• arthurpizza@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Some things to keep in mind about the theater experience.

    • Only a handful of theaters do film IMAX anymore. A lot of IMAX locations are just 4k DCP (Digital Cinema Package)
    • Most theaters in the world are digital projectors with a max resolution of 1998x1080 or 2048x858

    Part of the reason these factors still exist is cost. A poorly maintained film projector with a lousy film print can ruin a movie going experience. Hollywood would sometimes release so very shitty prints. The digital projectors are much easier to maintain so the experience is often more ideal for the average movie goer.

    Having said that, if a theater takes good care of their film projectors and they have a well made and well kept print, the experience can be amazing.

    • atempuser23@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If you can see the film print in the opening week. Christopher Nolan makes his movies in an analog way. So it is a film process all the way though except for VFX. This is one of the only opportunities to see film that was not digitally modified. Only one place in the world can make these imax 70mm film prints and they are all basically hand made. EDIT: link changed to piped link. https://piped.video/watch?v=xa1xJIgLzFk

      2k digital projection is typically used in smaller theaters where the screen size is not large enough for anyone to actually see a difference.

      • gothicdecadence@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’m going to see it in 70mm on the 28th and I’m sooo fucking excited! I got center seats near the back too, it’s gonna be epic. I wish there were more 70mm IMAX theaters so more people could experience it but I understand why there aren’t lol

        • KingJalopy @lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Serious question, does it actually make that much of a difference? It’s it worth me driving 300 minutes to see?

          • CeruleanRuin@lemmy.one
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            1 year ago

            I’m no old-school cinephile, but I’ve listened to enough of them to understand that if you’re really into the nitty gritty details and love soaking in every corner of a filmed image, there is no substitute for a large print screening. But YMMV.

          • atempuser23@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            If you are a film student. Yes. For most folks 5 hours is a lot of driving. Film is the way that Christopher Nolan intended but the digital versions exist just so that most people can experience it. Don’t feel like you missed out if it’s just too much driving. The story is what is key. Not the projection technology.

          • gothicdecadence@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I’ve never actually seen anything in 70mm IMAX, so idk! But I love the vibe of analog film and the way it looks, so to experience Nolan in the way he intended it at essentially 16k resolution is likely going to be incredible. Five hours is quite a lot though, especially to then watch a three hour movie. Maybe if you made a weekend out of it and stayed at a hotel or camped somewhere? I’m lucky that the closest one to me is only a 45 minute drive

        • atempuser23@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I wasn’t able to get tickets to see the film version, so I’m going to see it in Dolby Vision. If any movie should take advantage of HDR it should be one about nukes.

      • Neato@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        This is one of the only opportunities to see film that was not digitally modified.

        Nolan’s films have 0 CGI or digital special effects?

        • atempuser23@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          They do have scenes that are VFX but all non-vfx shots are not scanned and digitally manipulated. The digital sections are recorder to film then cut into the film footage. So for the scenes that don’t have VFX you get to see what the film process looks like.

    • ch00f@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I used to work a campus projection booth. We once got a print of The Dark Knight where an entire reel was green. No idea how that got past QC.

      We made a point of watching every film before showing it to an audience to find and splice out any bad frames.

      • redditcunts@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        King of Prussia seats (center-ish and towards the back) are basically reserved out until August. Even if you want to drive out there you’ll have to wait. That’s how rare these projectors are lol.

      • Juvyn00b@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I’m going to make a 3 hour drive to my closest real IMAX. Haven’t had the pleasure to even see a mini IMAX film and am a fan of Nolan’s work so I’ll make the time.

      • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        Worse audio, often worse visuals, can’t pause if I need to take a leak, and going to miss something important because some asshole in the front is on his phone.

        This is why I own a high-end projector and a badass sound system. The stereo and speakers are for music first and video second. It’s not convenient as I don’t have (or want to accommodate blackout curtains), but it’s the best movie experience hands down for ^^ these reasons.

      • BorgDrone@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        Same here. Got a 77” OLED and a 5.1.4 system, no way the local theater can beat that. Even in a darkened theater the black levels on a projector are terrible. Also, HDR peak brightness is ‘meh’ in theaters as well.

      • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Question for anyone reading.

        I want to build a mancave downstairs, but I wouldn’t watch enough things to warrant a TV. I was thinking of buying a projector. Projectors used to be expensive, very expensive. Good projectors still seem to be, however now there are a plethora of cheap projectors on sites like Ali, Temu, Amazon, etc. Is it worth buying a high quality projector? Will I notice the difference? Or can I get away with a $40 projector bought off one of those sites?

        My plan would simply be to stream stuff off my phone. If a cheap projector is a bad idea, what is a good protector and how much would I need to pay? Also, anyone know what the best audio setup would be for this?

        • Skynet42@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I bought an unknown brand on amazon for 250 maple syrup dollars and I’m pretty sure everything it says on the box is true. It’s 1080p native and 450 lumens. I use it to watch movies outside. I have to wait until sunset but otherwise I’m really happy with the picture quality. This is the one I got. I think if you got anything less it would probably be okay for your needs, but you might regret not getting something better the first time.

        • Piers@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          If you’re looking to keep costs super low I imagine you’re better off going for a second hand projector over a cheap new one.

          • atempuser23@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            That is what I did, just make sure that you can get a spare bulb for reasonable money. Some old projectors have EXPENSIVE bulbs

        • beeng@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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          1 year ago

          I’ve seen friends all buy types of these thinking they will get some good one and be impressed, 1080p, 3000lumens etc, all the specs say yes but the experience… no.

          Go for an entry level from a brand that does projectors, eg I got Optoma but there’s Epson, even acer is fine. I got a 720p with 1080p source, or BluRay rips and it looks very legit.

          Of course you can go higher, but sounds like you just wanted to start out… Optoma H183 I think is mine.

          • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            I think you are misunderstanding some assumptions.

            This will be for a “Manc-Ave” (SO ref) that I will likely, get maybe, at most a movies worth of my own time… And I do intend to watch all the scary moves that my wife won’t allow down there… so that’s a plus, although thet get boring quick.

        • OneCardboardBox@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 year ago

          Never owned one, but I have a hard time believing that $40 pocket projectors are any good. LED projectors at that price range are going to be pretty dim, so you’ll absolutely need a dark room and to buy a proper projection screen if you want to see what’s going on. I think most of those are also 720p, maybe 1080p. The speakers on such a projector are going to be awful, tinny garbage.

          For the price of $40 1080p projector, $50 screen, and $60 Bluetooth sound bar, you could get a 43" 4k tv that’s on sale somewhere.

    • Galluf@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      And even within imax, there’s differing qualities of the projector. It’s all quite complicated and seems to be intentionally obfuscated.