KMC Forums - NO non digital theatres!

Okay...lets start with audio. Analog is akin to say cassette tape, and digital is CD. CDs are much clearer sounding and the quality does not degrade...unless you scatch the crap out of it.

In the theatre you have several sound options, and you'll see a trailer for one of these before the movie if your theatre is equipped. First is DTS (Digital Theatrical Sound) which runs off a cd synced to the movie. Second is Dolby Digital and SDDS (Sony Dynamic Digital Sound) both of which are encoded on the actual print. All these systems are identical, and if see EX that means it has an extra center rear channel. However, SDDS has more speakers behind the screen...instead of left/right/center/and sub...it has upper left/right, lower left/right, center, and sub. Kick ass.

Then there is analog sound which is annoyingly loud and full of static.

Don't be fooled by THX, as this relates to speaker placement, sound levels, and limited echo...recreating sound as it was designed for the film. This is NOT digital.

With picture, analog is tape like VHS and digital is DVD. The picture quality difference is amazing and again the image does not degrade. DLP (Digital Light Processors) is a projection system using a digital file (80gb for SITH), projected on screen. The result is no cigarette burns, sloppy reel changes, dirty prints, and lets not forget ugly chemical splices. Basically...all the sratches, black spots, etc you see on normal prints are gone. Crystal image...

But that's not all. When film (celluloid) is projected large, the picture gets fuzzy and grainy. This film grain is absent in DLP presentations. Usually some remains if the movie was filmed on celluloid and later transfered to digital, like THE PHANTOM MENACE.

CLONES and SITH were filmed digitally, meaning all film grain is gone.

Secondly, DLP allows for greater color subtlty to translate onto screen. The most subtle is the pink in the clouds during the "Obi-Wan and the council don't trust me" scene. The clouds are white on celluloid, but have pink highlights in DLP. The image quality is that much better.

Class dismissed.