Digital theatres = bad picture quality

[mrhaines]

So I just finished watching the Star Trek movie for the second time and I noticed something curious. The first time I saw it was on a digital projection screen (Silvercity Theatre in Canada) and the second was on a film projection.

The digital projection was really difficult to watch during fast moving action scenes. I am not sure why, but with digital screens I have a hard time focusing when action is happening. Everything just sort of goes blurry for a few seconds and my head hurts.

I saw the exact same scenes on a film screen a few days later and they looked great. Anyone else have this experience? It makes me want to avoid new theatres altogether because the movie is far less enjoyable.

[stubadub]

There are different quality digital projection systems. I know as far as resolution goes most digital projection systems in the US are 2K. Of all the digital projection systems in Texas, as of about 2 months ago there were only 2 in the state that are 4K. To not notice any pixelation with a 2K system you need to be something like at least 30 feet from the screen, while with a 4K system you can be 2 feet away.

It might be the case that the motion blur you are mentioning might be different depending on the system. I'm not sure. I've seen several movies with a lot of movement on screen at both a regular projection screen and the same film again on a digital system (specifically on the 4K system) and I've never noticed any additional blur, though thanks to you I'll now be looking for it. :)

[scoobydiesel]

I did not go and see star trek in digital but it was the first movie to do so in my area and my friend went and seen it and did say it was a little blurry or hard to pay attention to.

[fendee1]

After watching blu-ray movies at home, its very hard to go the movies, I love the movie theater experience but hate the quality.

[scoobydiesel]

I really like the big big screen, like i have a blu ray player and a 56inch samsung lcd 1080p tv which is very nice but....idk i still love the experience and normally dont complain or notice anything too bad at the theater.

Buuuut some movies are just made like crap either way and just bug me and ruin the experience :D

[stubadub]

If you go opening weekend there is usually little dirt on the print. I only really notice it when I'm seeing a movie after it's been showing for a week or so. As far as definition goes isn't film higher resolution than Blu-Ray?

[tsmith15]

The only thing I've noticed about film quality is that Dark Knight was ridiculously more amazing on IMAX than on regular, especially on the scenes shot with IMAX cameras (obviously).

Also, on IMAX movies, black spots pop up sometimes in places then go away anywhere from 5-20 seconds later. Looks like something on the projector lens or whatnot.

As for blurriness, I don't think I've seen any more than what was in the movie when they filmed it (e.g. shaky-cam from bourne movies). I almost always go to see movies at a Silver City here in Ottawa and it's usually very nice.

Bigger problem is the sound though, after seeing Star Trek in IMAX, the sound levels in Angels & Demons felt ridiculously low, and I barely even noticed the score of the film.

[nshady]

I'm not sure to what extent Australian and American cinemas compare, but I always feel bad at my cinemas when patrons are going to a digital screening, as the projectors we have are meant for cinemas half the size we use them in. So it's all dull and faded. Thankfully we still mostly use film, so it's not a massive issue.

[aerodash84]

I saw it on a 4k screen here in IL and it was awesome I thought. Unfortunately we were in nose bleed seats in an opera house almost. But still awesome.

[kzap]

[quote=tsmith15;521212]The only thing I've noticed about film quality is that Dark Knight was ridiculously more amazing on IMAX than on regular, especially on the scenes shot with IMAX cameras (obviously).

Also, on IMAX movies, black spots pop up sometimes in places then go away anywhere from 5-20 seconds later. Looks like something on the projector lens or whatnot./quote]
I see them all the time in films, maybe it's because I live in the UK and have only ever seen films on film (not in digital cinemas) but from a young age I have noticed these, apparently it's so they technician knows when to move the onto the next reel of film (like spot represents the last 3 seconds leaft) but I don't know if that is true or not.
This is not just IMAX though so it may be something else than what you were talking about, it's a little black oval in one of the top corners.

[stubadub]

I see them all the time in films, maybe it's because I live in the UK and have only ever seen films on film (not in digital cinemas) but from a young age I have noticed these, apparently it's so they technician knows when to move the onto the next reel of film (like spot represents the last 3 seconds leaft) but I don't know if that is true or not.
This is not just IMAX though so it may be something else than what you were talking about, it's a little black oval in one of the top corners.

Those are often called cigarette burns and they were definitely used to indicate to the projectionist when to change the film reel. I think for Imax the films come entirely on one platter, so that wouldn't be needed for that projection system.

As an aside, Apple now has me so trained that every time I type a proper name that starts with the letter "I" I want to make the first letter lowercase and the second one uppercase, and I always have to back up and correct it (Imax, not iMax).

[tsmith15]

lol @ iMax

I wasn't referring to the "cigarette burns" but rather random black shapes about 1 or 2 feet long popping up and sometimes sliding around for a few seconds. My guess would be that its dirt or dust, something like that.

[kzap]

Those are often called cigarette burns and they were definitely used to indicate to the projectionist when to change the film reel. I think for Imax the films come entirely on one platter, so that wouldn't be needed for that projection system.

As an aside, Apple now has me so trained that every time I type a proper name that starts with the letter "I" I want to make the first letter lowercase and the second one uppercase, and I always have to back up and correct it (Imax, not iMax).
Ah! People here seem to know more than me, I thought I was being the cleaver one for a second (as always I was wrong).
LOL @ iMax but I must admit I only put it all in CAPSLOCK because I didn't know which letters were in caps or not.

[indieinsd]

If you go opening weekend there is usually little dirt on the print. I only really notice it when I'm seeing a movie after it's been showing for a week or so. As far as definition goes isn't film higher resolution than Blu-Ray?

Don't think so. The main difference is that Star Trek and most films are still shot on film, so it has to to be converted to digital. Some screens upconvert to 60fps instead of keeping it at the native film standard of 24fps. As digital gets progressively better the screens will be able to keep the film to digital conversion at 24fps and do digtal at 60fps.

[stubadub]

Don't think so. The main difference is that Star Trek and most films are still shot on film, so it has to to be converted to digital. Some screens upconvert to 60fps instead of keeping it at the native film standard of 24fps. As digital gets progressively better the screens will be able to keep the film to digital conversion at 24fps and do digtal at 60fps.

Film does have a much higher effective pixel resolution than Blu-Ray both in the source and what is displayed at your local theater. Scan lines are a different issue. There was a study done regarding this, and they found that most projected film in your local theater is higher quality than a 720p image but not quite up to the standard of 1080p, but it did vary by theater. Here is an article about that study in case anyone is interested: http://www.filmschoolonline.com/sample_lessons/sample_lesson_HD_vs_35mm.htm

As far as the conversion process, what you've described sounds identical to the process that occurs when a film is converted for DVD or Blu-Ray, so I don't see why a movie shot on film would look worse in the theater than at home based on that conversion. Of course, I base all of this on what I've read online, so take it all with a grain of salt.