Stephen

Still limited to only 1280 x 1024 pixels, which is less than the LCD displays on high-end notebook computers. Still needs two unique and very expensive 1.5X and 1.9X anamorphic lenses, which tend to accentuate the pixel structure.

IMHO, with most experts agreeing that Digital Cinema must be better than HDTV or what can be obtained in the home, anyone buying into this technology prematurely may be stuck with a "white elephant". Already, most experts agree that 2K resolution is an absolute minimum for theatre presentation, with 4K preferred.

Has anyone heard a selling price? Add the cost of a QuVis or similar 40+ Gigabyte high data rate server, networking, mastering and distribution costs, etc. Satellite and fiber optic bandwidth is NOT free, and neither is making small volumes of DVDs.

The 30 or so prototype installations and mastering/distribution have been heavily subsidized by companies promoting digital cinema.

A brand new film print costs about $1500 US. Shown a typical 300 times, it therefore costs about $5 per show for film. IMHO, Digital Cinema doesn't make technical or economic sense yet.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

We the small independent, have been shaking in our boots wondering how we could ever afford this change, thinking the parade would pass us by. Now it seems clear that the big boys can't either.

Considering the current status of the industry, I don't see this happening anytime soon. Probably not for another five to ten years if even then.

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

In the 1920s, when projection speeds gradually increased from 16 to 24fps, projector manufacturers and labs went to a lot of trouble persuading studios that two-bladed shutters made sound economic sense, because the lower-powered lamps that could be used and the reduced timing maintenance on each projector more than offset the cost of the increased footage of release prints.

When sound came in, the studios and the cinemas were owned by the same organisations, so what they spent on equipment they saved on the cost of hiring musicians.

When the nitrate to safety conversion happened in the late 1940s, the increased cost of triacetate prints was more than paid for by not having to maintain the safety precautions made necessary by nitrate, so exhibitors were happy to accept it.

With DLP, no such economic argument exists, as yet. The capital expenditure needed is large (with the risk that newer, better digital projectors will supercede the ones you have just invested hundreds of thousands of dollars for within a year or two), none of the main distributors offer software support in any systematic way, and, more importantly, the film industry is not as vertically integrated as it once was. So if an independent cinema (or chain) invests serious money in this technology and it goes obsolete, it will not have financial backing from other sectors of the industry (e.g. production) to absorb the cost.

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

These DLP projector versions might parallel what TI's done to this point or there could be changes, we won't really know until the competition shows their stuff. The question is can they improve on what TI has done so far? Can they make it better and longer-lasting (and cheaper) as a production version vs. the prototypes? They will still have the basic optical path, lens requirements, etc.

 |  IP: Logged

I would assume a Digital Cinema projector could be used for a drive-in. One concern would be light output -- Gordon McLeod reports one DLP installation in Canada had to reduce image size considerably to obtain adequate brightness. Having worked at a drive-in, my other concern would be the high level of dust, dirt and airborne debris, and its effect on sensitive electronic components like disk drives. Also power fluctuations and lightning storms are more of a problem in drive-ins, unless a conditioned UPS is used to protect the sensitive electronics.