sort of show the process, but it got me thinking.

My local theaters are digital projection. With this, studios have to prep their releases for digital theaters. Basically what I'm wondering, is the transfer that ends up on a Blu-ray release this same transfer that was shown in digital theaters?

No. The resolution, color gamut and bit depth along with gamma are all different, as is the file type. DCI is typically 2048x1080 with the P3 (DCI) gamut (wider than REC709), and are encoded as a 2.6 gamma 4:4:4 at 12 bit?? (don't remember that one specifically). They are encoded as JPEG2000 files for compression vs our H264. File sizes are closer to 100GB on average.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

DCI is typically 2048x1080 with the P3 (DCI) gamut (wider than REC709), and are encoded as a 2.6 gamma 4:4:4 at 12 bit?? (don't remember that one specifically). They are encoded as JPEG2000 files for compression vs our H264. File sizes are closer to 100GB on average.

There are also 4K DCIs for theaters equipped with projectors like the Sony 4K projector. One of the first "films" to be presented in theaters in 4K (4096 x 2160) was the restoration of Taxi Driver a few years ago.

Later this year, we should begin seeing theaters using projectors driven by laser lamps. That should solve some of the brightness issues, especially for 3D movies.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

There are also 4K DCIs for theaters equipped with projectors like the Sony 4K projector. One of the first "films" to be presented in theaters in 4K (4096 x 2160) was the restoration of Taxi Driver a few years ago.
....

Even earlier than with T.D. in 2011 and to the local Cineplex….meaning not special presentations or exhibitions at a film festival, but rather, feature motion pictures that had widespread 4K digital cinema packages delivered. In 2010, Inception comes to mind.

[slick1ru2]

Found this interesting clip about the Irish theaters going digital, the first in Europe. But I wonder now if they are obsolete since they started back in 2002. Would that be a 2k system? Skip ahead to 40 sec.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PeI9...ature=youtu.be


Edit: a newer documentary on the transition to digital at theaters. It is too bad that movies arrive on a USB HDD (or downloaded) instead of some type of optical format that could be transitioned to consumers.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PsGg...ature=youtu.be

[reanimator]

Originally Posted by Bueller

...is the transfer that ends up on a Blu-ray release this same transfer that was shown in digital theaters?

As others have replied, no. However...

Your Blu-ray disc is mastered from the same elements that the movie theater file (DCP) is mastered from; the Blu-ray having about 94% of the same resolution as the DCP. Depending on the screen size, a properly mastered Blu-ray disc will compare very favorably to a DCP.

Many home theater aficionados own TVs and projectors that have better specs than commercial theater projectors (stronger contrast, better black levels, etc). People in this category can rightly claim that a Blu-ray disc looks better in their home theater than the DCP they saw at the local multiplex.

[orangerunner]

Originally Posted by reanimator

Many home theater aficionados own TVs and projectors that have better specs than commercial theater projectors (stronger contrast, better black levels, etc). People in this category can rightly claim that a Blu-ray disc looks better in their home theater than the DCP they saw at the local multiplex.

I just stumbled upon this four-year-old thread. My understand is that, yes, a Blu-ray is 94% of the resolution of a DCP (Digital Cinema Package) master but the DCP master is 12-bit with a maximum rate of 250 mbps whereas a Blu-ray is compressed with 8-bit and a maximum bitrate of about 37 mbps.

Watching a Blu-ray on a 65" TV might look "better" but all things considered that DCP version is being blown-up on a 40-foot screen and requires a much better master source.

[EmileSix]

Worth noting that the Aussie and UK Blu-ray is region free, for those on Team Hare/Harvey whod like to see this in Academy