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| Website | https://www.dolby.com/movies-tv/cinema  |
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Dolby Cinema is a premium cinema created by Dolby Laboratories that combines Dolby proprietary technologies such as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, as well as other signature entrance and intrinsic design features. The technology competes with IMAX and other premium large formats such as Cinemark XD and Regal's RPX (Regal Premium Experience). [1] [2] [3]
The first installations featuring Dolby Cinema were JT (now Vue) Bioscopen Cinema in Eindhoven, Netherlands on December 18, 2014; followed by Cinesa La Maquinista in Barcelona, Spain. [4] Dolby Laboratories has partner contracts with Cinesa, Vue Cinemas, AMC Theatres (known as Dolby Cinema at AMC, formerly Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime until early 2017), [5] Cineplexx Cinemas, Wanda Cinemas, Jackie Chan Cinema, Reel Cinemas and Odeon Cinemas [6] to install Dolby Cinemas. [7]
On May 26, 2017, Dolby announced they made a deal with Pathé Cinémas to open 10 new locations in Europe. Seven will be located in France and three will be located in The Netherlands. [8] By 2024, France will have 12 Dolby Cinema theatres in Pathé cinemas: including 3 in Paris, 1 in Lyon, Toulouse, Nice, Rouen, Rennes, Marseille, and near the Charles de Gaulle Airport. [9]
Dolby Cinema uses a Dolby Vision projection system developed by Dolby Laboratories in conjunction with Christie Digital. The system consists of dual Christie 4K 6P (primary) modular laser projectors featuring a custom design to allow for unique light path. The system is capable of delivering up to 48 cd/m2 on unity-gain matte-white screens for 3D (and up to 106 cd/m2 for 2D), a substantial improvement on current generation 3D systems which deliver in the range of 10 to 14 cd/m2 for 3D. The result is improved brightness, colour, and contrast compared to traditional xenon projectors. [10] [11] The first theaters temporarily used off-the-shelf dual Christie 4K laser projectors until the Dolby Vision-capable ones were shipped out in spring 2015. [2]
Dolby 3D uses spectrum separation, where the two projectors function in stacked operation with each projector emitting a slightly different wavelength of red, green, and blue primary. There is no polarization present on the projector, and the 3D spectacles have notch filters that block the primaries used by the projector projecting the image intended for the other eye. [12]
Dolby Vision is able to display the following combinations of resolution and frame-rate[ citation needed ]:
Although the twin projectors are capable of displaying the 7 500:1 contrast ratio defined by the DCI fixed luminance gamma function, for movies not graded with Dolby Vision, the projectors are limited to 5 000:1 contrast ratio. [13] The Hollywood studios have graded over 100 films directly on Dolby Cinema projectors, the creative team can then create content with contrast ratios of 1 000 000:1. [14]
Another component of the Dolby Cinema experience is Dolby Atmos, an object-oriented, 3-D immersive surround-sound format developed by Dolby Laboratories. [15] [16] The system is capable of 128 simultaneous audio inputs utilizing up to 64 individual speakers to enhance viewer immersion. [17] The first film to support the new format was Disney and Pixar's animated film Brave , released in 2012. [17]
Most Dolby Cinemas feature a curved video wall entrance displaying content related to the feature film playing in the auditorium. The content displayed on the video wall is specifically generated by the film studio and is intended to immerse viewers in the movie experience before the movie has started. [18] The video is generated using multiple short throw high definition projectors in the entrance ceiling and proprietary software is used to pixel map the different images together along the wall. Similarly, the audio is generated using speakers placed in the ceiling of the entrance. [19]
Digital cinema refers to the adoption of digital technology within the film industry to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical use of reels of motion picture film, such as 35 mm film. Whereas film reels have to be shipped to movie theaters, a digital movie can be distributed to cinemas in a number of ways: over the Internet or dedicated satellite links, or by sending hard drives or optical discs such as Blu-ray discs.
A movie theater or cinema, also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing films for public entertainment. Most are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing tickets.
Dolby Digital, originally synonymous with Dolby AC-3, is the name for a family of audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. Called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1995, it is lossy compression. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35 mm film prints. It has since also been used for TV broadcast, radio broadcast via satellite, digital video streaming, DVDs, Blu-ray discs and game consoles.
THX Ltd. is an American audio company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is known for its eponymous suite of high fidelity audiovisual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, video game consoles, car audio systems, and video games. The THX trailer that precedes compliant films is based on the Deep Note, with a distinctive glissando up from a rumbling low pitch.
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio and steep stadium seating, with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations.
A home cinema, also called a home theater or theater room, is a home entertainment audio-visual system that seeks to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood using consumer electronics-grade video and audio equipment and is set up in a room or backyard of a private home. Some studies show that films are rated better and generate more intense emotions when watched in a movie theater, but convenience is a major appeal for home cinemas. In the 1980s, home cinemas typically consisted of a movie pre-recorded on a LaserDisc or VHS tape; a LaserDisc Player or VCR; and a heavy, bulky large-screen cathode-ray tube TV set, although sometimes CRT projectors were used instead. In the 2000s, technological innovations in sound systems, video player equipment, TV screens and video projectors have changed the equipment used in home cinema set-ups and enabled home users to experience a higher-resolution screen image, improved sound quality and components that offer users more options. The development of Internet-based subscription services means that 2020s-era home theatre users do not have to commute to a video rental store as was common in the 1980s and 1990s.
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. is a British-American technology corporation specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to consumer electronics manufacturers.
The Empire, Leicester Square is a cinema currently operated by Cineworld on the north side of Leicester Square, London, United Kingdom.
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the first Dolby Cinema in the United Kingdom.
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. It is the largest movie theater chain in the world. Founded in 1920, AMC has the largest share of the U.S. theater market ahead of Regal Cinemas and Cinemark Theatres.
Goodrich Theater NewCo, LLC. is a chain of 22 movie theaters, headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, representing a total of 174 screens in the United States. The majority of GQT Movies' locations are in Michigan, but other locations could be found in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Alabama, and Pennsylvania. The company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in February 2020. All employees were terminated March 19, 2020 without notice largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as many movie theaters were closed by government order in many states. In last July 2020, the company began reopening some of their locations. By the end of the year it had reopened its 22 locations.
Cinema City is a brand of multiplex cinemas in eastern and central Europe, run by the Israeli company Cinema City International (CCI). In Europe it has cinemas in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Poland, Cinema City has almost 40% of the multiplex market, with Multikino its major competitor. CCI also runs a chain of Israeli multiplexes under the name of Rav-Hen.
There are 137 movie theaters and 31 arthouse cinemas in the Netherlands, with a total of ca. 675 screens, in addition to 79 small arthouse cinemas and a number of adult movie theaters. The main movie theater chains in the Netherlands are Pathé, VUE and Kinepolis.
Landmark Cinema of Canada Inc. is a Canadian cinema chain. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Landmark operates 36 theatres with 299 screens, primarily in Ontario and western Canada. Its holdings include much of the former Empire Theatres chain which it acquired in late 2013, and some Famous Players locations divested as part of that chain's purchase by Cineplex Entertainment. Landmark is the second-largest cinema chain in Canada after Cineplex. It was acquired by Belgian company Kinepolis in 2017 for $123 million.
Major Cineplex Group Public Co. Ltd. is the largest operator of movie theaters in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Combined with its subsidiary, EGV Entertainment, the company has 838 screens in 180 locations around Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. Among its properties is Thailand's largest multiplex, the Paragon Cineplex at Siam Paragon, with 16 screens and 5,000 seats, along with the IMAX theater. The second-largest chain in Thailand is SF Group.
Caribbean Cinemas is a chain of movie theaters in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. It is the only major chain in Puerto Rico following CineVista's bankruptcy. The chain has expanded into Dominican Republic, Panama, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Antigua, Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Curaçao, Guadeloupe, Guatemala and Bolivia.
Qube Cinema Technologies is an Indian company operating in film and television technology. It provided digital non-linear editing and digital cinema sound to the Indian market in the 1990s. The company then began work in digital cinema products and deployment during the early years of the century.
Pathé Cinémas is a cinema chain owned by Pathé, with operations in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Morocco, and Tunisia. The company is market leader in each country it operates except Belgium, Morocco and Tunisia. Pathé is Europe's second largest cinema chain.
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal nor vertical limitations. Following the release of Atmos for the cinema market, a variety of consumer technologies have been released under the Atmos brand. The initial cinema Atmos systems used in-ceiling speakers, then upward-firing speakers were introduced as an alternative for consumer products. Atmos is also used on some devices that do not have a height channel, such as headphones, televisions, mobile phones, and tablets.
