The technology used for projecting movies onto the screens at movie theaters hasn’t changed much over the decades but now it has taken a giant leap!
Coastal Cinemas in Shallotte has just changed over from using the traditional 35 mm film to all-digital projection. Engineers there recently installed new Sony 4K Digital Cinema Systems technology into their 10-screen theater, providing for viewing in high-definition for regular and 3-D movies.
The new 4K format produces four times the number of pixels in its images than other digital projectors. The first major motion picture to incorporate this new technology was James Cameron’s recent blockbuster “Avatar.” Sony claims it will soon become the norm.
At Coastal Cinemas, three of the 10 screens will now show 3-D movies. Several of these are soon to premiere there. These include “Toy Story 3 and “How to Train Your Dragon”. Sony has created a partnership with RealD combining the 4K projector system with RealD’s 3D technology, creating an intense experience for moviegoers.
The new projectors also make the method of building film to be projected onto the screen obsolete and this will create an lighter workload for theater employees.
Before the installation of the digital projector, theater staff had to build the movies using film reels placed on circular tables called “platters”. The projectionist then fed the film through a number of rollers, then had to thread the film through the projector with it finally ending up on another platter.
With the change to digital technology the staff will receive movies on hard drives to be downloaded into the digital projectors instead of receiving large canisters of film every week to feed through the projector.
Using no film will mean there are fewer moving parts, no splicing and none of the wear and tear that gradually breaks down film.
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