Are theaters HD?

[Cinemaddict]

Obviously the screen at a movie theater is a lot bigger than my HDTV, but somehow the quality of Blu-Ray movies seem better to me than the theater even though the screen is smaller.

Am I just seeing things? Do theaters show movies in high definition?

[scragham]

Originally Posted by Cinemaddict

Obviously the screen at a movie theater is a lot bigger than my HDTV, but somehow the quality of Blu-Ray movies seem better to me than the theater even though the screen is smaller.

Am I just seeing things? Do theaters show movies in high definition?

most theaters show movies by film projection; theoretically, assuming a well maintained/pristine film, well maintained projection equipment, etc etc, the resolution you SHOULD see at a movie theater SHOULD beat HDTV/BD.

in reality, most movies you see at a theater are projected using sub-optimally maintained gear from film that's been beat to crap - therefore, what you actually see can vary widely.

[Clark Kent]

The problem is that it can vary from theater to theater. A new theater with the best equipment run properly will surpass the picture quality of Blu-ray, but theaters that don't care and are run down will often show at resolutions that can look no better than a good Blu-ray.

[syncguy]

I have seen some threads in this forum that people say that in many cases cinema projectors are not even in focus. Apparently, it is not trivial for a projectionist to run few projectors and make sure all of them are optimally configured. If this is the case, blu-ray could be better than some theaters. But in principle, theaters should be much better than blu-ray as they use film with very high resolution. And also black and clour levels of film are richer than blu-ray.

[Blinkman987]

For film freaks, there's a really good scene in Masculin Feminine where Jean Pierre Leaud goes up to the projector room to tell them that they're showing the film in the wrong aspect ratio. =)