Dolby Cinema vs IMAX
- Thread starter Kuro
- Start date
If it's SHOT in IMAX and your theater is a REAL IMAX then go with IMAX.
Anything else, go with Dolby Cinema.
Anything else, go with Dolby Cinema.
It's a bigger screen, and usually in a cinema with a better projector and audio system. YMMV.
I don't know the exact percentage, but I'm pretty sure the Ach-To stuff was shot in IMAX at least.
Our Regal theater recently went Dolby Cinema with Atmos and buttkickers in the recliners. It's great during the movie but your kidneys get bruised when they run the trailers.
We just got a DBox theater and I am going to try that out for my second viewing of Star Wars
We just got a DBox theater and I am going to try that out for my second viewing of Star Wars
If the film was almost entirely shot in IMAX I generally will go see it in IMAX. Lower-resolution sources don't look that great blown up to true IMAX size.
Dolby Vision theaters use a laser projector for greater brightness and color fidelity. Think of it like HDR vs. SDR. It's pretty hard to beat laser for a projector light source so unless there's an IMAX Laser theater near you (pretty rare), I'd see Star Wars at a Dolby Cinema theater.
Dolby Vision theaters use a laser projector for greater brightness and color fidelity. Think of it like HDR vs. SDR. It's pretty hard to beat laser for a projector light source so unless there's an IMAX Laser theater near you (pretty rare), I'd see Star Wars at a Dolby Cinema theater.
We only have one IMAX theater here and it's at the science center, it's a dome theater used for documentaries but they show Nolan films and Star Wars. Dunkirk was really good in that theater since it was just pure action and intense thrills but I can't imagine watching Star Wars on that.
I have no idea what a traditional IMAX experience is like but I can tell you Dolby is SOLID. That's high quality sound right there. I wanted to see Star Wars in Dolby But all the showtimes are in the early afternoon or 11 PM so I just picked a normal showing at 6 PM.
I have no idea what a traditional IMAX experience is like but I can tell you Dolby is SOLID. That's high quality sound right there. I wanted to see Star Wars in Dolby But all the showtimes are in the early afternoon or 11 PM so I just picked a normal showing at 6 PM.
Jordan's IMAX in Reading is a laser IMAX, then there's the one in Natick. Both better than the Omni Theater for theatrical movies.
There are no Dolby Cinemas in the Boston area.
There's an important distinction between real Dolby Cinema and theaters that just use Dolby sound.
True Dolby Cinema is exclusive to AMC and is the best experience now primarily because of the layout of the auditorium. Seats are huge comfy recliners that are spread apart so it's very comfortable, no bumping arms with strangers, and there are dividers between rows so you can't see the back of anyone's head. It's the best.
Regal/Edwards theaters have a thing called RPX which uses Dolby Atmos sound, but is otherwise closer to a typical IMAX theater. The seats are a little bigger and recline a little, but they are still very close together and not divided in any way, so the people around you are still a bother. It's only marginally better than standard movies and thus not really worth the extra cost.
True Dolby Cinema is exclusive to AMC and is the best experience now primarily because of the layout of the auditorium. Seats are huge comfy recliners that are spread apart so it's very comfortable, no bumping arms with strangers, and there are dividers between rows so you can't see the back of anyone's head. It's the best.
Regal/Edwards theaters have a thing called RPX which uses Dolby Atmos sound, but is otherwise closer to a typical IMAX theater. The seats are a little bigger and recline a little, but they are still very close together and not divided in any way, so the people around you are still a bother. It's only marginally better than standard movies and thus not really worth the extra cost.
If it's something shot specifically for IMAX or if you don't have Dolby readily available, and you have a real IMAX or a rarer laser IMAX, then the experience is great. The experience is generally better in "LieMax" vs a regular screen, but I prefer the other premium formats if available (XD, RPX, Dolby Cinema).
If you have a Dolby Cinema readily accessible, then that wins pretty much every time. For my own education/curiosity I saw Blade Runner 2049 (essentially the perfect film to compare formats IMO because the sound and visuals are nearly unparalleled) on 2D IMAX, AMC Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD, and the Regal RPX, and the Dolby Cinema was hands down the best presentation of the bunch. I enjoyed the IMAX one second partially for the novelty because it had some special formatting for IMAX, but the quality of the XD, RPX, and LieMAX screens really seem to vary theater to theater. They are all generally great and better cared for than regular screens (most theaters are extremely lazy about the presentation on regular screens) and still great if they are your only option, or even if they are merely more conveniently located.
Only downside of Dolby Cinema is, because of the aggressive red lighting, if the theater isn't careful some of it can end up on the screen. It usually isn't bad at all, and is counter balanced by everything else, but it's a risk. It's also a risk on the other screens, you'll often find the stair lights poorly angled so these issues aren't necessarily exclusive to Dolby Cinema.
However I also saw Dunkirk on IMAX and one of the other premium ones, and IMAX was definitely the way to go there because it was filmed that way, and it really showed.
If you have a Dolby Cinema readily accessible, then that wins pretty much every time. For my own education/curiosity I saw Blade Runner 2049 (essentially the perfect film to compare formats IMO because the sound and visuals are nearly unparalleled) on 2D IMAX, AMC Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD, and the Regal RPX, and the Dolby Cinema was hands down the best presentation of the bunch. I enjoyed the IMAX one second partially for the novelty because it had some special formatting for IMAX, but the quality of the XD, RPX, and LieMAX screens really seem to vary theater to theater. They are all generally great and better cared for than regular screens (most theaters are extremely lazy about the presentation on regular screens) and still great if they are your only option, or even if they are merely more conveniently located.
Only downside of Dolby Cinema is, because of the aggressive red lighting, if the theater isn't careful some of it can end up on the screen. It usually isn't bad at all, and is counter balanced by everything else, but it's a risk. It's also a risk on the other screens, you'll often find the stair lights poorly angled so these issues aren't necessarily exclusive to Dolby Cinema.
However I also saw Dunkirk on IMAX and one of the other premium ones, and IMAX was definitely the way to go there because it was filmed that way, and it really showed.
Last edited:
Still have to watch something in Dolby, but there's nothing like a movie shot in IMAX on a real screen. Shit's mind-blowing.
I was actually rather disappointed with the so-called HDR when I saw IT in Dolby Cinema but the sound was great. I think it's a better "branded" format than most of the commercial IMAX installations or seeing a traditional film projected on an IMAX a dome. Since they no longer make prints specifically for the domes it just ends up distorted.
We have two Cinemark theaters that have nice reclining chairs and they reserve their massive screen for the big blockbusters. They call it like 4DX or something. It's not 4D but the sounds is great, there's couches, and the screen is so big you can't take a picture of the entire thing. Went and saw Batman v Superman there and it was insane.
Rian confirmed that that they used IMAX cameras yes. There were rumors of one getting damaged, I remember, but not sure. And i think he is a fan of 70mm so i have no idea if he shot with it, then adjusted it for the classical ratio or if he worked with classical 35mm entirely. 70mm is super expensive and complicated i heard, so no idea tbh.
Yeah, one of our real IMAXs is the exact same thing and I'm glad I saw TFA on it only after I saw it the first time at a regular showing. The screen is borderline overwhelming so it makes things hard to follow the first time around.
If your Dolby Cinema is AMC in the USA, it probably has a red light pollution problem so just go Dolby Atmos instead.
And yeah, IMAX only for stuff shot in IMAX.
Any word on how much of the final edit of TLJ is in actual IMAX ratio? Tell me it isn't just one sequence.
And yeah, IMAX only for stuff shot in IMAX.
Any word on how much of the final edit of TLJ is in actual IMAX ratio? Tell me it isn't just one sequence.
The movie was shot on 70MM but I don't know if it's 70MM IMAX.
The Jordan's IMAX theaters have "butt-kickers" under the seat, some kind of subwoofer under the seat. Works pretty well. They have the nicest seats I've ever sat in in a theatrical theater (makes sense for a furniture store)
The Natick theater is right by my house. I saw BvS at the Reading theater. To be honest I couldn't really tell all that much difference between the laser and normal projection system so I just stick with the Natick theater now.
There was only 1 Dolby Cinema in SoCal for a while in Burbank and my family would drive about 40 minutes to see big releases. That's how good it is. My kids don't want to watch movies anywhere else. Luckily they opened up another near me in Torrance and it's actually a little upgraded, better and different than the Burbank one. Slight changes like the electronics on the recliners are in red and not as bright. They were bright blue when you pressed something and stayed on way too long. Also it seems a little more power in the buttkickers and each speaker is lit up with a red light before the main attraction starts to give an idea of the massive amount of them all around you. My fam loves it
They shot some amount of it on IMAX film. Steve Yedlin, the cinematographer, has talked about it on Twitter et al.
Some was shot on anamorphic 70mm (Panavision) but I'm pretty sure most of it was shot on Alexa 65 and XT digital cameras. Which are great and actually can have detail rivaling 70mm 15 perf (IMAX). Watch Yedlin's resolution videos. http://yedlin.net/ResDemo/
http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/817129-star-wars-the-last-jedi-scenes-shot-in-imax#/slide/99
This says "key sequences", I imagine mostly action scenes like that one we've seen with the ships that have the red smoke coming out of them.
OP
OP
I'm looking for the best in video and sound. Don't care about reclining chairs or butt bumpers or whatever. I have an AMC Dolby Vision close by, a plain old Atmos in VA, and apparently a high tech 4K laser IMAX at the Lockheed Martin in DC. I'm debating between the AMC and Lockheed at this point. I'm reading the new Laser IMAX stuff is better than hit or miss dual projection calibration of Dolby and the red light issue I'm hearing about here so leaning towards the IMAX.
I go to a real IMAX. I'll still see nonIMAX films at IMAX. Has to do with the screen size to seating distance. Even nonIMAX films feel absolutely massive, almost filling your vision without having to be looking up at an angle at the screen.
We have laser IMAX nearby. Looks great for most films despite being formatted/filmed.
Yeah that's what I meant. I was actually asking for myself cause I don't have Dolby Cinema or IMAX here. So is Laser good? My local Cinema says it uses a Laser projector and Dolby Atmos.
Dolby is typically the default best option.
I'm taking my family of 4 to see TLJ on Friday in Dolby and damn, it's like $60 just to get in.
I'm taking my family of 4 to see TLJ on Friday in Dolby and damn, it's like $60 just to get in.
Meh. I saw Prometheus on IMAX and you could count the pixels and it hurt the experience. 2K films (aka most films) on a screen THAT big is getting no favors from the presentation. Since Scott shot Prometheus flat instead of anamorphic, the vertical resolution was closer to 800p than 1080p.
I saw Thor 3 at the new Dolby cinema at AMC Hoffman Center in Alexandria. Sound was not overblown, picture was bright and saturated. Seating was fantastic, you have little barrier to separate every row of seats. It was such a better experience than any of the pseudo IMAX screens close by. You could consider the airbus IMAX in the air & space museum by Dulles for a full IMAX film. Like $15 for parking though.
Let's be clear here, when people talk about Dolby they are talking specifically about Dolby Vision theaters, not just any ol' theater with a Dolby-certified sound system right? Okay, good. The difference is huge.
You just don't know what you are missing until you've seen a film in Dolby Vision, put simply. IMAX is huge. REALLY huge if you are at a full-size IMAX like my local one, the AMC Metreon. But the colors, brightness, contrast are incredible in Dolby Vision.
For me, IMAX has more awe factor if the film was shot in IMAX or otherwise made specifically for it, like some animated films. But Dolby Vision has a better looking picture.
I will be seeing The Last Jedi in both as my true test for the formats this coming week.
You just don't know what you are missing until you've seen a film in Dolby Vision, put simply. IMAX is huge. REALLY huge if you are at a full-size IMAX like my local one, the AMC Metreon. But the colors, brightness, contrast are incredible in Dolby Vision.
For me, IMAX has more awe factor if the film was shot in IMAX or otherwise made specifically for it, like some animated films. But Dolby Vision has a better looking picture.
I will be seeing The Last Jedi in both as my true test for the formats this coming week.
Went to see Blade Runner 2049 in a Dolby Cinema, was incredible. Only downside was that my ears were hurting a bit afterwards... was louder than when I saw Dunkirk in Regal's RPX theater.
Now I'm convinced to go out of my way and find a Dolby Vision theater.
Like everyone else has said, if it was shot in IMAX and you have a real IMAX theater near you, see the movie there. Otherwise, Dolby Cinema is currently the best option.
I'm curious to hear what these crazy new Samsung LED Cinema screens are like. Their peak brightness just destroys projectors. The peak nits are around 500 where laser projectors are around 100.
https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1512028404
I'm curious to hear what these crazy new Samsung LED Cinema screens are like. Their peak brightness just destroys projectors. The peak nits are around 500 where laser projectors are around 100.
https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1512028404
Dolby Cinema is amazing, we've only got one in the Atlanta area but I travel out of the way just to go and see it, it's that good. :)
Dolby Cinema is the name you want to look for. Dolby Vision is a format for High Dynamic Range video along with HDR10, HLG & ADVANCED HDR specifically for home TVs. Also whatever other company comes out with a new standard to replace them all. You linked to Dolby Cinema page, so I'm sure you already knew this. Things can get confusing with DOLBY everything.
I don't see much of a difference between Dolby and real IMAX.
real IMAX is much better than UltraDVX, but I do enjoy the DBOX rumble seats
real IMAX is much better than UltraDVX, but I do enjoy the DBOX rumble seats
I just want to make sure people who aren't sure what it is know what is being talked about.
When you go to movie ticket sites you will see some theaters say "dolby" in the description. But not all of them are Dolby Cinema (which use Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound), I think people really need to experience it for themselves because until they do they probably don't realize just what a jump it is over a traditional screen. Even if you've been to IMAX before... it's not like what Dolby has to offer. I'm not entirely sure how well the new IMAX Laser compares to Dolby Vision though, so the gap may not be as huge there.
Dolby Cinema for scope movie like SW. Pure blacks, high dynamic range, gorgeous image, proper aspect ratio. Bring earplugs though.
You really have to check out the theater itself, it depends heavily on the seats, screen, sound system, etc. In my area the AMC theaters run both Dolby Digital and IMAX (liemax) screens. The dolby theater is superior - better seats that are slightly rotated to face the center of the (curved) screen, better sound system, better screen, etc. The IMAX screen is good but I have seen multiple movies in both rooms and the Dolby Digital room is a lot better, no question at all.
Well the easy way to know in the US is if it's AMC or not, since they have an exclusive deal for Dolby Cinema here. Anywhere else that labels Dolby is probably just referring to atmos sound.
Outside US I have no idea.