Cinema advertising frustration
 

OK Im mystified, frustrated and annoyed. I put together a promotional video for a photographer a while back. The whole thing was shot and finished in 1080p and the client was very happy with it. Then find out that the ad is going to be shown in a cinema for part of a charity screening event for which the photographer is a sponsor. HOW GOOD IS THAT I think, until I call the cinema to check what format they require and am told the only option is DVD (unless we want to spend thousands transferring it to film).

So it’s the year 2010, bluray has been around for over 4 years and there are a myriad of HD digital players that have been out for even longer...but the cinema can only offer craptacular SD DVD quality which will look like utter rubbish when blown up on the big screen. Am I missing something here? Is this the case with cinemas the world over (Im in Australia)...I just can’t fathom the logic behind this at all???

:-(

BluRay players are cheap, but HD projectors tend to be kinda pricey. Check prices of a Christie, and get back to us.

Christie - Providing Digital and Film Projectors for Any Application

Obviously that's what Im missing here - are you saying that most theatres or projection houses only have old cheap SD projectors and then they switch over to film for the main event? So the high price of HD projectors suitable for a theatre is why very few have put them in?

Not all theaters of course...but it sounds like the one your photog wants to exhibit at fits that category.

For theater chain advertising (spots to be shown across multiple theaters in the coming attractions), we deliver a 720p 24 file normally and they transfer it to film and distribute a reel of commercials that way...

Perrone,

You bring up a point I've always wondered about, what media do you need to supply a theatre that uses a 2K digital projector? Bluray is not quite 2K.

Yes Id like to hear any real world examples from us humble digital folk as to this - lots of head spinning info at wikipedia Digital cinema - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but a real world 'what do you want from me' would be good.

Sadly still doesn't help me out unless the information I've been given about delivery is wrong.

Jpeg2000 on whatever format they want

Another reason I moved to that codec.

Head to the Digital Cinema Initiatives page for more info:

Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) - DIGITAL CINEMA SYSTEM SPECIFICATION, VERSION 1.2

Also:

Digital cinema - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I know this isn't really helpful because the only project I've done for this was to deliver a digital short film for digital projection. And they wanted BluRay. But the theatre is an "art house" place and not a first run. I'd suspect that a 2k projection house would easily be able to play a 1080p file if it was delivered the way they preferred. Likely on hard drive or some other media.

So when you say you moved to jpeg2000, do you mean as a final delivery / archive format? Can I ask what software you use to encode to jpeg2000?

Thanks for all the info.

I moved to jpeg2000 as my archival format. And I do delivery in that format if it's desired, but that's dictated by the client.

I bought the Morgan Multimedia Jpeg2000 codec. It has it's plusses and minuses. I'll be looking for other solid implementations in coming years.

Thanks Perrone, I remember looking at Morgan a while ago so might have to check them out again. I also remember looking a the MainConcept jpeg2000 plugin for their reference encoder which carries a staggering price tag of $3000! Reminds me of the old Cinema Craft days / debate over their mpeg2 encoder that carried an equally high price tag but left many wondering what it was the extra $ actually bought you.