IMAX 3D Projector

[osclarkos]

some really good stuff here

[smuggecko]

brilliant video

[VerseChorusCurse]

I guess that's what you'd call aperture science no?

[xJOxJOHNxDOEx]

Ich nehme einen wieviel macht das ? ;-)

[Dreamwavestudio]

looks expensive, two beamers and some polarisation foil will do the thing, for under $1000,-

[sayrith]

The film goes through a beating.

[navylaks2]

Hve they made 3D projectors that doesn't require glassess yet?

[cplai]

@navylaks2 Probably not at movies for a while due to the difficulty of scaling up the technology for such big screen. Perhaps futuristic holograms like in Star Wars movies. For 3D TV without glasses, Google the word "HR3D" to learn more about a new technology by MIT Media Lab. Notice the date, it is this week's news.

[navylaks2]

@cplai

I know tv-screens have it, and it'll mean that in the future less and less people will go the cinema to watch 3D films because they have to wear the stupid glasses.

It's the glasses that's the big anoying problem for everyone.

If cinemas wants to keap comepeating with tv and illeagal downloading they need to find a method without them.

[cplai]

@navylaks2 Samsung, one of the biggest players in big screen TV, said like 2 months ago that 3D TV without glasses is still 10 years away from production. I am not sure if they knew about MIT's HR3D back then. I hope they will change their prediction after the recent news from MIT.

[kylespopups]

@navylaks2 it is nearly impossible it takes a grooved surface for no glasses 3D to work and with projectors only showing on a flat surface you have no way for your eyes to distinguish left from right angles with that said they could just put a giant tv on the wall of a movie theater.

[Ideaz4U2]

Hey dude, coming to mine at 1PM. Oh, and don't forget to bring your iMax projector in your rucksack. xD

[FidelCastro128]

Why You Probably Shoudn't Waste Your Money for IMAX Digital

Example: Lincoln Square Imax Screen Size 76x97 feet (23x30 meters)

15/70 Imax Film = 18K Digital Quality

Imax Digital: Empire 25 Imax 28x58 feet (8.5x18 meters)

2X 2K Projection Or Dumming Down Imax Experiance

ITS NO LONGER THINK BIG BUT THINK SMALL

[cplai]

@FidelCastro128 I totally agree with you. If you read all my comments made so far, I have repeated and repeated to emphasized that this video only applies to the original IMAX theaters. IMAX no longer maintains their own standard regarding the size of the projection screen. Today, IMAX only means the equipments are made by IMAX and there is no guarantee you would get a big screen.

[nurtester1]

@FidelCastro128 In my opinion film is still better than digital. I do not mean only movies, but also pictures. If you have a (very) good 35mm Photographic film (or even more like 70mm) you can easily beat the quality of digital (film) cameras. Beside it is more exciting to see a "real film" in cinema instead of any digital stuff which is called today a "film"

[sayrith]

It seems that IMAX film takes a beating

[cojute06]

I thought IMAX was being able to view above you and and down toward your feet like at the Science Theater in San Diego. Spent the extra money to see Toy Story 3 in IMAX and was sorely disappointed...not at the movie but the IMAX screen.. 

[cplai]

@cojute06 Today's IMAX is no longer what it used to be. In San Francisco Bay Area, there are only two IMAX screen that are huge. All other so called IMAX screens are just regular size screens.

[camelazo]

3d at 24 fps LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL! and always LOL

[dag101101]

@camelazo What's so funny about 24 fps? Any movie you see is shot in 24p (24 progressive frame per second, that is). That's why film looks like... film.

Trust me, 24p movies look much better than 30p or 60p movies. It's because that's what we're used to seeing.

[Rogeramirez]

@dag101101 I don't think "much better" is the right expression, but different. 24fps was adopted as the most popular rate because its cost. It is much cheaper film at 24 fps than 30fps, and money is a very important subject.

[dag101101]

@Rogeramirez I perfectly understand the origin. I'm just saying that a video will look more film-like at 24 fps than the standard 60 fps used for television because that's what we are used to seeing when we watch films. I didn't mean it's better because it's smoother, I meant it's better because it looks more film-like.

[Nerdkiller316]

Boo my country for not even having 1 IMAX cinema. We had one up in Dublin, but it shut down in 2001.

[kilerngbayan247]

what i hate about 3d anaglyphs: always black n white

[stodieck]

Actually, the resolution of film is limited by lens diffraction characteristics and film grain. It is not "virtually infinite" at all. Film grain is not "molecular" scale. It is limited by silver halide crystal size and can be seen by blowing up any image on film to a large enough size. Film grain noise is the basic limitation on film speeds. - RSailor

[TheHandOfFear]

@stodieck Lens diffraction and sharpness is a big limiting factor on digital cameras as well. Most digital cinema cameras these days use the exact same lenses that 35mm film cameras do.

A RED camera may have a 4k sensor (that sort of a stretch to begin with though) but with the lenses most people use on it the images end up being no where near that. A 1080p camera with a really high-end lens will yield better resolution than a "4k" RED with a softer lens on it.

[TheHandOfFear]

@stodieck And yes, slower film stocks like those designed for use on a bright sunny day have finer grain and therefore more resolution that faster film stocks that are used in lower light conditions like a dimly lit room.

[pocumus]

I heard the digital IMAX tecnology cant still surpass the film IMAX tecnology. Is that right

[cplai]

@pocumus When movies are shot on film, the images are recorded by the photosensitive chemical emulsion on the film. The granularity of the chemicals are in molecular level. So the "resolution" is virtually infinite. That explains why many decades old films can be digitally mastered for HDTV while 10 years old TV shows cannot turn HD. On the contrary, when movies are shot digitally, the resolution is dependent on the CCD or similar image capturing chips. Digital cameras are getting better.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai Actually this is totally wrong. Film does not record images at the molecular level, and does not have infinite resolution. If that were true then why would they go to the effort and expense to use film as large as IMAX if 16mm or even Super 8 could provide that resolution.

No, film uses small photosensitive grains suspended on the film to record images. These particles are small but are no where near as small as a single molecule.

[cplai]

@TheHandOfFear I stand corrected. I picked the wrong word when I meant the image is recorded by the chemicals on the film emulsion. I understand the difference between an ice crystal vs. a water molecule. They are both small, but at totally different scale. I understand the grain size difference between a ISO 64 film vs a ISO 2000 film. The faster one are more grainy.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

It was a little more than picking the wrong word.

"The granularity of the chemicals are in molecular level. So the "resolution" is virtually infinite."

You stated the resolution was virtually infinite. That's a fundamental misunderstanding. But don't worry there is no shame in admitting you didn't know what you were talking about.

Film still produces a better image than digital, even though it's resolution is not "infinite".

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai Old movies can be remastered in HD because 35mm film stock made 60+ years ago had resolution comparable or greater than HD.

And TV shows made 10 years ago can be transferred to HD is the were shot on 35mm film. 10 years ago almost all prime-time US TV shows were shot on 35mm. And about half or so are still today.

[cplai]

@TheHandOfFear While I agree with what you said overall, but I doubt the 10 year time frame regarding TV production is true.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

What about it do you doubt? Seindfeld is more than 10 years old and was remastered in HD. Star Trek is over 40 now and was remastered in HD.

I'm not sure what you mean about doubting the the 10 year time frame. Please be more specific.

[cplai]

@TheHandOfFear You talked about TV shows 10 years ago. I doubt that time frame because it is not old enough. The older the TV shows, the more likely they are shot on film. So if you says 20 year to 40 years ago, I don't have a doubt. But you said 10 years ago. By that time video storage was good enough for some directors to switch to video. Starting from 10 years ago, less TV shows were made on film than in the past. The biggest SD gap is probably at around 10 years ago.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

Again you are talking out your ass. I work in TV/Film production. 10 years ago HD was barely catching on yet, and yes some sitcoms, etc. were shooting on standard-def 60i video, but any big network prime-time show was still shooting 35mm film, or on a few occasions 16mm film.

Film is easier to shoot with. It's only in the last couple years that 24 frame digital cameras that operate similar to film camera have pushed more shows to shoot digital.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai A few of the shows still shooting on 35mm film are: CSI:NY Mad Men Fringe Lost Glee Castle Flashpoint Rookie Blue Two and a Half Men That's just a few.  And it's only this season that some shows like the other two CSIs, the Law and Orders, etc. have went digital. Look at an episode this year and one from last, there has been a severe change in the look of those shows.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

As far as shows that were shot on video 10-15 years ago, I'm hard pressed to think of all that many.

Let's look at some sitcoms going on around that time:

Tool Time - SD Video

Fresh Prince of Bel Air - SD Video

Those are really the only two I can think of, right of the bat. A lot of sitcoms around that time were shot on film.

Friends, Frasier & Seinfeld were all 35mm.

Those shows ended about 10 years ago.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

On of the first shows very early on to switch from 35mm to HD video was Star Trek: Enteprise, and that was only for it's 4th season so that was 2004. As I said that was an earlier one to switch. Most that have switched have only been within the last 1-2 years. And it remains to be seen if that trend continues to all the shows or not.

Besides all those have been to HD, you were arguing SD.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

How about this. Instead of just theorizing about how many shows were shot on SD video you list some shows that you think were.

I gave you a start:

Tool Time

Fresh Prince of Bel Air

List some more you think were SD video and I will try to confirm which format they were shot on. Sound good?

[EpiclsME]

@TheHandOfFear LMAO at Tool Time...its called Home Improvement XD

[TheHandOfFear]

@EpiclsME Whatever it was called it was a bad sitcom shot on SD video.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai The problem is that many of these were mastered on video, rather than staying on film like movies destined for the theatre were. This makes retransferring then much more costly.

But it has been done. The original Star Trek and Seinfeld have both been remastered in HD from the original film elements. Many more shows are likely to follow. It all depends on when the demand for HD broadcast outweighs the cost of the remastering.

TV shows that were shot on video however are forever SD.

[TrickyEmu]

There are only LieMAX 3D in San Diego County. I would have to drive all the way up to Orange County or even LA to watch something in 3D.

[groundeffectx]

Im glad that i work for Imax

[wahapon]

Wow you guys are nerds!

[naxps]

That was awesome.

[ajuk1]

Digital Imax is the Cheaper Liemax?

[mangsanhanha]

so what came first imax or real3D

[cplai]

IMAX had been around for decades. Real-D appeared just few years ago. I personally like real-D's technology better. Because they use circular polarization, the image won't change when you tilt your head. Not so in IMAX 3D's linear polarization.

[mangsanhanha]

Yea real d 3d is better because you get to move your head in any position and it still pops out of the screen

[EmpireLS56KW]

70mm IMAX the image comes undone as 3D when only rolling your head shoulder to shoulder. Looking up and down and left to right 3D stays in IMAX 3D.

Dolby3D you can look at it at angle and the image stays as 3D.

I havent seen RealD first-hand yet to see it can stay as 3D like Dolby3D Im guessing it might.

[unixsuperuser]

Almost all AMC theaters use IMAX Digital, 2 DLP 2K Projectors running at the same time. Very high picture quality and a much larger screen then standard 35MM, but no where near the size and quality of IMAX 15/70. Any IMAX installation before IMAX Digital started rolling out will give you the TRUE IMAX experience. Also, IMAX Digital confirms to DCI just in case you were wondering.

[masterpj55]

oh and no, it's not a more compact version.

the enclosure is huge because:

(believe it or not)

for the cooling of the extreme high voltage bulb and motors inside the projector

[masterpj55]

IT might be digital in some theaters (the slightly smaller ones) but MOST Imax theaters use non digital (film strips yes =) ) thats because the resolution of the lcd (wich digital projectors contain) cannot (FULLY) (but near) handle the extreme high detail and resolution. i film role instead doesnt consists of pixels. and oh the movie also plays a role. if it's either digital recorded or not (with very expensive cams) mostly not digital. they cant convert it well,they lose resolut

[lightman47]

IMAX is going all digital in there new theaters, unfortunatly.

[graydemon]

the guy left a fingerprint on the left side of the reflective mirror

[kitexps]

lol

[graydemon]

so far digital video cannot compete with the quality that an imax film provides. you would need the power of 100 blu-rays to recreate what you can see in an imax film

[lucasrem]

Now days IMAX is Digital, this is the old IMAX 70th technology.

[cplai]

Can you quote where you learn about this new IMAX technology? I was in a IMAX theater last week and their projection room was in a glass showcase. I still see rolls of film spinning around. Current HD video technology is not fine enough to reproduce the same details of the IMAX film.

[TheHandOfFear]

@lucasrem Most IMAX theatres are still film.  The digital projection called IMAX Digital. It is only used in a limited number of smaller purpose-built theatres compared to large film-based IMAX theatres which are more wide-spread.

The film projection is superior because the digital projection is less resolution and is not bright enough for use in the huge IMAX theatres people are used to.

If you go to the theatre map on IMAX's website it tells you which theatres use film or digital.

[cplai]

@TheHandOfFear You are wrong on this one. Perhaps you are not from the US, the film vs digital IMAX has flipped around in these few years. Take the San Francisco Bay Area for example, we only have 3 real IMAX theaters with 80 feet tall screen. One in SONY Matreon in SF, one in Dublin, CA and one IMAX dome (curved ceiling projection) in San Jose. However, there are at least 1 or 2 small screen IMAX digital screens in each of the few dozens movie multiplexes in our area.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

Check IMAX's website. YOU ARE WRONG.

First of all, what may be common in SF is not common everywhere else. Second your statement is flawed because 3 vs. 1 or 2 is still MOST.

And you will find that there are no IMAX Digital theatres in most cities that have film IMAX theatres. IMAX Digital is largely in a few key US cities. Film still outnumbers them there, and if you take into account IMAX around the world digital is a small percentage.

[cplai]

@TheHandOfFear

Yes, your math is correct for those cities with a decade old IMAX screen and need no upgrade, where the ratio of film to digital is 1:0 which is infinity.

my posting says there are at least 1 or 2 digital IMAX screen PER multiplex cinemas. Your assumption that SF Bay Area only has one multiplex cinema is quite wrong, so the ratio is not 3:1 or 3:2. It is 3:n or 3:2xn where n > 10+.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

I misread that and thought you meant 1-2 total. Even so, I checked IMAX's website for the SF Bay area, and you only have 6, not 10+.

Btw, your last ratio is wrong. I think you meant 3:2n if you were saying that 'n' is the number of multiplexes and each contain 2 IMAX screens.

Regardless there are 6 multiplexes in your area that have IMAX screens, and they each only have 1 not 2.

You really need to try 2mins of looking things up before posting. You are making yourself look bad.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

And no, I'm not from the US. I'm live in Toronto, Canada. You know, the city where IMAX was invented.  The city where the first IMAX theatre was built. The city where all the cameras and projectors for IMAX are still developed and manufactured. That's where I am.

[cplai]

@TheHandOfFear I don't trust the IMAX website because they have a conflict of interest to make their technology look more popular than they really are. For example, they list dozens and dozens of IMAX theaters in my area. I tried most of them and none of them were the same 80 feet tall screen that I was used to. In fact, their website did a good job in hiding their origin real IMAX theaters. As I pointed out I only know of 3 in my area and the IMAX dome is just unwatchable. So we only have 2.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

Dude, it says right on the theatre map what they are. They are not hiding anything. You have 3 large-venue film-based IMAX theatres, and 6 small IMAX Digital screens located in various multiplexes.

I don't know how they could make it more clear.

As for IMAX Dome (formerly OMNIMAX) it depends on the movie. For instance I saw Star Trek in IMAX Dome and it looked fantastic, but another film I saw there didn't. Any films actually shot in OMNIMAX of course look amazing.

[TheHandOfFear]

@cplai

And in all of this it's worth pointing out that IMAX's m.o. hasn't been to replace film-based IMAX theatres with Digital. There has not been one case of that yet. IMAX Digital is designed to compete with Real-D. It's designed to use IMAX's patented screen geometry and sound systems in conjunction with digital projection to create a better version of RealD's theatres.  It's not designed to replace the classic IMAX theatres.

[raccoonfan]

Oh.. It's an IMAX MPX(Multiplex) unit. I will never understand on why this exists as the image isn't really IMAX unless a GT unit is used.

[rustygates]

How much do those COST?!

[cplai]

Probably in terms of millions. If it were cheap, you would see more IMAX theaters around you.

[rustygates]

Ah..yea. For me the nearest IMAX theatre is on the other side of the country :(.

[cplai]

I was wrong in my guess. While I was driving this afternoon after I replied to you, I heard on the radio about IMAX theaters. It is getting more popular, but the investment is a bit over a million dollars per establishment. So if the whole theater is about a million, the project would be just a portion of that.

[rustygates]

o rito ok. I was thinking 'millions' is too much for a projector.

[grantkielyyyy]

come to london!

[31Orcas]

Where I live, there are three in my city alone! (San Diego California)

[kitexps]

same :(

[voltz15]

I've seen a different model projector at the museum in St Paul MINN which was an active display in a case for public viewing. These are pretty neat, but I'm wondering how long will it be till we can get that film quality down to something we can carry with our bare hands?

[bigtank2185]

the lamps are 1500 to 1800 watts, very bright!

[strong1235]

Wrong! The lamps are 12,000 to 15,000 watts! And cost several thousand dollars each! And if not handled carefully, will EXPLODE violently, blasting you with glass shards. You never expose the lamp without having on protective clothing and face shield. Been there, done that! They are also water cooled using non-conductive distilled water.

[bigtank2185]

ok, i checked it, your right, i was thinking of concert type projectors.

[seanproj]

Wow finally get to see what a Imax MPX projector looks like awesome

[lucasrem]

Nowdays, its less a Science Project, Digital 4K IMAX Projector Beamer in a little Box, build in the Theater (Secret Zone, Studio Staff only)

[Jimmyd12345]

how its made! WOOHOO!