IMAX movie theaters are getting a makeover of epic proportions.
When "Captain America: Civil War" opened in theaters on May 6, IMAX unveiled its new digital projection system in the US that promises crystal clear images, brighter colors, and blacker blacks. The tech upgrade aims to make going to the movies a worthwhile venture once again.
Current digital projectors pass white light through a prism that parts it into three primary colors. Tiny mirrors reflect the red, green, and blue light through a lens and onto the screen in infinite combinations.
The downside of this system, as expertly explained by Gizmodo's Andrew Liszewski, is that as the projector's components heat and cool during the course of a movie, they shift the mirrors in and out of alignment. This results in slightly blurrier images on screen.
IMAX spent four years and $60 million — its largest investment in research and development to date — on reinventing this technology.
The new laser-based projectors nix the prism entirely. Two projectors direct red, green, and blue light into a box that produces a pure light. Colors display on-screen in precise mixes.
The pair of projectors helps preserve detail in both the dark and light areas of the frame, whereas traditional projectors wash out detail in the darker areas. It also increases clarity along blunt edges.
According to Liszewski, the double 4K images layered on top of each other "produce an image that's nearly impossible for the human eye to discern the individual pixels."
The laser technology is currently available at about 22 theaters globally, including San Francisco's AMC Loews Metreon 16. An IMAX executive says they plan to expand to the AMC located in New York City's Lincoln Square and Los Angeles's Hollywood Boulevard by the end of the year.
Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX Entertainment, said at a press event at the AMC Metreon 16 last week that the upgrade was not for the sake of innovation. It's part of a decisive effort to motivate millennials to go to the theaters instead of watching movies from home.
"As long as exhibitors create an experience that distinguishes itself from everything else, they'll go," Foster told The Wrap in 2015. "When it's ubiquitous, they won't. [Moviegoing] is not a given anymore."
I watched the "Captain America: Civil War" trailer through the company's new laser projector and saw how it elevated the vibrancy in the character's suits and the crispness of the poorly lit bunkers.
At a glance, the $21-and-up ticket seems worth it.
