Over the past decade there's been a home entertainment revolution as
higher-resolution video, improved display technology, and streaming
services have changed the way we watch movies and TV. The good old movie
theater, however, has been a bit neglected; aside from improved sound and the frustration that is 3D,
there's been no truly radical, widespread improvement since the move to
digital projection. Today US theater chain AMC and Dolby are announcing
a partnership that promises to change that, bringing a new kind of
high-end, laser projection theatrical experience to your local multiplex
— and the first screens are arriving this May.
High dynamic range video comes to the movie theater
The deal marries AMC's own premium theater screens with Dolby Cinema,
a suite of projection and sound technologies that Dolby first launched
internationally last year. As you might suspect, a key component is
Dolby Atmos, the company's latest surround sound technology, but where
things get really interesting is on the visual side. The theaters will
use the theatrical version of Dolby Vision, the high dynamic range content and display solution that first caught our eye a few years ago.
In theaters, that amounts to new dual 4K laser projectors created with
Christie, along with specifically mastered, HDR versions of the movies
themselves. According to Dolby, it all results in a significantly
brighter and more detailed image with better contrast and dynamic range
than any previous projection system — even the gold standard. "It's far
beyond the dynamic range of any film system that was ever in use," Doug
Darrow, Dolby's senior vice president of cinema told me during a phone
briefing. "This will be something that people have never seen before."
The first theaters that AMC will be updating with Dolby Cinema will
be its high-end, "AMC Prime" screens, which only exist in a handful of
locations nationwide. Those theaters, which already use Atmos surround
sound, boast motorized reclining theater seats rigged with transducers
that tie into a film's soundtrack, so when Optimus Prime shoots off into
space at the end of Transformers: Age of Extinction, the seat
rumbles to match. Four of the locations — Los Angeles, Kansas City,
Houston, and Atlanta — will debut Dolby Cinema in mid-May, with an
additional four locations to follow by the end of June. The chain will
then begin converting additional screens into Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime
venues, and expects to have 50 locations active by the end of 2018, with
the number hitting 100 by 2024.
"We were frankly blown away by what we saw."
If that sounds like a long-term play, it is. As theatrical windows
shrink and ticket prices rise, exhibitors are under increasing pressure
to give moviegoers a reason to leave their homes and head to theaters in
the first place. It's why we've seen the rise of IMAX, 4DX,
and half a dozen different flavors of bigger-screen, "premium"
theatrical experiences; when audiences can watch 4K HDR movies at home,
theaters have to offer something unique beyond sticky floors and
popcorn. As AMC sees it, the improved picture in these new theaters will
be a compelling part of that argument. "When we saw it, we were frankly
blown away by what we saw," explained John McDonald, executive vice
president of AMC's US and Canadian operations. "We're very hopeful that
this will be a game changer for us, and for the industry."
Of course, Dolby's not alone in trying to move the ball forward. IMAX
has its own new laser projection system, and gave the technology a splashy US debut at the Los Angeles premiere of Furious 7.
And while the two technologies may appear to be trying to do the same
thing, McDonald says the chain sees IMAX as a format that will live in
harmony with Dolby Cinema, rather than serve as a competitor (IMAX and
AMC Prime both fetch the same $5 premium in ticket price).
In any case, the real test of these new theatrical laser projectors
will be when audiences can see them in action for themselves. Neither
Dolby nor AMC would reveal what movie the upgraded screens will be
launching with, but with The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Tomorrowland all debuting in May there will be plenty of titles to make an impression with.
No comments:
Post a Comment