# IMAX: what's the big deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imax-whats-the-big-deal/562193 "2010-11-28T19:09:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imax-whats-the-big-deal/562193/1 "2010-11-28T19:09:31Z")
I’ve just been to see my first film on an IMAX screen (_Harry Potter_) and was pretty disappointed. I’d always heard about how the screen is huge, it’s really immersive, and so on, but I’d say the screen was only about 25% bigger than a normal one (it was a normal-sized cinema, but the screen went from floor to ceiling). The picture quality was a little sharper than usual, but nothing amazing, and because it was digital, in certain scenes I could see a faint “grid” on the screen because of the gap between each pixel. So why do people rave about IMAX, and why do they pay 1.5 times the normal ticket price to see it? Is it just that normal screens have got bigger and higher-quality over the years, so IMAX doesn’t seem as impressive now as when it was new? Have I just been ripped off by some sort of imitation claiming to be IMAX? Or is it just me: am I missing something? (I went on my own, so I couldn’t ask anyone else’s opinion!) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imax-whats-the-big-deal/562193/2 "2010-11-28T19:13:09Z")
Regular movies transferred to IMAX are ok. Not great. See a movie that was filmed on an IMAX camera and you will see a big difference. I still prefer to see a movie in IMAX especially a special effects heavy one. The sound and picture are better and so is the 3D. Its your choice if its worth the price. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imax-whats-the-big-deal/562193/3 "2010-11-28T20:11:38Z")
True IMAX screens are much, much larger than normal movie screens. They are about 60 feet high and 80 feet wide. It’s not remotely comparable to a regular movie screen. Nor is IMAX digital. It is a 70 mm film format. However, what you probably saw is the [IMAX Digital Theatre System](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX#IMAX_Digital_Theatre_System). That’s a version of IMAX intended for multiplexes. Not only is it digital, and therefore much lower resolution, but the screens are smaller than the true IMAX theater screens. > [@](#): > > IMAX Digital Theatre System > A digital version of IMAX started rolling out in 2008. The new system is a projection standard only. Digital IMAX systems can show either 2D or 3D content in DCI or IMAX digital format (which in itself is a superset of DCI). The digital system alleviates the need for film reels and facilitates inexpensive distribution of IMAX features. > > Despite those advantages, one big disadvantage is the resolution of the picture, which is much lower than the resolution of the normal IMAX film, estimated to be about 12000 × 8700 theoretical pixels or 6120 × 4500 actually discernible pixels.[27] The screens used by IMAX multiplex locations range in size from 47’ x 24’ to 74’ x 46’ and those in classic IMAX locations range from 51’ x 37’ to 117’ x 96’. The digital installations have drawn some confusion based on poor consumer differentiation to the traditional 15/70 IMAX.[28] > > IMAX digital currently uses two 2K-resolution Christie projectors with Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing technology alongside parts of IMAX’s proprietary technologies. The two 2K images are projected over each other, producing an image that is potentially of a slightly higher resolution than common 2K digital cinema. Originally, IMAX had been considering using two Sony 4K projectors.[29] Some reviewers note that this approach may not produce image quality higher than using one 4K projector, which are available for some non-IMAX theaters,[28] including AMC’s own.[30] If that’s what you saw, I don’t blame you for being disappointed. A good IMAX film shot for IMAX is a true experience. IMAX may be ruining its reputation by diluting its brand this way. ---
**Author:** ![Kiyoshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kiyoshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiyoshi)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imax-whats-the-big-deal/562193/4 "2010-11-28T21:18:53Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > However, what you probably saw is the [IMAX Digital Theatre System](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX#IMAX_Digital_Theatre_System). Yeah, it looks like that’s the case. I’ve done some digging and found this in the small print on their website: - > [@](#): > > ODEON IMAX ® is available at ODEON Manchester - the giant screen experience - and our IMAX Digital screens at ODEON Braehead, Cardiff Bay, Greenwich, Kingston, Liverpool One, Metrocentre, Norwich, Southampton, Uxbridge and Wimbledon. So it looks like they’ve only got one “real” IMAX in the whole country. There was no explanation in the cinema itself, though…pretty misleading advertising, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imax-whats-the-big-deal/562193/5 "2010-11-28T21:31:22Z")
Yeah, real IMAX screens are incredible. [Here](http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/consumerist/2009/05/screencompa.JPG)is an image that really shows the difference in size between a true IMAX screen, and the IMAX Digital screens that are only slightly larger than standard multiplex screens. (I saw \*\*Avatar \*\*at that Lincoln Square IMAX and it was absolutely worth the price increase.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imax-whats-the-big-deal/562193/6 "2010-11-28T22:05:10Z")
Even real IMAX has more than one sizes. I saw **Fantasia 2000** at an IMAX in San Francisco; it was just too big. A few months later, I saw it at an IMAX in Baltimore, which was not quite as big and the movie was much easier to watch. ---
**Author:** ![yastobaal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/258eb7/32.png) [@yastobaal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yastobaal)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imax-whats-the-big-deal/562193/7 "2010-11-28T22:10:57Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > So it looks like they’ve only got one “real” IMAX in the whole country. There was no explanation in the cinema itself, though…pretty misleading advertising, if you ask me. IMAX (bloody big screen version) is also in Bradford and London.