Digital Cinema
Digital
cinema refers to the use of digital technology to capture, distribute, or
project motion pictures. A movie can be distributed via hard drives, optical
disks (such as DVDs and Blu-ray Discs), or satellite and projected using a
digital projector instead of a conventional film projector. Digital cinema is
distinct from High-Definition Television and is not dependent on using
television or High-Definition Video standards, aspect ratios, or frame rates.
In digital cinema, resolutions are represented by the horizontal pixel count,
usually 2K (2048×1080 or 2.2 megapixels) or 4K(4096×2160 or 8.8 megapixels).
Digital Light
Processing
Digital
Light Processing (DLP) is a brand of projector technology that uses a Digital
Micromirror Device . It was originally developed in 1987 by Dr. Larry Hornbeck
of Texas Instruments. DLP is used in a variety of display applications from
traditional static displays to interactive displays and also non-traditional
embedded applications including medical, security, and industrial uses.
DLP Cinema® Technology Work
- A digital projector based on DLP Cinema® technology
transfers the digitized image file onto three optical semiconductors known as
Digital Micromirror Devices, or DMDs. Each of these chips is dedicated to one
primary color-red, green, or blue. A DMD chip contains a rectangular array of
over one million microscopic mirrors.
- Light from the projector's lamp is reflected off the
mirrors and is combined in different proportions of red, green and blue, as
controlled by the image file, to create an array of different colored pixels
that make up the projected image.
- The DMD mirrors tilt either toward or away from the
light source thousands of times per second to reflect the movie onto the
screen. These images are sequentially projected onto the screen, recreating the
movie in front of you with perfect clarity and a range of more than 35 trillion
colors.
DLP Cinema S2K
S2K joins the DLP Cinema family bringing economical, DCI
compliant digital cinema to smaller screens.
DLP Cinema is now optimized for smaller movie theatre
screens of up to 9 meters (29 feet)*. The new S2K chip meets DCI specifications
for security and color accuracy, allowing independent theatre owners, art
houses and cinemas in emerging markets to economically convert to digital cinema.
For unsurpassed reliability, performance and the most options in resolution and
pricing, make the right choice – DLP cinema – the leader in Digital Cinema.
DLP Cinema Portfolio of Products
Best Premium Cinema Experience for Screens from 29 to 105
Feet Wide (9 to 32 Meters)
DLP Cinema Enhanced 4K
DLP Cinema 4K chip lights up the biggest screens. All the
light, to all the pixels, all the time.
DLP Cinema now offers exhibitors the widest variety of
stable resolution options for any screen size and the industry’s only DCI
certified solution. The DLP Cinema 4K chip powers the brightest and most energy
efficient digital cinema projectors in the world. Cinema projectors powered by
DLP Cinema’s 4K chip are ideal for theatre screens up to 100 feet wide and 3D
screens up to 75 feet wide.
Advantages of the DLP enhanced 4k
- The brightest and most energy efficient 4K digital
cinema projector in the world*.
- Patented 1.4 DLP Cinema® chip projects over 35 trillion
Academy® accurate colors for an amazing experience.
- See every little detail in the shadows… Greater than 2500:1
contrast ratio
- All the light. All the pixels. All the times… for the
brightest 3D experience
- Designed to meet Digital Cinema System Specifications
developed by DCI, LLC for image quality and security
- Designed to easily install inside or outside any
projection booth
- The lightest 4K digital cinema projector available;
weighs less than 250 pounds.
Digital 3D Powered by DLP Cinema Technology
New dimensions in film with Digital 3D
The stereoscopic era of motion pictures began in the late
1890s when a British film pioneer filed a patent for a 3D movie, The
Power of Love, process using two projectors. Although many experiments
were conducted over the next two decades, it wasn't until September 27, 1922
that the first confirmed 3D movie, The Power of Love, was shown to a paying
audience at the Ambassador Theater in Los Angeles; however, the experience was
disappointing due to glare.
Refining the 3D Movie Process
The first commercial full-color 3D film, using Polaroid
filters to reduce glare, took place at the 1940s New York World's Fair. This
short film, produced and shot by John A. Norling, showed the assembly of a
Chrysler automobile. To view the 35 mm film, shown on two interlocked projectors,
audience members wore eyewear that allowed the left eye image to be seen only
by the left eye and vice versa; this technique reduced glare but did not
eliminate it.
Although 3D presentations have improved over the last 60
years, today all theme parks and IMAX theaters use the same dual-projector
setup to show movies shot on film. As a result of using two film projectors,
cross-talk or ghosting (caused by small amounts of stray light) may result in
headaches in audience members who tip their heads from side-to-side.
DLP Cinema systems have been deployed and tested
commercially in theatres since 1999, providing more than seven years of
in-field usage. And with the November 2005 release of Chicken Little – Disney’s
first fully computer animated movie distributed in 3D format – the digital
revolution arrived to stay.
3D Eyewear:
Close up
Active
Active eyewear devices are wireless battery-powered
glasses with liquid crystal shutters that are run in synchrony with the video
field rate. The
glasses are expensive and need to be cleaned after every use.
Passive
An alternative to active glasses is the passive approach
or ZScreen, which is a special kind of liquid crystal polarization modulator
and requires theatres to install a silver screen. Passive glasses are made of
either cardboard or plastic that cannot be sanitized and therefore are for one
time use.
The Advantages of DLP
Cinema
DLP Cinema technology delivers
a true digital picture with incredible clarity and vibrant colors every show.
With DLP Cinema technology, there is no more color fading, jump and weave,
scratching and dirt accumulation which are common problems that plague film.
DLP Cinema offers a consistent image with no degradation over time. Movie-goers
can see a movie in its original pristine condition, exactly the way the
director intended it, whether they see it during the first or fifth week of the
run.
The Benefits of Digital Cinema
- For moviemakers, their movies
are seen exactly the way they are intended to be seen, with light, shade and
texture captured with digital accuracy.
- For movie distributors, it
provides a better quality viewing experience of their movies and allows
tremendous cost savings in film print reproduction and distribution.
- For movie exhibitors, they are
able to offer a consistently better visual experience to the customer while
having greater flexibility in movie programming and theatre usage.
- For the moviegoer, the
advantage is a more compelling, more captivating experience without the
distractions that the degradation of film brings.
