LONDON (Reuters) – Grab the popcorn, cinemaphiles. You may be about to sit through one of the
best movie sequels in years: digital cinema.
“The digital image is
brighter, sharper, the colors are more crisp and the
image is a bit steadier,” says Patrick von Sychowski,
an analyst with Screen Digest, the British-based media research firm.
After years of
Hollywood hype, 2004 could truly be a
watershed year for digital cinema. A recent surge in investment by theater
chains and technology companies means the number of digital
projectors in cinemas will more than double to over 400 in the next 12
months, Screen Digest reports.
There’s no guarantee the
technology will make the next Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck film more watchable, but at least the final product will look better.
As always, whenever art and
technology collide, snags emerge. Installation costs for cinemas are high and
the major studios are slow to churn out fully digitized blockbusters until
technology standards and anti-piracy measures are resolved.
But cinema operators, eager
to show off their new digital projectors to the public, aren’t waiting for
Hollywood. A host of European chains have
begun to show digitized rock concerts, documentaries and features from
independent filmmakers.
“The new technology, we
see, gives the local filmmaker the chance to exhibit to a bigger audience. Those
films that do not get a chance under the 35-millimeter distribution model, will
get a fresh chance,” said Steve Perrin, deputy head of distribution and
exhibition of the UK Film Council.
The film council has
committed some $39 million (20 million pounds) to pay for the roll-out of 250
digital screens across Britain by 2005.
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