What is Dolby Cinema? - article discussion

"Dolby Cinema is designed to be nothing short of the perfect cinema-going experience"

Apart from the idiots who frequent these places ;)

It would be nice to see this high standard of screens rolled out but just can't see many multi-plex cinemas paying for the upgrade (or I guess the license fee to Dolby?).
 
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but just can't see many multi-plex cinemas paying for the upgrade (or I guess the license fee to Dolby?).

The last few films I seen at the big multi-plex's there is no love at all for the movie or its art, screens in poor condition, over blown sound and shocking light control, at one Vue and granted not its largest screen room the exit sign was actually overlapping the screen!

Even if they fitted the required kit I can't imagine it being done correctly in the backwaters of my cinemas, perhaps the larger cities will be better :(
 
Great, I'm getting pretty tired of going to multiplexes and discovering a tiny narrow screen, much narrower than the seating, they've got all that wall to use but a fudgeing Pico Projector could do a better job :/
 
I'd share the above sentiments. How far will Dolby go with this? It'd be nice to think that we could have 1 Dolby Vision screen in every multiplex, or at least in a lot of them. Is this the intent, or we just going to have a very small handful of screens across the country, as we do with IMAX?

I'm quite interested in the number, and my maths isn't as good as most of you. But the figures are quite confusing, at least in relation to what we've been told in the past.

We were told that the old home video system was designed for maybe 100 nits, and that this wasn't HDR.

Then we have new LCD TVs with 1,000 nits but iffy blacks, and that's HDR. Or OLEDs with 400 or 500 nits and perfect blacks (0 nits) and that's HDR. Okay so far, so good.

And here we have a system that's got a peak of 108 nits, and blacks which are great for projection, but not perfect. and that's HDR.

I appreciate this is a pretty hefty step forward in terms of cinema projection, and it clearly looks better than the old technology, but the figures (108 nits down to less than perfect blacks) amount to a presentation not too distant from an old SDR LCD TV which we were told couldn't possibly be HDR.

I hope you understand the confusion.
 
I was in New York in April and visited the AMC 25 which have a Dolby Cinema. Watched X-men crap movie but what a stunning picture and the sound was outstanding with leather comfortable seats. All cinemas need to be this standard, yes you paid more for the experience but this is the future of Cinema (forget IMAX,3D) Can not see this rolled out in the UK cost too much probably a London Venu. The only complaint which was briefly mentioned in the article the red exit signs reflect on the corners of the left and right screen. With today's technology must be a way to deflect this because it ruined the experience.
 
I'd share the above sentiments. How far will Dolby go with this? It'd be nice to think that we could have 1 Dolby Vision screen in every multiplex, or at least in a lot of them. Is this the intent, or we just going to have a very small handful of screens across the country, as we do with IMAX?

I'm quite interested in the number, and my maths isn't as good as most of you. But the figures are quite confusing, at least in relation to what we've been told in the past.

We were told that the old home video system was designed for maybe 100 nits, and that this wasn't HDR.

Then we have new LCD TVs with 1,000 nits but iffy blacks, and that's HDR. Or OLEDs with 400 or 500 nits and perfect blacks (0 nits) and that's HDR. Okay so far, so good.

And here we have a system that's got a peak of 108 nits, and blacks which are great for projection, but not perfect. and that's HDR.

I appreciate this is a pretty hefty step forward in terms of cinema projection, and it clearly looks better than the old technology, but the figures (108 nits down to less than perfect blacks) amount to a presentation not too distant from an old SDR LCD TV which we were told couldn't possibly be HDR.

I hope you understand the confusion.

The same thoughts crossed my mind.

For a start, it would be nice if the use of units was consistent (comment levelled at the article, not yourself).

Isn't the article actually quoting the peak level that the film is graded to and the peak level used in the playback, but then interchanging these when offering a comparison between current SDR and HDR?

For instance, a HDR TV is still calibrated to around a peak of 120nits, even if (in the case of Dolby Vision) the source content could be graded with a peak of 4000 nits?
 
Sounds great, when can I visit one here? :facepalm:
 
The same thoughts crossed my mind.

For a start, it would be nice if the use of units was consistent (comment levelled at the article, not yourself).

Isn't the article actually quoting the peak level that the film is graded to and the peak level used in the playback, but then interchanging these when offering a comparison between current SDR and HDR?

For instance, a HDR TV is still calibrated to around a peak of 120nits, even if (in the case of Dolby Vision) the source content could be graded with a peak of 4000 nits?

I've just found an online convertor.

The article also says it's capable (in 2D) of delivering 31 foot lamberts, which the convertor confirms is 106 nits.

As I say, I appreciate that projection and TVs are two different things. But we've been told we couldn't have HDR at home until brighter TVs arrived. Now the implication of these figures is that we could have had it all along.

It's all a bit confusing.

But having said that, I'd love to hear some more comments. There may be something that I'm missing, and the article has me intrigued.
 
I've just found an online convertor.

The article also says it's capable (in 2D) of delivering 31 foot lamberts, which the convertor confirms is 106 nits.

As I say, I appreciate that projection and TVs are two different things. But we've been told we couldn't have HDR at home until brighter TVs arrived. Now the implication of these figures is that we could have had it all along.

It's all a bit confusing.

But having said that, I'd love to hear some more comments. There may be something that I'm missing, and the article has me intrigued.

It's not brighter TVs, it's TV capable of a wider dynamic range (and 10bit, new EOFT, wider colour gamut) that makes a TV HDR. The whole 'brighter' thing is either a poor explanation or marketing bull.

(If you can't make the luminance of a TV's 'black' level lower, than you have to increase its peak brightness in order to increase the dynamic range).
 
I've just found an online convertor.

The article also says it's capable (in 2D) of delivering 31 foot lamberts, which the convertor confirms is 106 nits.

As I say, I appreciate that projection and TVs are two different things. But we've been told we couldn't have HDR at home until brighter TVs arrived. Now the implication of these figures is that we could have had it all along.

It's all a bit confusing.

But having said that, I'd love to hear some more comments. There may be something that I'm missing, and the article has me intrigued.

It's not brighter TVs, it's TV capable of a wider dynamic range (and 10bit, new EOFT, wider colour gamut) that makes a TV HDR. The whole 'brighter' thing is either a poor explanation or marketing bull.

(If you can't make the luminance of a TV's 'black' level lower, than you have to increase its peak brightness in order to increase the dynamic range).
 
I was in New York in April and visited the AMC 25 which have a Dolby Cinema. Watched X-men crap movie but what a stunning picture and the sound was outstanding with leather comfortable seats. All cinemas need to be this standard, yes you paid more for the experience but this is the future of Cinema (forget IMAX,3D) Can not see this rolled out in the UK cost too much probably a London Venu. The only complaint which was briefly mentioned in the article the red exit signs reflect on the corners of the left and right screen. With today's technology must be a way to deflect this because it ruined the experience.
I see that AMC recently purchased Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group, so hopefully we'll be seeing something equivalent to their AMC Prime rolled out here in the UK soon...

AMC Theatres - Dolby Cinema at AMC

Odeon already have Gallery seating and Atmos sound systems in a couple of screens over at their new Milton Keynes multiplex, so I've got my fingers crossed that'll get upgraded to full Dolby Cinema system some day.
 
Most of the films I have seen recently I've seen in IMAX, not really a fan of the small multiplex screen. So if there was a Dolby Vision cinema in London certainly I would be interested. Be interesting to see how and if Dolby rolls this out in the UK and which chains will leap first, AMC, Vue, etc
 
I see that AMC recently purchased Odeon and UCI Cinemas Group, so hopefully we'll be seeing something equivalent to their AMC Prime rolled out here in the UK soon...

AMC Theatres - Dolby Cinema at AMC

Odeon already have Gallery seating and Atmos sound systems in a couple of screens over at their new Milton Keynes multiplex, so I've got my fingers crossed that'll get upgraded to full Dolby Cinema system some day.


Hope so will visit the cinema more often.
 
Have to say I don't like the sound of this video wall "displaying content related to the feature film you are about to see" when going in.
As if it's anything like some of the menus you get on some discs the choice of what they show really is poorly chosen and often ruins what is to come by showing you too much before the film has even started!
I consider it film spoiling and it does not contribute to an immersive experience, as I'll then know what to expect to see before even watching the film.

The rest sounds alright though!
 
It's not brighter TVs, it's TV capable of a wider dynamic range (and 10bit, new EOFT, wider colour gamut) that makes a TV HDR. The whole 'brighter' thing is either a poor explanation or marketing bull.

(If you can't make the luminance of a TV's 'black' level lower, than you have to increase its peak brightness in order to increase the dynamic range).
While I believe it's a combination of colour and brighter images, but definitely more emphasis on wider colour,:smashin: I personally would take a nice uniform ink black back ground with nice colour shades over any extra luminance or peak brightness inducing a more washed out picture.
 
The same thoughts crossed my mind. For a start, it would be nice if the use of units was consistent (comment levelled at the article, not yourself). Isn't the article actually quoting the peak level that the film is graded to and the peak level used in the playback, but then interchanging these when offering a comparison between current SDR and HDR? For instance, a HDR TV is still calibrated to around a peak of 120nits, even if (in the case of Dolby Vision) the source content could be graded with a peak of 4000 nits?
In what way are the units inconsistent? Dolby Vision content graded for projection in a Dolby Cinema has a peak brightness of 108nits but Dolby Vision content graded for TV uses 4,000nits, although current TVs can only reach a maximum peak brightness of around 1,000nits. I don't think I even mention SDR but you actually calibrate an SDR TV image to 120nits, not an HDR TV image.

A projected image will never be able to deliver the same kind of peak brightness as a TV but that doesn't mean you can't get a higher dynamic range at the cinema, they're just graded differently. The ability of a laser projector to deliver proper blacks and 108nits of peak brightness makes a big difference to the cinema-going experience.
 
Thanks Stephen - great piece.

I upset my brother-in-law at a local cinema a while back.

I noticed a tear (about 2 foot long) that had been badly repaired with some 'curling up' tape & foolisly pointed it out to him. At the end of the film (can't remember the film) I asked if he'd enjoyed it. The reply '... well I would have if I hadn't kept noticing that bloody repair you pointed out!'
 
In what way are the units inconsistent?

Mixing of units, i.e. fL and nits.

So what would you calibrate a HDTV to for HDR content? I'm pretty sure I'd find even 1000 nits peak brightness very uncomfortable (even for specular highlights). Just as I'm pretty sure a figure considerably greater than 108nits in a blacked out cinema would be pretty uncomfortable.
 
Would be great if there was an online website that listed all the cinemas and their respective screens with a description of the screen, audio set up etc. That would assist when booking tickets and not having to rely on local knowledge on the best screen at a complex.
 
Sounds amazing,maybe a twice a year treat for the family as I imagine it maybe expensive (Star Wars + another film).
The only other lighting would be the inconsiderate, selfish morons who must use there phones continuosly throughout the movie .The new breed of morons now deem it necessary to smoke e-cigarettes during the movie.What next--popcorn or hotdog e-cigarette vapour.
 
I was in New York in April and visited the AMC 25 which have a Dolby Cinema. Watched X-men crap movie but what a stunning picture and the sound was outstanding with leather comfortable seats. All cinemas need to be this standard, yes you paid more for the experience but this is the future of Cinema (forget IMAX,3D) Can not see this rolled out in the UK cost too much probably a London Venu. The only complaint which was briefly mentioned in the article the red exit signs reflect on the corners of the left and right screen. With today's technology must be a way to deflect this because it ruined the experience.
Where were you sitting as interested in visiting same cinema when in New York in October. Normally target middle of seating perhaps slightly to rear would this have impacted on exit signs issue. Plan to book in advance to optimise and avoid disappointment.

Kevin
 
The cinemas usually advertise what sound system they have, but no info on how they'll present the picture. Apart from IMAX, there is no other alternative then your bog standard cine picture. When I went to see Ravenant, VUE cinema showed it with black bars? which I thought was unusual.
 
If they put one of those in Dublin I'd likely go to more than my current 1 or 2 movies a year.
 
To be honest when all things are considered the money you need to spend to watch films at any cinema when taking into account parking, popcorn, drinks etc etc. I would rather wait and watch a film in the comfort of my own home. Not saying purist will agree but this is what I would rather do.
 

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