PICTURE PERFECT?

I recently heard an exhibitor call the 2K Digital Cinema image 'picture perfect.' That got me thinking. Just how good is the 2K D-Cinema presentation compared to other images we see on a daily basis?

High Definition Television (HDTV) is 1080P or 1080 lines of vertical resolution/Progressive scan, with an aspect (image) ratio of 16:9 (length-to-height) or 1.78:1. 2K D-Cinema has (as the 2K implies) 2048 lines of resolution, but not measured vertically as is HDTV, but horizontally with an aspect ratio of approximately 1.9:1.

If you convert HDTV's 1080 vertical lines to horizontal lines the resolution goes to 1922 lines (1080 x 1.78 = 1922); therefore, 2K D-Cinema and HDTV are, more or less, equivalent in terms of image resolution. Result: the moviegoer gets essentially the same "look" at a cinema with a 2K D-Cinema projection system that he/she gets in their living room, den, or home theatre. Hmmm...not too compelling and certainly not "picture perfect."

So, why purchase and install a 2K projector? The technology is now over 10 years old and has been obsolete for some years as Sony's D-Cinema technology delivers a 4K image (4096 lines) having not twice but four times the pixels (i.e. resolution) of the 2K projectors.

In comparison, 35mm film has a 6 - 8K resolution and IMAX films, (70mm/15 perforations per frame) are literally off the resolution scale. Yet there is a movement to install 2K D-Cinema projectors in IMAX Theatres - talk about taking a giant leap backwards!

Why is it that some in the movie industry continue to embrace a technology that results in offering the moviegoing public a poorer presentation and one that is getting less relevant by the day. As I write this article, it is late December and I'm preparing to attend the International Consumer Electronics Show in early January at which time I fully expect to be viewing HDTVs at a resolution of 1380P or perhaps higher. So, in the not to distant future, home viewing will be more "picture perfect" than 2K D-Cinema.

So, to all Digital Cinema proponents - I'm begging you, stop the madness! You lost and the least you can do is leave the playing field with a little dignity.

(December 2008)