Film has been used for movies for over 100 years. D-cinema will
soon produce images that equal or surpass film. When that
happens, movies will take their basis from computer technology,
leading to higher quality, lower cost, and greater flexibility for all aspects of the industry. For example, d-cinema will allow higher
frame rates, flexible subtitles, alternative content, and resolutions
and color spaces beyond film. Given these opportunities, we must
not simply emulate the mechanical past. Insisting, for instance, on
a single type of compression or security scheme is misguided.
Both these areas are evolving, and we should take advantage of
that evolution, while promoting standards that allow that evolution
to happen in an orderly way. Mechanical projectors can play back
only one kind of film; computer servers can play back any number
of formats. It would be wrong to select a single format at this time,
only to have the technology become more capable in the near
future. We must allow the continuously evolving technology that
characterizes computers, not the frozen technology that has
characterized mechanical systems. We must work toward an
environment that allows interoperability of d-cinema technologies-not systems that limit us to a single technology.
We are on the brink of transforming the movie theatre with electronic cinema. Technologies are converging to make true electronic cinema, with a 'film look,' possible for the first time. In order to realize the possibilities, we must leverage current technologies in video compression, electronic projection, digital storage, and digital networks. All these technologies have only recently improved sufficiently to make their use in the electronic cinema worthwhile. Video compression, such as MPEG-2, is designed to overcome the limitations of video, primarily limited bandwidth. As a result, although HDTV offers a serious challenge to film-based cinema, it falls short in a number of areas, such as color depth. Freed from the constraints of video transmission, and using the recently improved technologies available, electronic cinema can move beyond video; Although movies will have to be compressed for some time, what is needed is a concept of 'cinema compression,' rather than video compression. Electronic cinema will open up vast new possibilities for viewing experiences at the theater, while at the same time offering up the potential for new economies in the movie industry.
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