technology; competition is heating up as projectors go digital

By ERIC A.
2004 Sony Electronics hopes that the digital projector, which will be displayed at the Hollywood digital film lab this week, will become the new industry standard as cinemas gradually shift from movies to digital screenings.
The company says its new projector has four times the resolution of digital projection technology currently developed by Texas Instruments.
For a long time, film industry analysts have predicted that movies will turn to digital screenings, as better images will be generated by using hard drives instead of movie projectors.
\"Our new technology is the holy grail of digital projectors,\" said John Scarcella, president of Sony Electronic broadcasting and business solutions . \".
\"4 k resolution is something the industry has been waiting.
It provides the \"wow\" factor consumers want.
Advertisementsony\'s 4 k projector creates an image that is 4,096 pixels wide and 2,160 high, with four times the number of pixels of the Texas Instrument\'s 2 k DLP Cinema projection chip, project the image 2,048 in the range of 1,080 pixels.
Advertising but turning to digital projections of any kind is expensive, and because technology is rapidly improving, cinema owners may hesitate to invest now when better equipment can be bought soon.
In addition, it is not clear that improving image quality will drive transformation by attracting more consumers to digital cinemas.
Curtis Clark said that if the difference between standard film and digital projection printing \"is as big as the difference between VHS tape and DVD, we will generate more consumer chairman of the technical committee of the American Film Photographers Association for this technology.
Bob Gibbons, Kodak digital film marketing and communications director, said: \"a better film experience is more than just a big screen with clear images.
It\'s also about how customers feel when they are in the theater.
This is the whole experience.
\"Only 67 theaters in North America use digital projectors, all of which use Texas Instruments imaging chips.
Another competitor, Eastman Kodak, is developing its own 4 k digital projector, which is expected to hit the market next year or 2006.
However, Doug Darrow of the company\'s film products division said Texas Instruments had no intention of developing a 4 k resolution chip.
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When it comes to image quality, he said, \"really --to-
Life color and high picture contrast are much more important than resolution. \'\'Mr.
Darrow also said that the state-of-the-art Texas Instrument projector with a resolution of 2 k \"has been made better than the best movies.
\"To remind the Hollywood community of its projected achievements, Texas Instruments held its own technical demonstration at the digital film lab a day after Sony.
Advertising projector manufacturers have subsidized the cost of installing most of the digital devices in use in the United States today.
But this will change once the test is over and the standards for projection, encryption, and security are compiled.
The industry group Digital Film Initiative, funded by seven film studios, is evaluating technical issues and the best way to pay for a shift to digital screening.
While the price of the projector will eventually drop, the theater may initially cost $150,000 per projector, five times the cost of a traditional movie projector, and the cost of a traditional movie projector for up to 30 years.
The theater owner declined to pay for the digital conversion, arguing that the studio would get the most out of the way in turning to digital delivery.
In fact, when film companies transmit digital files of a movie via satellite, rather than making and transporting large quantities of celluloid from theater to theater, they will save about $1,200 in printing costs, or $1 in total.
According to the London Screen Digest, 36 billion pounds per year
Headquartered in research.
Chuck Goldwater, executive director of the digital film program, said his organization recognized the need for film companies to help pay for the purchase of digital projection devices.
He said that the proportion of financing should be relatively proportional to the interests enjoyed by all parties.
One suggestion is that the studio donate money to the fund in proportion to the money they don\'t print saved.
The funds will then be allocated to the theater owner to purchase a new projector.
John fizion, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, said there are still many questions to answer, such as who will get the money, when the money will be charged and the tax impact of the fund.
At the same time, any delay in the transition to digital could be beneficial to Sony, which will benefit if theater owners wait for another version of the technology.
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A version of this article was printed on page C00003 of the National edition on May 31, 2004, with the title: technology;
Competition is heating up as projectors are digitized.