Projectorless | The Future Already Here Knocking @ the Cinema Theater Doors | Onyx

[NorthStar]

And it's a very bright future indeed ...

? https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/samsung-onyx-34-foot-led-screen-theater/

The best local theaters in Victoria, IMAX, 70mm, etc., yes they do have big screens.
But guess what; they don't approach the picture and sound quality of the films and documentaries I watch @ home on my flat panels 3D and 4K HDR. So if the theaters can approach what I see and hear @ home but even bigger...like 30/40-foot screens, then I might consider going @ the theaters once or twice every single week. They'd better calibrate their sound systems too. Unfortunately I don't live in Manhattan, New York. ...Or L.A. or Miami or San Diego or Las Vegas. There they have to change the burn bulbs and burn speakers and burn amps, maintain/service their gear every week.
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* More brightness also means much better 3D immersion. I'm a 3D fan so if you please would excuse me.

And of course 2019 is the push towards 8K and very soon MicroLED ...
? https://www.cnet.com/news/microled-oled-screen-technology-samsung-the-wall/

? https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/microled-vs-oled/

Front Projectors? They are on the list of extinct species, including in our public cinema theaters.
Who needs bulbs...and tubes @ the theaters?
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Bonus (25-foot screen):
? https://displaysolutions.samsung.co...e_quality_with_8k_digital_signage_at_ise_2019

 

[Ron Resnick]

Is that correct, Bob? Flat panels are now considered to be absolutely higher visual/photographic quality than any front projector?

 

[NorthStar]

Front projectors using bulbs (@ home and @ the theater) are going the way of the dodo.
Flat panels are getting bigger and bigger and better than front projectors because they can exploit HDR much better and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. They are much brighter, and you need that for the best HDR 4K quality pictures and blacks.

? https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/projectors-vs-tvs/

We are in a new era. As much as I like the old front projectors with reels, and the beautiful sound they make when projecting, and the heat they provide (burned few reels in the past that got stuck), their fans, their bulbs, etc., even the very best laser projectors today don't have all the advantages of flat panels.

What do you think?

You've seen an IMAX front projector room, it is huge and the pellicule is enormous and the reels weight few hundred pounds. The best IMAX theater in my town (Victoria museum) leaves me indifferent picture and sound quality wise. The screen is big yes, my eyes simply cannot see everything on that huge screen, and it has nowhere near the brightness punch of a flat panel.
...Same for 3D.

Maybe where you live the picture is better?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

not so fast.

you might be right about projectors with bulbs, but 4K front projectors with Lasers are a different breed. and the best home laser projectors have a better picture than most commercial cinemas (especially considering all the ambient light in those venues).

and while i agree that the best versions of direct view TV's have an astonishing picture (i use the A1E 65" Sony OLED), there are some limitations. first, to get bigger than 75" at the highest quality it's $20k. second, to get into a 10 foot wide + size you are talking $500k at this point. so real world reality is that for large size watching, direct view is not yet here......except for commercial applications.

and finally watching movies on very large direct view might not be worked out from a comfort perspective for how movies are ideally intended to be watched, in a dark room.

careful what you ask for as far as brightness.....and other harmful effects of large direct view screens are not yet fully known.

the glare from a huge direct view screen would cause watching fatigue with many people. whereas front projectors are comfortable to watch for extended times in dark rooms.

so the technology is here, but getting them into our homes will take some time.......and maybe decades even.

i do agree with Bob objectively about the picture quality issue and no doubt direct view is superior, but the devil is in the details of how we watch, what we watch, and cost. personally i prefer to watch my sports in a room with ambient light and multi-task while watching or watch with guests and talk while watching. whereas for movies i want it dark (to escape into the movie experience just like listening to music optimally), and a great immersive surround system. and i don't want lots of talk and comments. so they need a different type screen and place. i'm not checking my phone, or have a laptop, while watching a movie.

YMMV, just my 2 cents.

so i have my dedicated Home Theatre system in the house with a 4k laser front projection system, 2:35 10' wide screen, and 7.1.4 multi-channel sound system. the room is able to be blacked out. i watch my football upstairs in my barn on the 65" OLED, or in my family room on my 50" Fujitsu depending on who is watching. then i have my 2-channel room without any video.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Interesting, Mike. Thank you for that video update!

 

[NorthStar]

An article from fifteen months ago:
? https://www.screendaily.com/feature...e-entertainment-on-innovation/5124023.article

"What makes greater visual impact, it is commonly agreed, is higher brightness and greater aesthetic contrast ratios between the dark and light areas of a picture, known as high dynamic range (HDR). “Resolution is important but HDR is probably of bigger importance,” Bradbury says."

Leap into LED

"A solution to cinema’s projection bottleneck ironically could emerge from consumer technology. LED screens are being commercialised for theatrical markets by Samsung, with Sony to follow. These direct view or emissive displays can be configured to any size and promise greater contrast ratios and brightness superior to any projection technology, with resolutions up to 16K if desired.

“If ROI [on cinema LED] reaches an affordable level within three to five years, they are a very good candidate for projector replacement and probably sooner for new builds,” believes Chris Chinnock, founder of analytics company Insight Media. “The emissive cinema screen market is so needed to offer image quality with a huge-screen format on a par or better than the home experience.”

In focus: What is 4K?

A 4K digital cinema image has a resolution of 4,096 x 2,160 pixels (4,000 horizontal lines) compared to 2K’s 2,048 x 1,080. Since the pixel count increases with the square of the resolution, 4K is four times as computationally expensive as 2K (and 8K is 16 times), according to facility Dneg.

It is estimated that 35mm film has a digital resolution equivalent to 4K: 35mm Imax film equates to 6K, while 70mm Imax is closer to 12K. Regardless of how they are shot, most films will be converted into a digital format for editing, colour grading and VFX (called digital intermediate and usually at 2K resolution). While some films are scaled back up to a digital or film print for distribution, even Imax projection systems are not capable of playing back higher than 4K."
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In that video above (first post) they constructed a theater with a Samsung Onyx LED panel screen. Yes it must be very expensive now. I see this trend continuing more and more over the years for better improvements @ home and in theaters. I don't care about the prices, eventually they'll become more affordable anyway. Everything does with time; if it doesn't it won't fly high.

What counts is the best. ...The best picture quality, and if front projectors cannot deliver the brightness necessary for 4K and 8K HDR, flat panels can, and their sizes are betting gigantic, perfect for twenty to forty videophiles in the same room, and for owners who can afford the best.

I think there are more technological advancements in those displays than front projection.
I am certain because my readings lead exactly there.

The article is fifteen months old, read it, and today we are even more ahead in this curve.
The purpose of this thread is to show the best direction for the best visual moving pictures today and tomorrow in both the entertainment home and the business cinema theater venues (private and public). ...And regardless of cost; I just don't care about the costs. I only care about the best picture and the best sound.

It's like photographs, it's like hotels, it's like travelling around the world, it's like living in high gear for the high heels.