Digital Cinema

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Source : http://www.dlp.com/cinema/