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The Denver Museum of Nature and Science took COVID as an opportunity to convert their former IMAX screen to a "D3D" theater:
Last night they showed Interstellar for the first time since they last showed it in digital IMAX pre-COVID and… it wasn't great.
First, I do have to give them kudos, the sound was indeed very good and at a nice volume with few to no rattles during scenes with extreme low bass, though I can't say that it went as deep in the bass as their old IMAX audio system did.
However…
1) As soon as you read "high gain 2.9" I think you knew exactly what the screen would look like - you can see the sparkly "grain" of the screen whenever anything of even tone is projected onto it, even their pre-show slides. People probably think it's film grain, but it's obviously not. Also, as you would expect from a high gain screen, the brightness goes from mid-level on the left to bright white in the middle of the screen back to mid-level at the right edgel. A center hot spot for the record books, in scenes with three actors the one in the center looked properly lit and the ones on either side looked like they were slightly in shadow; it wasn't quite as obvious in the planet scenes.
2) Because it's now "D3D" and not IMAX, I don't know where they got the copy they showed, but it looked very much like a 2K upconvert. It was slightly fuzzy, particularly at that size, and in the driving in the corn field sequence you could make out… motion artifacts, aka "blockies." However, it wasn't soft overall; the further you got from the center of the image, the fuzzier it got, so perhaps D3D uses a proprietary upconverson process.
3) The concession area is exactly the same as the old one, regardless of what they say, except they now only sell 12 oz. cans of soda rather than the 20 oz. bottles they used to. Not fun for a near three hour film.
4) The laser projection was good, but there was a distinct dark red line down the far left side of the image for the entire film. There was only one projector, so it wasn't a stacked projector registration issue, no idea of the cause.
Of note is they ran no trailers, or anything. They stopped the slides, the auditorium went dark and the film began. Perhaps because it's only their second "Hollywood Favorites" presentation, but it was kind of nice.
Presentation fun: about half way through the credits, two employees came in, turned on the overhead cleaning lights that also shine directly on the screen, and one could be heard to say aloud (whether she meant to be heard or not) "Could you all just leave now? We need to clean the theater.")
The bottom line is that while it was definitely wonderful to see Interstellar presented at that size again, and I am completely grateful for the experience, compared to their last digital IMAX showing it was decidedly inferior despite (or because of) their conversion to "D3D."
New Features include:
- A new, high gain 2.9 MDI Premium HGA silver 3D cinema screen, which will provide natural and immersive 2D and 3D experiences with projection system.
- The Infinity Theater has a new surround sound. A premium QSC 5.1 point-source sound system, putting out a combined total of 28,600 watts via 39 speaker drivers.
- New audio and visual accessibility features, such as a multi-channel surround sound, hearing induction loop and updated closed captioning system.
- New lobby entrance finishings which will be enhanced even further starting in 2023. Hint: Think lush forest!
- New concessions area offering popcorn, drinks and sweets.
- New laser projection system (see D3D Cinema) capable of crystal-clear imaging. The new laser projection system will be able to show both 2D and 3D films.
- Enhanced programming: In addition to documentaries, we will show Hollywood classic movies, independent movies, livestream concerts and performances, other multimedia shows and have the freedom to use the theater for a variety of other events.
- More sustainable finishings and procedures (examples include eye glass washing equipment and process, LED lighting, energy efficient projection system).
First, I do have to give them kudos, the sound was indeed very good and at a nice volume with few to no rattles during scenes with extreme low bass, though I can't say that it went as deep in the bass as their old IMAX audio system did.
However…
1) As soon as you read "high gain 2.9" I think you knew exactly what the screen would look like - you can see the sparkly "grain" of the screen whenever anything of even tone is projected onto it, even their pre-show slides. People probably think it's film grain, but it's obviously not. Also, as you would expect from a high gain screen, the brightness goes from mid-level on the left to bright white in the middle of the screen back to mid-level at the right edgel. A center hot spot for the record books, in scenes with three actors the one in the center looked properly lit and the ones on either side looked like they were slightly in shadow; it wasn't quite as obvious in the planet scenes.
2) Because it's now "D3D" and not IMAX, I don't know where they got the copy they showed, but it looked very much like a 2K upconvert. It was slightly fuzzy, particularly at that size, and in the driving in the corn field sequence you could make out… motion artifacts, aka "blockies." However, it wasn't soft overall; the further you got from the center of the image, the fuzzier it got, so perhaps D3D uses a proprietary upconverson process.
3) The concession area is exactly the same as the old one, regardless of what they say, except they now only sell 12 oz. cans of soda rather than the 20 oz. bottles they used to. Not fun for a near three hour film.
4) The laser projection was good, but there was a distinct dark red line down the far left side of the image for the entire film. There was only one projector, so it wasn't a stacked projector registration issue, no idea of the cause.
Of note is they ran no trailers, or anything. They stopped the slides, the auditorium went dark and the film began. Perhaps because it's only their second "Hollywood Favorites" presentation, but it was kind of nice.
Presentation fun: about half way through the credits, two employees came in, turned on the overhead cleaning lights that also shine directly on the screen, and one could be heard to say aloud (whether she meant to be heard or not) "Could you all just leave now? We need to clean the theater.")
The bottom line is that while it was definitely wonderful to see Interstellar presented at that size again, and I am completely grateful for the experience, compared to their last digital IMAX showing it was decidedly inferior despite (or because of) their conversion to "D3D."
A bunch of people with their feet up on the front railing.
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