{"id":570355,"date":"2023-04-15T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/led-screens-for-theaters-is-the-buzzy-tech-worth-the-cost\/"},"modified":"2023-04-15T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T16:00:00","slug":"led-screens-for-theaters-is-the-buzzy-tech-worth-the-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/led-screens-for-theaters-is-the-buzzy-tech-worth-the-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"#LED Screens for Theaters: Is the Buzzy Tech Worth the Cost?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Samsung and LG are among a number of tech companies that are quietly making a new push to Hollywood on the potential of LED display tech to replace theater projection systems that have been used since the birth of cinema. It would be a radical change. <\/p>\n

\n A projection system, true to its name, projects images onto the big screen. An LED wall is akin to a sophisticated, massive TV screen, and its use would render the projection booth a thing of the past. At this early stage, major U.S. theater chains are not using the tech. <\/p>\n

\n The companies are hesitant to share many details on their plans \u2014 Samsung\u2019s Onyx LED displays for cinema are installed in roughly 100 cinema auditoriums worldwide, including at The Culver Theater in Culver City \u2014 but Hollywood insiders have recently seen new demonstrations of the tech, The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> has learned.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAs with any new technology<\/a>, there are a lot of very positive and some very scary things,\u201d says director and cinematographer Jay Holben, who worked with this tech \u2014 categorized in the industry as \u201cdirect view\u201d displays \u2014 as part of an American Society of Cinematographers-led project to create standardized test material for all types of displays. <\/p>\n

\n Dominic Glynn, senior scientist at Pixar Animation Studios, adds: \u201cWe are, general<\/a>ly speaking, very strong supporters of the new creative opportunities that these technologies bring.\u201d Glynn calls such direct view screens \u201cvery ambitious and very capable\u201d in areas such as high dynamic range and brightness. (Pixar released Lightyear<\/em> on one such screen at Houston\u2019s Star Cinema Grill for paying audiences in 2022.) <\/p>\n

\n But there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done, and for Holben and others, a \u201cdetrimental\u201d concern is how sound is handled. This is because in traditional cinema, there are speakers directly behind the screen, which is not doable with LED panels. But the biggest issue might be how costs will factor into theater owners\u2019 decisions about whether to adopt this technology. <\/p>\n

\n Holben notes that pricey LEDs also involve \u201csignificantly\u201d more power draw and heat output (requiring more air conditioning) compared with projection systems, adding: \u201cThey also require a rigging metal structure that isn\u2019t normally present to hold the weight of the screens, which can vibrate with sound. They are all pretty big expenses for theater owners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Tech developer Barco, meanwhile, is in the process of introducing its HDR-capable \u201clight steering\u201d laser projection systems to Hollywood, while, at least for now, keeping its LED displays focused on markets such as digital signage. \u201cThere are some fundamental properties of LEDs that don\u2019t make them a good match with the cinema market \u2026 the price point is the most critical,\u201d says Barco\u2019s Tom Bert, a senior member of the product management team in its Entertainment division. (Similarly, Sony\u2019s CLED technology is currently aimed at other uses, including virtual production and color grading rooms.)<\/p>\n

\n Many Hollywood groups are already working to make LED displays a viable option in cinema. In late 2022, studios consortium Digital Cinema Initiatives released its technical specification for direct view display \u2014 effectively a recommended technical blueprint for showing its movies<\/a> with these new systems. <\/p>\n

\n Several such displays, including tech from Samsung and LG, have since been certified as DCI-compliant. Among the work DCI still hopes to accomplish is creating a spec for a standard Digital Cinema Package (the digital equivalent of a film print) that could be used in LED-based auditoriums without the need to create a separate version of the movie.<\/p>\n

\n Looking ahead, Pixar\u2019s Glynn says the creative opportunities are there to take advantage of the tech, but filmmakers must control their use. \u201cIf [direct view displays] gain enough excitement amongst the audiences, there would be a really compelling reason to sort of invite audiences back to the big screen to see something that perhaps they didn\u2019t see first go-round, or they wanna revisit in this, in this new format,\u201d he notes, so long as \u201cwe don\u2019t exploit the technology for its own sake. It always has to be in service of the story or complementary to the narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n This will be among the topics addressed Saturday when the NAB Show opens in Las Vegas. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers will present a series of panels that will explore the future of cinema.<\/p>\n

\n A version of this story first app<\/a>eared in the April 12 issue of\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter\u00a0magazine.\u00a0Click here to subscribe<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n