Absolute picture quality with enhanced technology for moviegoers. Deebashree Mohanty reports
Are you a movie buffIJ If yes, then it’s a must for you to have a dekho of the latest 4K movie experience that is being offered by cinema halls in and around the Capital. It’s not just about clarity but also impeccable picture and sound quality that drives one towards such a theatre. With Waves Cinema also going the 4K way, after PVR Cinemas, there are options galore for film buffs.
“Most cinemas today using digital projection technology use 2K digital projectors that provide an image with a resolution of 2048x1080 or 2.2 million pixels. 4K digital projection doubles those dimensions to 4096x2160. This equals 8.8 million pixels, exactly four times the count of 2K projection,” explains Yogesh Raizada, corporate head of Waves cinemas. He tells you that studios around the world are capable of sending prints that can be used in such projections. “Even Bollywood films can be showcased by 4K projectors,” he tells you.
From an audience perspective, 4K offers improved quality: Unprecedented levels of resolution, contrast and, ultimately, a much more dynamic, engaging and immersive entertainment experience in a movie theatre.
“The image is much sharper and clearer than what you would see on the normal screens we had in cinema halls. Many a times, we end up paying a huge amount for shoddy picture quality. But with this new 4k technology, that’s never going to happen,” 26-year-old Aman Thakur tells you. He had last watched Fast and Furious 6 at one of these 4K screens and the experience, he says, was out-of-the-world.
Barco 4K projectors use the 1.38-inch DlP cinema chip from Texas instruments which can project over 35 trillion academy accurate colours and delivers a greater than 2500:1 contrast ratio. The Barco DP4K-23B is an ultra-bright enhanced 4K cinema projector for screens up to 23m (75ft) and a brightness of 24,500 lumens.
“The Barco DP4K-32B is an ultra-bright enhanced 4K cinema projector for screens up to 32m (105ft) and a brightness of 33,000 lumens. These top-of-the-line projectors guarantee razor-sharp images combined with consistent uniformity, rich contrast and vibrant, accurate colours thus making movie watching an enriched experience,” Raizada says.
In this age of digital technology, where reels have been rendered redundant, how is the movie projected on the screenIJ It’s not complicated at all, or, so Raizada wants us to believe.
“The movie is delivered on a hard drive. After it is loaded into the digital cinema server, it cannot be played until a KDM (key delivery message) is ingested.
“This KDM is a digital key that is mailed separately to exhibitors. This system uses a very high-level encryption method and a particular KDM only allows a feature to be exhibited on a particular cinema server for a specified time period,” he explains.
Although the file size for a typical 2K/2D feature is approximately 150-200 GB and for a 3D movie 250-350 GB, distributors argue that the actual file size depends on the duration of the movie.
“For a 4K feature, for example, the figures will be approximately double,” explains Raizada.
Coupled with High Frame Rate, this technology is going to take movie watching to quite another level. “High frame rate (HFR) technology projects movies at a frame rate that is twice or higher of what’s seen in today’s cinemas. As a result, viewers see less flicker, motion blur and stuttered movement.
“The improvements to 3D movies are dramatic-creating ultra-realistic movie going experiences. Both 4K and HFR are made possible by the IMB (Integrated Media block) installed in the projector.
“With an IMB, the content decryption now takes place inside the projector, which makes piracy tougher. The new link between server and projector/IMB is not only more secure and reliable, but also faster,” Raizada concludes.