Sony 4k SXRD Roll Out

[David Mullen ASC]

You can't really sell the theater-going public on "4K", they barely understood what "70mm" meant... you need a catchy theater ad like "presented in HyperScope 4000!" or something that sounds impressive. "4K" implies that you know what "2K" is...

[Joe Taylor]

That may well be true, but it's obvious that you have to have a 4K projector to project in 4K.

This rapid pace of installation can only be good news for professionals interested in presenting the highest quality images.

I know you do. I saw true 4K last Feb there at Red Studios and that aerial of London left up afterwards had me thinking Imax, but fresh off the street at your local cineplex with minimum wage concession/projectionists-- unless you know for a fact that what you are seeing is true 2K... 4K... and that the last guy to project Jackass 3D didn't leave the linear polarizer for the next guy to show "The Social Network," (that happened to me and I saw and I complained-- they shrugged, thanks RAV) how are we to really know and how are we going to benefit? What if, let's say the makers of "Pirates of the Caribbean 4", roll out some genuine 4K releases, and some dolt in Des Moines, or more likely, Las Vegas, don't care to know the difference between 4k and 20K, and leave it at 2k for the next week? I was a projectionist for 2 years in the late 90's and cared deeply about my craft. I can tell you that 35mm projection is foolproof compared to what is required for competent digital cinema.

[Gunleik Groven]

Norway is shifting to 4k midway in the DCP rollout, and have started to re-fit 2k theatres with 4k projectors and servers.

There ain't too much 4k onlined content out yet, though. Wonder if this RED RGB codec may make that a more viable option for finnishing...

[Tom Lowe]

David, no one knew what "1080p" was ten years ago, either. 4K will become known to the public, and will find it's way into not only theaters sooner than almost anyone thought, but also into homes.

Once people see 4K up close with their own eyes, they WILL know what it is.

[David Mullen ASC]

David, no one knew what "1080p" was ten years ago, either. 4K will become known to the public, and will find it's way into not only theaters sooner than almost anyone thought, but also into homes.

Once people see 4K up close with their own eyes, they WILL know what it is.

You're an optimist... Most people I talk to outside of the industry still don't understand what 1080P means either, they can't tell a 720P monitor from a 1080P monitor, they don't notice whether a cable channel is showing HD or SD half the time, they don't notice when images are improperly squeezed or stretched, they have the black levels set all wrong, etc. The average person is not a videophile and thinks that their cell phone takes good enough pictures.

[Gunleik Groven]

(...)

The average person is not a videophile and thinks that their cell phone takes good enough pictures.

Wel, some do HD, you know... -:)

[JD Holloway]

@ David

While its very true about 720/1080 on a 40 " LCD at home, a 60' projection is another matter.

For what its worth, I watched "Inception" in a major Toronto theatre a month ago.
It was embarrassing.
The projection quality was worse (softer) than the 700 MB movies I download and watch on my 110" projector system (AE4000u).
I didn't bother to ask for a refund but I should have. Its sad really.
A high quality 1080 digital projection can be very nice (vs film)
4k? Build it. They will cum.
2K servers?
If RED moves fast they can own the 4K delivery system too.
...been saying that for years.

[David Mullen ASC]

Most theaters don't even advertise the superiority of their digital screens over their film ones, and most people don't pay attention to whether they are watching one or the other, so it's a stretch to think that on the same size screen, they are suddenly going to be able to see the improvement with 4K over 2K. I've been to many 4K demos over the years and it takes a discerning eye to see the improvement, though it definitely exists. But it's not a "hit you over the head" sort of improvement, it's not like the difference between 35mm and IMAX, for example -- THAT'S the sort of leap you need for people to see the difference, a much bigger screen, a much sharper image, and it has to be properly advertised and sold to them, it can't just be slipped in under the radar.

And then you have to ask if people really want to see some of their favorite Hollywood stars at four-times the resolution level...

[Gavin Greenwalt]

David, no one knew what "1080p" was ten years ago, either. 4K will become known to the public, and will find it's way into not only theaters sooner than almost anyone thought, but also into homes.

Once people see 4K up close with their own eyes, they WILL know what it is.

People still dont' know what "1080p" is that's why Sony decided to call it "TrueHD".

I guess we could call 4k "TruerHD"

[David Mullen ASC]

It's taken a decade to sell the public on HD at home, it's not an overnight phenomenon. I can recall many arguments on the internet back in 2000 about how SD was dead and most people would be watching HD in their home by 2002. Now it's nearly 2011 and people are still watching a ton of content in SD, even on their HD monitors. You can't even watch channels like TCM in HD yet. In 2011!!! Half the movie theater screens out there are still using 35mm prints. And even if more theaters install 4K projectors, most of the files will be 2K for some time to come. Years to come. And you're talking to someone that wants 4K to become the standard!

These things always take more time than the optimists ever will admit to, even as every year they are forced to push back their estimates by another year.

Half the public are more than happy to watch content on their iPhones or on little YouTube windows... I had to accept a long time ago that most people are not tech-saavy video and audiophiles. People need to get out of their internet tech cliques and talk to ordinary people on the streets now and then... if I stop the lady walking her dog past my front door right now and ask her if she knows what 1080P is, I can bet real money that the odds are higher that she doesn't know than that she does.