The framing and aspect ratio issues Jon mentions, especially at the mediocre and outdated Carlton & Cumberland theatres, occur because of the especially small screens at those Cinemas. I’ve never encountered those problems at ScotiaBank or Varsity and I’m hardly a fan of these theatres. Again, in this industry push towards digital projection the myth of the fragility of film prints has been exaggerated to justify the conversion. Most films these days (even if the prints are handled in multiplexes by teenagers) are lucky to have a six week theatrical run, hardly allowing them the time to deteriorate. Perfect framing or not, the loss of detail, resolution, and contrast one loses in the film to digital conversion is not worth the gains of maybe seeing something in the proper aspect ratio. And don’t forget that even if every theatre in North America converts to DLP, 70 to 80% of features will still be shot on film because of it’s superiority, the question remains then, why reduce the standards if all you get is a diluted approximation of the original source (film) for TV like sharpness.
The programming issue though is now the greater tragedy. The emergence of the new AMC has created a ridiculous situation without parallels. Scotia and AMC have entered into a climate of inflated bidding wars for content, resulting in garbage like Prom Night appearing on 5 screens !!!! at AMC, or even Run Fat Boy Run appearing on 5 screens at the Varsity & AMC. A theatre like the Varsity is now squeezing out the art films, because it must show whatever product Scotia loses to the AMC to compensate for any Cineplex loss. We had a horrible climate for art and indie film distribution before the AMC arrived, and believe it or not, with the addition of 24 more screens to the downtown core the situation is even worse. Forget about any art films ever showing at the new AMC, even though these films can make more money than Run Fat Boy on its second or third screen, they’re only available on 35mm 95% of the time, a situation that won’t change anytime soon. They can’t be shown at AMC because of their stupid and arrogant decision to go all digital. This pathetic situation is a true embarrassment to the city’s film culture.
Digital cinema sucks, it’s a scam folks. It barely measures up to 16mm, let alone 70mm. Sure the picture is sharp as hell, gone however is the resolution,contrast ratio,detail,superior color range and dozens of other variables which lend 35mm film it’s beauty. Remove the digital projection gimmick from AMC Yonge/Dundas and all you’re left with is the most narrow selection of film in this city, even for a cookie cutter multiplex. If WalMart opened a theatre it would have more selection than this theatre. A waste in every sense of the word. Below is an excerpt from a cited article in Torontoist detailing with stats the inferiority of Digital Projection
As reported by SneakPeek.ca, AMC claims that its “SXRD 4K digital projectors from Sony will provide images that are four times the resolution of HDTV.” The key word in that sentence is “will.” The fact is that although the projectors have that capability, few, if any, movies are yet rendered or distributed in 4k format. The current standard for digital theatrical presentation is 2k, meaning a resolution of 2048 pixels by 1080 pixels. For comparison, a Blu-Ray DVD shown on a good high-definition television is 1920 x 1080; the iMac on which this article is being typed is running at 1680 x 1050. This works great for a twenty-inch monitor, but the screens in the two largest auditoriums at the new AMC are three storeys tall and about twice as wide. 35mm film, on the other hand, works out to the equivalent of 4850 x 4850, still better than 4k’s 4096 x 2160. Film also has superior colour range and contrast ratio.
The framing and aspect ratio issues Jon mentions, especially at the mediocre and outdated Carlton & Cumberland theatres, occur because of the especially small screens at those Cinemas. I’ve never encountered those problems at ScotiaBank or Varsity and I’m hardly a fan of these theatres. Again, in this industry push towards digital projection the myth of the fragility of film prints has been exaggerated to justify the conversion. Most films these days (even if the prints are handled in multiplexes by teenagers) are lucky to have a six week theatrical run, hardly allowing them the time to deteriorate. Perfect framing or not, the loss of detail, resolution, and contrast one loses in the film to digital conversion is not worth the gains of maybe seeing something in the proper aspect ratio. And don’t forget that even if every theatre in North America converts to DLP, 70 to 80% of features will still be shot on film because of it’s superiority, the question remains then, why reduce the standards if all you get is a diluted approximation of the original source (film) for TV like sharpness.
The programming issue though is now the greater tragedy. The emergence of the new AMC has created a ridiculous situation without parallels. Scotia and AMC have entered into a climate of inflated bidding wars for content, resulting in garbage like Prom Night appearing on 5 screens !!!! at AMC, or even Run Fat Boy Run appearing on 5 screens at the Varsity & AMC. A theatre like the Varsity is now squeezing out the art films, because it must show whatever product Scotia loses to the AMC to compensate for any Cineplex loss. We had a horrible climate for art and indie film distribution before the AMC arrived, and believe it or not, with the addition of 24 more screens to the downtown core the situation is even worse. Forget about any art films ever showing at the new AMC, even though these films can make more money than Run Fat Boy on its second or third screen, they’re only available on 35mm 95% of the time, a situation that won’t change anytime soon. They can’t be shown at AMC because of their stupid and arrogant decision to go all digital. This pathetic situation is a true embarrassment to the city’s film culture.
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Digital cinema sucks, it’s a scam folks. It barely measures up to 16mm, let alone 70mm. Sure the picture is sharp as hell, gone however is the resolution,contrast ratio,detail,superior color range and dozens of other variables which lend 35mm film it’s beauty. Remove the digital projection gimmick from AMC Yonge/Dundas and all you’re left with is the most narrow selection of film in this city, even for a cookie cutter multiplex. If WalMart opened a theatre it would have more selection than this theatre. A waste in every sense of the word. Below is an excerpt from a cited article in Torontoist detailing with stats the inferiority of Digital Projection
http://torontoist.com/2008/03/do_the_resoluti.php
As reported by SneakPeek.ca, AMC claims that its “SXRD 4K digital projectors from Sony will provide images that are four times the resolution of HDTV.” The key word in that sentence is “will.” The fact is that although the projectors have that capability, few, if any, movies are yet rendered or distributed in 4k format. The current standard for digital theatrical presentation is 2k, meaning a resolution of 2048 pixels by 1080 pixels. For comparison, a Blu-Ray DVD shown on a good high-definition television is 1920 x 1080; the iMac on which this article is being typed is running at 1680 x 1050. This works great for a twenty-inch monitor, but the screens in the two largest auditoriums at the new AMC are three storeys tall and about twice as wide. 35mm film, on the other hand, works out to the equivalent of 4850 x 4850, still better than 4k’s 4096 x 2160. Film also has superior colour range and contrast ratio.