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IMAX Conversions of Theatrial Films - Faulty???

post #1 of 6
12/31/12 at 9:36pm
Thread Starter 
In the Phoenix area, I hadn't been to the Harkins IMAX since the second Batman movie, because I found the picture just too dark and the sound just too loud. Yet at the Harkins Cine Capri the picture and sound were top notch all the way!

On vacation in LA for a bit, so went to the AMC Burbank IMAX presenting "The Hobbit" in 48p & 3D & Dolby Atmos. Keep in mind the digital regular theater video is converted by a special process for use in the IMAX theater. Also, my understanding is that "The Hobbit" is the first feature film mixedfor Dolby Atmos.

Watching a few "previews" of 3D blu rays already out, they looked quite nice, with Avatar 3D really standing out! Plenty of brightness,brightness clearly not an issue.

Then, a special Star Trek "Into Darkness" preview - a nine minute clip. Looked phenomenal, the video 3D was amazing! And the sound was amazing as well. Web research later revealed that this past weekend the IMAX theaters showing "The Hobbit" also showed this Star Trek preview, AND that this entire nine minute 3D clip was shot with IMAX cameras.

Alas, "The Hobbit" picture and sound were mostly disappointing. Sound too loud, so any benefits of Dolby Atmos far outweighed by its being SO LOUD! Picture seemed bright enough but all too often I could tell the fakery of the sets and objects used. Is this due to the 48p frame rate? I suspect this is primarily due to the IMAX conversion.

Once I'm back in Phoenix, I'll go see "The Hobbit" 3d 48p at the Harkins Cine Capri, or other theater there that its playing at, and see how it fares there. A friend really liked it there.[/quote]

What's your experience with IMAX conversions of 2D and 3D films?
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post #2 of 6
1/1/13 at 10:24am
kinda dissapointed. REgular 2d and 3d movies i can deal with but imax 3d, especailly the digital theaters, are terrible. My home theater with 1080p 3d tv and 5.1 surround sound can do better than a movie theater without any distractions (being that my cell phone can be turned off at home unless if its an emergency). Not only that, but ticket prices are a rip-off. As for the imax 3d experience with the hobbit, the star trek trailer was pretty cool and the preshow ads were neat (especially avatar but not i robot), but the hobbit looked blurry despite it being a 24fps version at my local amc in rockaway, nj. I hope IMAX improves their projection to be more like Sony 4k 3D and compete against home theater 3d use which is rising. Amazon.com has prometheus for under 20 in 3d....that i saw in 3d for the first time (saw it in 2d) and loved it.
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post #3 of 6
1/1/13 at 2:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Bruzonsky View Post

Also, my understanding is that "The Hobbit" is the first feature film mixedfor Dolby Atmos.
Just a FYI:

US films already released in Dolby Atmos:
Brave (June)
Taken 2 (October)
Chasing Mavericks (October)
Life of Pi (November)
Rise of the Guardians (November)
Hobbit: Unexpected Journey (December)

Foreign films already released in Atmos:
Ah Boys to Men (Singapore)
Back to 1942 (China)
Sivaji 3D (India)
CZ12 (Hong Kong)
Guillotines (China)
Last Tycoon (China)
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post #4 of 6
1/2/13 at 6:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kascnef82 View Post

I hope IMAX improves their projection to be more like Sony 4k 3D and compete against home theater 3d use which is rising.

Sony uses the same polarisation 3D as Imax except that sony uses only one projector with a lens that splits the image into two 2k images, Imax uses two projectors and newer installations are probably 4K projectors. So I wouldn't say that sony 3d is a better system image quality wise.
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post #5 of 6
1/2/13 at 6:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Bruzonsky View Post

Then, a special Star Trek "Into Darkness" preview - a nine minute clip. Looked phenomenal, the video 3D was amazing! And the sound was amazing as well. Web research later revealed that this past weekend the IMAX theaters showing "The Hobbit" also showed this Star Trek preview, AND that this entire nine minute 3D clip was shot with IMAX cameras.
Star Trek "Into Darkness" is a post conversion 3D.
Quote:
Picture seemed bright enough but all too often I could tell the fakery of the sets and objects used. Is this due to the 48p frame rate? I suspect this is primarily due to the IMAX conversion.
Once I'm back in Phoenix, I'll go see "The Hobbit" 3d 48p at the Harkins Cine Capri, or other theater there that its playing at, and see how it fares there. A friend really liked it there.

The same complain of "fakery" in some scenes is a regular complain from all critics of the HFR 3D version of The Hobbit.
It has nothing to do with the IMAX conversion.
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post #6 of 6
1/5/13 at 7:09pm
The same complain of "fakery" in some scenes is a regular complain from all critics of the HFR 3D version of The Hobbit.
It has nothing to do with the IMAX conversion.[/quote]

+1

It's the HFR that gives it that "fake""look not IMAX.
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