XD extreme digital

With Barco projectors it will highly likely be better than Imax with the Christies.

Why is that?

Cinemark is a all Barco chain.

Speaking strictly gen 1 projectors, the Christies used by Imax project a very pasty looking image lacking depth. In that department the Barco's are way less pasty.

It is my theory however that one fix for pastiness is sufficient lamp. So in 2010 with series 2, the Christie with the 7.5kw lamp may be better. Quite frankly whatever IMAX has been using using does not cut it on the screen sizes they are installing.

Also if Cinemark uses the Barco Dolby 3-D system you will not need that ridiculous looking silver screen that IMAX needs to preserve polarization.

In all fairness both manufactures have some advantages over the other and both throw a great picture. Nether is perfect, what is

Yeah but screwing the Imax image so Royaly with the pastiness is unforgivable to both Canadian parties.

I am very sure with that new high power stretch unit shown at SHOWEAST they will be able to get some pop out of the IMAX now.

What I love about the Barco is that the image looks ho hum when stock and calibrated with the Tip7 to rec 709. It is totally unimpressive, and yet because of the GUI that controls everything Post Production relevant, you can load advanced dsp tables and do the mechanical mods and get a very convincing high contrast and indisputably totally 3-D looking image. It's quite magical. Works for me.

On series 1 Barco had the edge in dimensionality, what I saw with CHRISTIE series 2 was very impressive indeed. Still CHRISTIE and NEC are beginning to implement full post production level control of the image. Barco has it down pat. Also the modularity of the projectors is the way to go. Also Industry leading.

Has this been confirmed with a technical reason behind it? Is Imax aware of this?

It is essentially a double stack. If I screw around with the lamp intensity on the SK dp1200 at minimum on a large screen zoom 16 wide, I begin to get the same effect (pastiness). I think it may be lamp power related, or that and a combination of slight defocusing to eliminate Screen Door Effect. A stack of defocused under-lamped projectors should create plenty of pastiness. That is what I think me and others are ssing at the digital Imax.

Just want to make sure I understand. I know IMAX is double stack. Are you saying that XD extreme is also double stack?

--Darin

Could be double stacked DP-3000 but for 3-D only. For 2-D not double stack. Imax double stacked at all times.

Here is a link with some technical info on Cinemark's XD Extreme Digital Theaters:

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...,1057153.shtml

Are you aware that DLP Cinema projectors have _exactly_ the same digital processing for movie content (as opposed to alternate content) regardless of manufacturer? How then do you explain this supposed pastiness from only one vendor's projectors?

saw avatar on reald 3D XD. holy ****. completely blows Imax 3D away. i seriously want my money back. it was so crisp, so clean, zero ghosting, motion blur was minimal.

There is no doubt that Barco has a very good eye. While the engines' are identical, the end product from Barco is much more refined. This nuance in engineering projectors is what makes them tops in my book.

That being said pastiness is also a function of insufficient lamping on any platform.

What and where is your nearest Imax theater?

Arizona mills 25 in Tempe...yes

I'm going to see Cowboys and Angels at my local Cinemark XD theater tonight. Anyone here have any first hand experience in watching a movie at an XD cinema, and can give their thoughts on PQ and SQ?

All 3 manufacturers do not share the same light engine. We do meet the same specifications. The only common parts are the DLP/control board and the ICP board. If I can talk about "pastiness" of the image, this could be due to the lack of a 100% sealed optical engine. Dust will then collect over time on the DMDs and affect image quality. On 2 brand new units, you should not be able to tell the difference. After one year its a different story.

Good point.

And cleaning this is easy...?

It can only be done at the factory. The complete light engine must be sent and cleaned un a 100% dust free room.

is this inherent to design of all products or something that happens if there is a problem with the lack of seal?

Light engines without a 100% sealed engine will collect dust over time, all of them! An engine that is not sealed is not a defect, they were designed that way. Only Barco has completely sealed engines. This is why we do not need expensive filters. Dust can get in our units and it will never affect the image.

I saw the immortals on XD and enjoyed it. Film was decent. I do like the fancy door they have for the XD auditoriums lol. I wonder how this stacks up to Regal's PX and AMC's ETX. I saw Battle LA in ETX at the westwood theater in socal and good lord was that loud lol

Interesting there really isn't much out there on the Internet for comparing screen sizes and best quality experience. Saw MI4 today and couldn't figure out the difference seeing Cinemark XD or Cinemark IMAX. Both charge about the same price (around $11 for matinee) and are new theathers......I feel like the IMAX screen (from previous visits) was bigger and given that some of MI4 was shot in IMAX wonder if the XD really takes full advantage.....ended up going XD which had very crisp visuals and great audio but they never even filled up the full XD screen fully.

Anyhow, I guess just venting that there isn't a way to know which theatre to choose.

They have an imax and an xd at yours? odd lol

Sorry, no 2 different Cinemark theaters in my town....one with IMAX and one with XD.

Ahh ok my local amc has a etx and an imax lol

thats one major reason why i order the barco.