Re: [photo-3d] Re: Films days are numbered??

[Brian Reynolds <reynolds@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ron Beck wrote:
> Just as an FYI, movie houses are considering both digital recording and
> distribution of movies.  There is a "chip" manufactured by Texas
> Instruments which is a series of "digital mirrors".  These mirrors can
> be turned "on" or "off" to reflect light through a lens and onto a
> screen.
> 
> We have a movie theater here in Plano Texas that uses this
> technology to project digital movies and the results are quite
> extraordinary.  Toy Story 2 was shown digitally and the color and
> vibrance was great.
> 

Toy Story 2 has the advantage that the entire film was produced
digitally.  I had wanted to see Mission to Mars at a digital theater
last March when I was down in Orlando at a conference, but I didn't
have time to hunt down the theater.

I don't think digital projection will be better than good (or
excellent) film projection, but I hope it will be better (through
automation of the projection process) than the poor film projection I
see at many theaters.

> Once this technology is installed in more theaters, distribution of
> movies to the theaters will be done, not by delivering film reels
> but by downloading across a network to the theater.
> 

The big hold up on digital projection (not counting the huge expense
of switching over at a time when theater chains aren't doing too well
financially) is the fear of piracy.  The studios and the theaters are
going to want some way of insuring that copies of the movies don't get
out of the distribution chain (which in at least one plan is to
transmit via satellite downlink to the theaters).  Given the history
of the fiasco with DVD/CSS, I don't expect the studios or theaters to
do what they should have done with DVD/CSS (i.e., ask security experts
how to handle secure transmission and authentication).  I think they
will probably continue to bury their heads in the sand.

-- 
Brian Reynolds                  | "Dee Dee!  Don't touch that button!"
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http://www.panix.com/~reynolds  |    -- Dexter and Dee Dee
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