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108-705: The museum opened in 1981 and was renovated in 2010. The IMAX Dome was opened in 1991. The theater-naming rights were secured by The Charlotte Observer . In 2016, on the organization's 70th anniversary, the Discovery Place network of museums underwent rebranding for naming clarity. The Discovery Place moniker now refers to the 501(c)3 non-profit and network of museums as a whole. The Uptown Charlotte location: Discovery Place became Discovery Place Science. The Freedom Park location in Charlotte: Charlotte Nature Museum became Discovery Place Nature and

216-504: A bit rate exceeding 1  Gbit/s for 1080p video. Digital HDTV was enabled by the development of discrete cosine transform (DCT) video compression . The DCT is a lossy compression technique that was first proposed by Nasir Ahmed in 1972, and was later adapted into a motion-compensated DCT algorithm for video coding formats such as the H.26x formats from the Video Coding Experts Group from 1988 onwards and

324-413: A compressed air "puffer" to accelerate the film, and put a cylindrical lens in the projector's "aperture block". The rolling loop mechanism is used to move the film in projectors and cameras; the sprockets in the film are only used for registration as the film is too large to be moved with sprockets at the necessary speeds for projection and filming without damage. The projector uses a vacuum to pull

432-412: A felt or brush-like material that wipes dust off the lens as it moves up or down. The projector uses a vacuum to keep the film flat and oriented correctly for projection. The shutter of an IMAX projector is also kept open for longer than a 35 mm projector shutter to increase image brightness. IMAX projectors are pin -stabilized; this means that four registration pins engage the perforations at

540-411: A high-speed camera may be considered high-definition in some contexts. Some television series shot on high-definition video are made to look as if they have been shot on film , a technique which is often known as filmizing . The first electronic scanning format, 405 lines , was the first high definition television system, since the mechanical systems it replaced had far fewer. From 1939, Europe and

648-811: A Barco DP4K-32B 4K projection system in 2013), the Omni-Theatre at Science Centre Singapore , the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung , Taiwan (which both had their original IMAX Dome 1570 projection systems installed respectively in 1987 and 1985 replaced with Evans & Sutherland Digistar 5 8K digital systems in 2015), and the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City , New Jersey , which replaced its IMAX Dome 1570 projection system from 1993 (when built

756-440: A comprehensive hands-on science and technology center, and it was decided to locate the new museum on North Tryon Street to encourage development in uptown Charlotte and maximize access in the growing city. This new museum opened in 1981, known as Discovery Place with 72,000 square feet (6,700 m) of space. Its first director was Russell Peithman. The facility expanded as the needs of the community grew. In 1986, exhibition space

864-467: A contract to develop and manufacture a fisheye lens projection system optimized to project an image onto a dome instead of a flat screen. The dome system, which the San Diego Hall of Science called "Omnimax", uses films shot with a camera equipped with a fisheye lens that squeezes a highly distorted anamorphic 180° field of view onto the 65 mm IMAX film. The lens is aligned below the center of

972-472: A decoding method such as DTS . The new generation of IMAX with Laser Projectors use IMAX 12-channel sound while 15/70 and Xenon Projectors use IMAX 6-channel. Like conventional theatres, IMAX theatres place speakers both directly behind the acoustically transparent screen, and around the theatre to create a "surround sound" effect. IMAX also provides a "top center" speaker in addition to the centre speaker found in conventional theatres. This extra channel allows

1080-619: A digital projection system, which it has not given a distinct name or brand, designed for multiplex theatres with screens no wider than 21.3 m (70 ft). All IMAX projectors, except the standard GT system, can project 3D images . GT 3D projectors require two separate lamps and polarized projection optics. The digital cinema IMAX projection system, debuted in 2008, is designed for use with shorter 1.89:1 aspect ratio screens. The system uses two 2K projectors that can present either 2D or 3D content in DCI or IMAX Digital Format (IDF; which in itself

1188-415: A goal to deploy the first four units in the next two years. Christopher Nolan and Jordan Peele are among a group of advisors, made up of filmmakers and cinematographers, assisting in identifying new specs and features for the prototype development phase. In a May 2024 interview with Collider , IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond revealed that there will be four new identical cameras that will be 30% quieter than

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1296-521: A half-pixel offset, using super-resolution imaging , which makes the perceived resolution greater than 4K. In-theater cameras and microphones are used to automatically calibrate the projectors and sound system between showings. For 3D presentations, one projector is used to display the image for each eye, while 2D presentations use the superimposed images to allow for a brighter image. For 3D presentations, IMAX with Laser systems use dichroic filter glasses, similar to those used by Dolby 3D , as opposed to

1404-467: A high-definition television or computer monitor in order to be viewed. High-definition video has an aspect ratio of 16:9 (1.78:1). The aspect ratio of regular widescreen film shot today is typically 1.85:1 or 2.39:1 (sometimes traditionally quoted at 2.35:1). Standard-definition television (SDTV) has a 4:3 (1.33:1) aspect ratio, although in recent years many broadcasters have transmitted programs squeezed horizontally in 16:9 anamorphic format , in hopes that

1512-460: A higher resolution format, but removing the interlace to match the common 720p format may distort the picture or require filtering which actually reduces the resolution of the final output. Non-cinematic HDTV video recordings are recorded in either the 720p or the 1080i format. The format used is set by the broadcaster (if for television broadcast). In general, 720p is more accurate with fast action, because it progressively scans frames, instead of

1620-457: A key patent filed on January 16, 1970, was assigned under the original name Multiscreen Corporation, Limited. IMAX Chief Administration Officer Mary Ruby was quoted as saying, "Although many people may think 'IMAX' is an acronym , it is, in fact, a made-up word." Tiger Child , the first IMAX film, was demonstrated at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan . The first permanent IMAX installation was built at

1728-490: A medium has inherent limitations, such as difficulty of viewing footage while recording, and suffers other problems, caused by poor film development/processing, or poor monitoring systems. Given that there is increasing use of computer-generated or computer-altered imagery in movies, and that editing picture sequences is often done digitally, some directors have shot their movies using the HD format via high-end digital video cameras. While

1836-463: A momentarily-paused still image. This requires a mechanical apparatus to buffer the jerky travel of the film strip. The older technology of running 70 mm film vertically through the projector used only five sprocket perforations on the sides of each frame; however, the IMAX method used fifteen perforations per frame. The previous mechanism was inadequate to handle this intermittent mechanical movement that

1944-610: A pressure of about 25 atmospheres (367 psi (2,530 kPa)). Because of this, projectionists are required to wear protective body armor when changing or handling the lamp in case it breaks (e.g., due to a drop to the floor) because of the danger from flying quartz shards propelled by the high pressure of the xenon gas within; this applies to all projection xenon lamps. An IMAX xenon lamp runs on DC power, lasts for 1,000 hours and requires its own pump and water cooler. The projector's optics also require compressed air cooling. An IMAX projector weighs up to 1.8 tonnes (2 short tons ) and

2052-455: A process known as IMAX HD . Depending upon available bandwidth and the amount of detail and movement in the image, the optimum format for video transfer is either 720p24 or 1080p24. When shown on television in PAL system countries, film must be projected at the rate of 25 frames per second by accelerating it by 4.1 percent. In NTSC standard countries, the projection rate is 30 frames per second, using

2160-545: A quarter of those having the capability to show 70mm film at the resolution of the large format as originally conceived. The IMAX cinema process increases the image resolution by using a larger film frame; in relative terms, a frame of IMAX format film has three times the theoretical horizontal resolution of a frame of 35 mm film . To achieve such increased image resolution, which IMAX estimates at approximately 12,000 lines (6,000 line pair modulations) of horizontal resolution (18K), 65 mm film stock passes horizontally through

2268-599: A screen measuring 693 square meters 31.2 by 22.2 m (102 by 73 ft) within The Ribbon building, after years of extensive redevelopment, making it the world's third-largest screen. In the late-1960s, the San Diego Hall of Science (later known as the San Diego Space and Science Foundation) began searching North America for a large-format film system to project on the dome of their planned 23.16 m (76.0 ft) tilted dome planetarium . The standard IMAX projector

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2376-440: A technique called 3:2 pull-down. One film frame is held for three video fields (1/20 of a second), and the next is held for two video fields (1/30 of a second) and then the process is repeated, thus achieving the correct film projection rate with two film frames shown in one twelfth of a second. Older (pre-HDTV) recordings on video tape such as Betacam SP are often either in the form 480i60 or 576i50. These may be upconverted to

2484-510: Is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition . While there is no standardized meaning for high-definition , generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines (North America) or 576 vertical lines (Europe) is considered high-definition. 480 scan lines is generally the minimum even though the majority of systems greatly exceed that. Images of standard resolution captured at rates faster than normal (60 frames/second North America, 50 fps Europe), by

2592-432: 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 (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1 ) and steep stadium seating , with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations. Graeme Ferguson , Roman Kroitor , Robert Kerr , and William C. Shaw were the co-founders of what would be named

2700-463: Is a superset of DCI). IDF initially used 2K-resolution Christie xenon projectors, with a Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing (DLP) engine, but in 2012 IMAX announced that they would be switching to Barco as their primary supplier. The two 2K images are projected superimposed on each other with a half-pixel offset, using super-resolution imaging to increase the perceived resolution to approximately 2.9K. For 3D presentations, one projector

2808-594: Is acute for surveillance purposes to ensure that the quality of the video output is of an acceptable standard that can be used both for preventative surveillance as well as for evidence purposes. Although, HD cameras can be highly effective indoor, special industries with outdoor environments called for a need to produce much higher resolutions for effective coverage. The ever-evolving image sensor technologies allowed manufacturers to develop cameras with 10-20 MP resolutions, which therefore have become efficient instruments to monitor larger areas. In order to further increase

2916-637: Is also a WQHD+ option for some of these. High-definition image sources include terrestrial broadcast, direct broadcast satellite, digital cable, high definition disc ( BD ), digital cameras, Internet downloads, and video game consoles. Blu-ray Discs were jointly developed by 9 initial partners including Sony and Phillips (which jointly developed CDs for audio), and Pioneer (which developed its own Laser-disc previously with some success) among others. HD DVD discs were primarily developed by Toshiba and NEC with some backing from Microsoft, Warner Bros., Hewlett Packard, and others. On February 19, 2008, Toshiba announced it

3024-598: Is an unusual case, due to its hybrid nature as both a home console and a handheld: the built-in screen displays games at 720p maximum, but the console can natively display imagery at 1080p when docked. The Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro can display some games in 4K. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X can display games in 4K and 8K. Generally, PC games are only limited by the display's resolution and GPU driver support. Some PC hardware supports DisplayPort 2.1 for native 8k resolution at high refresh rates. Ultrawide monitors are supported, which can display more of

3132-607: Is defined threefold, by: Often, the rate is inferred from the context, usually assumed to be either 50 Hz (Europe) or 60 Hz (USA), except for 1080p , which denotes 1080p24, 1080p25, and 1080p30, but also 1080p50 and 1080p60. A frame or field rate can also be specified without a resolution. For example, 24p means 24 progressive scan frames per second and 50i means 25 progressive frames per second, consisting of 50 interlaced fields per second. Most HDTV systems support some standard resolutions and frame or field rates. The most common are noted below. High-definition signals require

3240-423: Is fed through the projector horizontally, and the film is drawn from the inner circumference of the platter, not from the outer circumference like in conventional film reels. A system is in place to keep the film in the outer circumference from flying outwards due to centrifugal force while the platter is spinning. IMAX film is shipped to theaters in several small reels that are spliced into one continuous length that

3348-691: Is less than half. Due to protests, the City of Spokane officials decided to work with the IMAX Corporation to demolish the theatre, under the condition they renovate the former US Pavilion itself into IMAX's first permanent outdoor giant-screen theatre. The plan was to use material on the inside of the structure similar to that used when first constructed. However, it was expected to last only five years, due to weather conditions destroying previous materials. Concept art has been released in videos featured on Spokane's renovation site, and its budget revealed that seating

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3456-414: Is over 178 cm (5.8 ft) tall and 195 cm (6.4 ft) long. The projector is raised and locked into position before each screening. IMAX Corporation has released four projector types that use its 15-perforation, 70 mm film format: GT (Grand Theatre), GT 3D (dual rotor), SR (Small Rotor), and MPX , which was designed for retrofitted theatres. In July 2008, the company introduced

3564-632: Is planned for more than 2,000. The first permanent IMAX Dome installation, the Eugene Heikoff and Marilyn Jacobs Heikoff Dome Theatre at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center , opened in San Diego 's Balboa Park in 1973. It doubles as a planetarium theater. The first permanent IMAX 3D theatre was built in Vancouver , British Columbia, for Transitions at Expo '86 , and was in use until September 30, 2009. It

3672-623: Is then wound into a platter, a process that may take hours to complete. Films may be several kilometers in length: Avatar , which was 2:45 hours in duration, was close to 16 km (9.9 mi) long. Platters are handled using special forklifts. IMAX platters range from 1.2 to 1.83 m (3.9 to 6.0 ft) diameter to accommodate 1 to 2.75 hours of film. Platters with a 2.5 hour feature film weigh 250 kg (550 lb). IMAX uses ESTAR-based print film in their 15/70 rolling-loop film projection systems. ESTAR-based print film provides greater precision. The chemical development process does not change

3780-402: Is used to display the image for each eye, while 2D presentations use the superimposed images to allow for a brighter 75 cd/m image. The Digital IMAX projection system includes a proprietary IMAX Image Enhancer that modifies the output of the digital media server based on feedback from cameras and microphones in the auditorium, and maintains alignment with sub-pixel accuracy. Mainly because

3888-514: The Cinerama process in the mid-1950s. By the early 1990s, a separate DTS -based 6-track digital sound system was used, similarly locked to the projector by a SMPTE time code synchronization apparatus, the audio played off a series of proprietarily encoded CD-ROM discs. In the late 1990s, IMAX upgraded this system to use a hard drive that carries a single uncompressed audio file. These are converted directly to analogue rather than processed through

3996-674: The Cinesphere theatre at Ontario Place in Toronto. It debuted in May 1971, showing the film North of Superior . The installation remained in place during Ontario Place's hiatus for redevelopment. The Cinesphere was renovated while Ontario Place was closed and re-opened on November 3, 2017, with IMAX 70 mm and IMAX with laser illumination. During Expo '74 in Spokane, Washington , an IMAX screen that measured 27 by 20 metres (89 ft × 66 ft)

4104-514: The Digital Cinema Initiatives spec, a contrast ratio "double" that of IMAX 15/70 mm film projection and "higher" than the 2,500:1 contrast ratio of IMAX's xenon lamp-based projection systems, and displaying the full Rec. 2020 color gamut. The system also features a new 12-channel surround sound system, which adds an additional speaker on either side of the theater as well as four new overhead speakers. While still not matching

4212-630: The IMAX Corporation (founded in September 1967 as Multiscreen Corporation, Ltd.), and they developed the first IMAX cinema projection standards in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Canada . IMAX GT is the premium large format. The digital format uses dual laser projectors, which can show 1.43 digital content when combined with a 1.43 screen. The film format uses very large screens of 18 by 24 metres (59 by 79 feet) and, unlike most conventional film projectors,

4320-532: The Little Sugar Creek Greenway . Interactive nature exhibits and live animal displays, including a butterfly pavilion, live species, insects and a variety of native North Carolina animals are subjects to learn. In Fall 2010, Discovery Place opened its first Discovery Place Kids Museum in Huntersville, North Carolina . As part of a larger vision to develop other Discovery Place Kids locations across

4428-549: The MPEG formats from 1993 onwards. Motion-compensated DCT compression significantly reduced the amount of memory and bandwidth required for digital video, capable of achieving a data compression ratio of around 100:1 compared to uncompressed video. By the early 1990s, DCT video compression had been widely adopted as the video coding standard for HDTV. The current high-definition video standards in North America were developed during

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4536-634: The PlayStation 3 the Xbox 360 game consoles can output native 1080p through HDMI or component cables, but the systems have few games which appear in 1080p; most games only run natively at 720p or less but can be upscaled to 1080p. Visually, native 1080p produces a sharper and clearer picture compared to upscaled 1080p. The Wii does not support HD. In the 8th generation , Nintendo's Wii U and Nintendo Switch , Microsoft's Xbox One , and Sony's PlayStation 4 display games 1080p natively. The Nintendo Switch

4644-669: The linear polarization glasses used in Digital IMAX theaters. On April 24, 2018, IMAX announced that they would begin rolling out a new single-unit version of their laser projector system later that year, with this iteration designed to replace the IMAX Xenon digital projection system for 1.89:1 screens. IMAX theatres are described as either "Classic Design" (purpose-built structures), or "Multiplex Design" (retrofitted auditoriums). Classic IMAX theatre construction differs significantly from conventional theatres. The increased resolution lets

4752-420: The 1080i, which uses interlaced fields and thus might degrade the resolution of fast images. 720p is used more for Internet distribution of high-definition video, because computer monitors progressively scan; 720p video has lower storage-decoding requirements than either the 1080i or the 1080p. This is also the medium for high-definition broadcasts around the world and 1080p is used for Blu-ray movies. Film as

4860-445: The 2000s) continue to call it "Omnimax". IMAX Dome theatres are used in theme parks and many North American museums, particularly those with a scientific focus, where the technical aspects of the system may be highlighted as part of the attraction. The projection room is often windowed to allow public viewing of the equipment in operation, and it is often accompanied by informational placards like other exhibits. For some theaters, before

4968-495: The ATSC transmission standard in 1996 (which included both HD and SD video standards). In the early 2000s, it looked as if DVB would be the video standard far into the future. However, both Brazil and China have adopted alternative standards for high-definition video that preclude the interoperability that was hoped for after decades of largely non-interoperable analog TV broadcasting. High definition video (prerecorded and broadcast)

5076-470: The Arri Alexa IMAX on Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). For Transformers: The Last Knight , two ARRI Alexa IMAX cameras were combined in a rig to provide native 3D, with the film containing 98% of IMAX footage. In September 2020, IMAX launched the "Filmed for IMAX" program, which certifies high-quality digital cameras that can be used to create IMAX-format films. As

5184-770: The Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (shot with the Sony CineAlta Venice), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (shot with the Red V-Raptor), The Marvels (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF) and Dune: Part Two (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF). The IMAX format is generically called "15/70" film, the name referring to the 15 sprocket holes or perforations per frame. The film's bulk and weight require horizontal platters, rather than conventional vertically mounted film reels. IMAX film

5292-845: The Charlotte Observer IMAX Dome Theatre at Discovery Place , Charlotte, North Carolina; Birmingham, Alabama's McWane Science Center ; US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama; the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal ; the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio; the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, Ontario; and Science World in Vancouver, British Columbia. Alternatively,

5400-894: The Chocolate Factory at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry . The largest screen in North America is at the Science World in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has a dome screen 27 metres (89 ft) in size. Due to the age of the IMAX Dome format as well as its entirely analogue nature, some theatres may opt to replace their existing IMAX Dome systems with newer, more versatile digital systems. Examples of former IMAX Dome theatres that have had their IMAX equipment replaced with newer equipment include Tietomaa Science Centre in Oulu , Finland (which replaced its IMAX 8/70 equipment from 1988 with

5508-625: The HighVision 1,125-line interlaced TV standard (also called MUSE ) that ran at 60 frames per second. The Sony HDVS system was presented at an international meeting of television engineers in Algiers , April 1981 and Japan's NHK presented its analog high-definition television (HDTV) system at a Swiss conference in 1983. The NHK system was standardized in the United States as Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) standard #240M in

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5616-436: The IMAX movie camera, 15 perforations at a time. At 24 frames per second, this means that the film moves through the camera at 102.7 meters (337 ft) per minute (just over 6 km/h). In a conventional 65 mm camera, the film passes vertically through the camera, five perforations at a time, or 34 meters (112 ft) per minute. In comparison, in a conventional 35 mm camera, 35 mm film passes vertically through

5724-809: The Leonberg IMAX opened in 2021, the largest operating IMAX screen was in IMAX Melbourne , located within the Melbourne Museum in Melbourne , Australia, measuring 32 m × 23 m (105 ft × 75 ft). Until its demolition in 2016, the world's largest IMAX screen had been in IMAX Sydney in Darling Harbour , Sydney , Australia, measuring 35.72 m × 29.57 m (117.2 ft × 97.0 ft). It reopened on 12 October 2023, with

5832-734: The Red Ranger Monstro and Komodo), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF), The Battle at Lake Changjin and The Battle at Lake Changjin II (shot with the Red Ranger Monstro), Eternals (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (shot with Panavision Millennium DXL2), Thor: Love and Thunder (shot with

5940-516: The Techniscope 2 perforation format. Movies are also produced using other film gauges , including 70 mm films (22 mm × 48 mm) or the rarely used 55 mm and CINERAMA . The four major film formats provide pixel resolutions (calculated from pixels per millimeter) roughly as follows: In the process of making prints for exhibition, this negative is copied onto other film (negative → interpositive → internegative → print) causing

6048-538: The US tried 605 and 441 lines until, in 1941, the FCC mandated 525 for the US. In wartime France, René Barthélemy tested higher resolutions, up to 1,042. In late 1949, official French transmissions finally began with 819 . In 1984, however, this standard was abandoned for 625-line color on the TF1 network. Modern HD specifications date to the early 1980s, when Japanese engineers developed

6156-489: The audience be much closer to the screen. Typically all rows are within one screen height – conventional theatre seating runs 8 to 12-screen heights. Also, the rows of seats are set at a steep angle (up to 30° in some domed theatres) so that the audience is facing the screen directly. The world's largest IMAX screen currently stands in Leonberg near Stuttgart , Germany and measures 38 by 22 m (125 by 72 ft). Until

6264-536: The camera, at four (smaller) perforations at a time, which translates to 27.4 meters (90 ft) per minute. In the Todd-AO 70 mm-format of widescreen cinema, the image area of a 65 mm film-frame is 48.5 mm × 22.1 mm (1.91 in × 0.87 in); in the IMAX-format of widescreen cinema, the film-frame dimensions are 69.6 mm × 48.5 mm (2.74 in × 1.91 in). To match

6372-471: The community, and the first Discovery Place Kids museum was opened in 2010 in Huntersville , North Carolina. Through public-private partnerships , the network continues to expand with a second Discovery Place Kids that opened in 2013 in Rockingham , North Carolina. In 2014, Discovery Place Education Studio at Bank of America STEM Center for Career Development opened on the museum's uptown campus. In 2016,

6480-417: The company was] September 1967. ... [The name change] came a year or two later. We first called the company Multiscreen Corporation because that, in fact, was what people knew us as. ... After about a year, our attorney informed us that we could never copyright or trademark Multivision. It was too generic. It was a descriptive word. The words that you can copyright are words like Kleenex or Xerox or Coca-Cola. If

6588-430: The corners of the projected frame to ensure perfect alignment. Shaw added cam -controlled arms to decelerate each frame to eliminate the microscopic shaking as the frame "settled" onto the registration pins. The projector's shutter is open around 20% longer than in conventional equipment, and the light source is brighter. The xenon short-arc lamps are made with a thin envelope of fused quartz and contain xenon gas at

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6696-600: The course of the advanced television process initiated by the Federal Communications Commission in 1987 at the request of American broadcasters. In essence, the end of the 1980s was a death knell for most analog high definition technologies that had developed up to that time. The FCC process, led by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) adopted a range of standards from interlaced 1,080-line video (a technical descendant of

6804-662: The derogatory name "LieMAX", particularly because the company still marketed the new screens similarly to the old ones, without making the major differences clear to the public, going so far as to market the smallest "IMAX" screen, having 10 times less area, similarly to the largest while persisting with the same brand name. Since 2002, some feature films have been converted into IMAX format for displaying in IMAX theatres, and some have also been (partially) shot in IMAX. By late 2017, 1,302 IMAX theatre systems were installed in 1,203 commercial multiplexes, 13 commercial destinations, and 86 institutional settings in 75 countries, with less than

6912-667: The dome may be lowered and raised as needed, such as at the Science Museum of Minnesota , and the former installation at the Canadian Museum of History (where it shared an auditorium with a standard IMAX screen, all replaced with a Barco CINE+ digital theatre system in 2016). The entire dome could be raised to show flat-screen features, and repositioned for immersive features. While the majority of museum installations focus on educational and documentary films, on special occasions entertainment films are also shown, such as Charlie and

7020-403: The early 1990s, but abandoned later on when it was replaced by a DVB analog standard. HighVision video is still usable for HDTV video interchange, but there is almost no modern equipment available to perform this function. Attempts at implementing HighVision as a 6 MHz broadcast channel were mostly unsuccessful. All attempts at using this format for terrestrial TV transmission were abandoned by

7128-577: The ease of transfer to editing systems for special effects. Depending on the year and format in which a movie was filmed, the exposed image can vary greatly in size. Sizes range from as big as 24 mm × 36 mm for VistaVision / Technirama 8 perforation cameras (same as 35 mm still photo film) going down through 18 mm × 24 mm for Silent Films or Full Frame 4 perforations cameras to as small as 9 mm × 21 mm in Academy Sound Aperture cameras modified for

7236-643: The end of 2007 to over 1,000 screens by the end of 2015. As of September 2017 , there were 1,302 IMAX theatres located in 75 countries, of which 1,203 were in commercial multiplexes. The switch to digital projection came at a steep cost in image quality, with 2K projectors having roughly an order of magnitude less resolution than traditional IMAX film projectors. Maintaining the same 7-story screen size would only make this loss more noticeable, so many new theaters were instead built with significantly smaller screens. These newer theaters with much lower resolution and much smaller screens soon began to be referred to by

7344-458: The existing cameras. The Wall Street Journal revealed that the new cameras will be made out of carbon fiber and titanium, and they will feature a five inch color display along with wireless capability. In 2011, IMAX announced a 4K 3D digital camera. The camera was developed alongside Vision Research and AbelCine, integrating two Phantom 65 engines. A prototype camera was used for the documentary Born to be Wild , in which approximately 10% of

7452-460: The facilities in Huntersville, North Carolina and Rockingham, North Carolina retained their names: Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville and Discovery Place Kids-Rockingham. The museum traces its history to 1946, and the foundation of a small museum on Cecil Street, Charlotte, by Laura Owens, a schoolteacher. The popularity of this museum led to the foundation of the Children's Nature Center adjacent to

7560-430: The film into contact with this lens. Thus the " field flattener " flattens the image field. The lens is twice the height of the film and connects to a pneumatic piston so it can be moved up or down while the projector is running. This way, if a piece of dust comes off the film and sticks to the lens, the projectionist can switch to a clean portion of the lens at the push of a button. The lens also has "wiper bars" made of

7668-425: The film runs horizontally so that the image width can be greater than the width of the film stock . It is called the 15/70 format . They can be purpose-built theaters and dome theaters , and many installations of this type limit themselves to a projection of high quality, short documentaries. The dedicated buildings and projectors required high construction and maintenance costs, necessitating several compromises in

7776-539: The film. A feature film platter can cost US$ 36,000 to print. The camera negative is actually 65 mm film stock, but it runs horizontally and with 15 perforations per frame. The camera, like the projector, has a vacuum system; this makes the camera noisy, forbidding the sync-sound recording of quiet scenes. The camera has enough film for three minutes of shooting. The large frame of the film also imposes optical limitations such as an extremely shallow depth of field when shooting with an open aperture. To use more of

7884-409: The finished film was shot with the system. The company has said they have no intention of replacing the higher resolution film cameras with the new digital camera, but the latter can be used in scenes that require a lightweight or relatively small 3D camera. While IMAX has completed the production camera and has placed it in service on several films, they have no plans to produce an IMAX film solely with

7992-572: The first installation occurring at the Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto . The system allows digital projection of the 1.43:1 aspect ratio surface of a traditional IMAX screen, but can also be used on other screens such as the 1.90:1-aspect-ratio TCL Chinese Theater . The system replaces the xenon arc lamp of a traditional digital projector with a laser light source, and is capable of 60 fps with "50 percent greater" brightness than

8100-455: The following years. To reduce costs, the IMAX SR and MPX systems were introduced in 1998 and 2004, respectively, to make IMAX available to multiplex and existing theaters. The SR system featured slightly smaller screens than GT theatres, though still in purpose-built auditoriums with a 1.43:1 aspect ratio. The MPX projectors were solely used to retrofit existing multiplex auditoriums, losing much of

8208-405: The frame, and most of the bottom half of the circular field falls beyond the edge of the film. The part of the field that would fall below the edge of the dome is masked. When filming, the camera is aimed upward at an angle that matches the tilt of the dome. When projected through a matching fisheye lens onto a dome, the original panoramic view is recreated. Omnimax wraps 180° horizontally, 100° above

8316-566: The horizon and 22° below the horizon for a viewer at the center of the dome. Omnimax premiered in 1973, showing Voyage to the Outer Planets (produced by Graphic Films) and Garden Isle (by Roger Tilton Films) on a double bill. Later in the 70s a successful Omnimax center was built at Caesars Palace , Las Vegas , and ran strongly through the 80s and 90s, eventually being closed and rebuilt. IMAX has since renamed its Omnimax system "IMAX Dome", but some theaters (primarily those opened before

8424-467: The image area, IMAX film does not include an embedded soundtrack. Instead, the IMAX system specifies a separate six-channel 35 mm (1.4 in) magnetic film, recorded and played back on a film follower locked to picture, just as Vitaphone had been (utilizing 16-inch 33 1/3 RPM electrical transcription discs ) in the early 20th century, and was the same technology used to provide the 7-channel soundtrack accompanying films photographed and exhibited in

8532-436: The image detail produced by these formats can be far below that of broadcast HD, and often even inferior to DVD-Video (3-9 Mbit/s MP2) upscaled to the same image size. The following is a chart of numerous online services and their HD offering: Since the late 2000s a considerably large number of security camera manufacturers have started to produce HD cameras. The need for high resolution, color fidelity, and frame rate

8640-438: The large area of a dome screen. The single-projector/single-camera system they eventually settled upon was designed and built by Shaw based upon a novel "Rolling Loop" film-transport technology purchased from Peter Ronald Wright Jones, a machine shop worker from Brisbane, Australia. Film projectors do not continuously flow the film in front of the bulb, but instead "stutter" the film travel so that each frame can be illuminated in

8748-570: The mid-1990s. Europe developed HD-MAC (1,250 lines, 50 Hz), a member of the MAC family of hybrid analogue/digital video standards; however, it never took off as a terrestrial video transmission format. HD-MAC was never designated for video interchange except by the European Broadcasting Union . High-definition digital video was not possible with uncompressed video due to impractically high memory and bandwidth requirements, with

8856-463: The name is descriptive, you can't trademark it so you have to make up a word. So we were sitting at lunch one day in a Hungarian restaurant in Montreal and we worked out a name on a placemat on which we wrote all the possible names we could think of. We kept working with the idea of maximum image. We turned it around and came up with IMAX. The name change actually happened more than two years later, because

8964-541: The network continues to expand with a second Discovery Place Kids opened in 2013 in Rockingham, NC. Conforming to the learning needs of the Charlotte region, Discovery Place set a goal to train the region's educators to be inspired and inspiring teachers of STEM education. In 2014, Discovery Place Education Studio at Bank of America STEM Center for Career Development opened on the museum's uptown campus. IMAX IMAX

9072-542: The new Freedom Park . This museum opened in 1951, with a focus on bringing families and nature together. It further expanded in 1965 to include a planetarium. By the 1970s, it had been renamed the Charlotte Nature Museum. At this time, interest in science education was growing, in part due to the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union . The community of Charlotte approved funding and plans for

9180-538: The new digital system. Transformers: Age of Extinction is the first feature film partially filmed with the Phantom 65 IMAX 3D camera. In 2015, IMAX announced a 2D digital camera that was developed alongside Arri , the camera being based on the latter company's Arri Alexa 65 technology. The first production to use the camera was Captain America: Civil War . The Russo brothers have stated that they solely used

9288-670: The organization rebranded as Discovery Place , consisting of three brands: Discovery Place Science in uptown Charlotte , Discovery Place Nature in Freedom Park and Discovery Place Kids in Huntersville and Rockingham. Additionally, the organization provides professional development through the Education Studio and educational programming through its community outreach program. Discovery Place operates Discovery Place Nature , formerly Charlotte Nature Museum, adjacent to Freedom Park and

9396-541: The original analog NHK 1125/30 Hz system) with a maximum frame rate of 30 Hz, (60 fields per second) and 720-line video, progressively scanned, with a maximum frame rate of 60 Hz. In the end, however, the DVB standard of resolutions (1080, 720, 480) and respective frame rates (24, 25, 30) were adopted in conjunction with the Europeans that were also involved in the same standardization process. The FCC officially adopted

9504-457: The quality of HD video is very high compared to SD video, and offers improved signal/noise ratios against comparable sensitivity film, film remains able to resolve more image detail than current HD video formats. In addition some films have a wider dynamic range (ability to resolve extremes of dark and light areas in a scene) than even the best HD cameras. Thus the most persuasive arguments for the use of HD are currently cost savings on film stock and

9612-581: The quality of the GT experience. Later came the introduction of the IMAX Digital 2K and IMAX with Laser 4K in 2008 and 2014 respectively, still limited in respect to the 70 megapixels of equivalent resolution of the original 15/70 film. Both technologies are purely digital and suitable to retrofit existing theaters. Since 2018, the Laser system has been employed to retrofit full dome installations, with limited results due to

9720-469: The region, Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville aims to appeal to families with young children and offers those living in outlying suburban communities the opportunity to visit a Discovery Place museum closer to home. A $ 18.7 million public-private venture between Discovery Place, Inc. and the City of Huntersville, Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville aimed to offer unique, learning-through-play experiences for young children. Through unique public-private partnerships,

9828-587: The release of The Dark Knight Rises in July 2012. In April 2012, IMAX began testing a new 4K laser projection system, based on patents licensed from Eastman Kodak . Like the 3D film and digital systems, it used two projectors, but it improved over the smaller digital screens by retaining the traditional IMAX aspect ratio and let films be shown on screens 36 m (118 ft) wide or more. In December 2014, IMAX began rolling out its new dual 4K laser projector system, dubbed "IMAX with Laser" and known as IMAX GT, with

9936-437: The resolution of security cameras, some manufacturers developed multi-sensor cameras. Within these devices several sensor-lens combinations produce the images, which are later merged during image processing . These security cameras are able to deliver even hundreds of megapixels with motion picture frame rate. Such high resolutions, however, requires special recording, storage and also video stream display technologies. Both

10044-437: The resolution to be reduced with each emulsion copying step and when the image passes through a lens (for example, on a projector). In many cases, the resolution can be reduced down to 1/6 of the original negative's resolution (or worse). Note that resolution values for 70 mm film are higher than those listed above. Many online video streaming, on-demand and digital download services offer HD video. Due to heavy compression,

10152-432: The scope of certified cameras expands, it will be easier for filmmakers to create films to meet the projection needs of the IMAX giant screen theater. Top Gun: Maverick (shot with the Sony CineAlta Venice) and Dune (shot with the Arri Alexa LF and Mini LF) were among the first films that used IMAX-certified cameras. Other films between 2021 and 2023 that captured with this program are The Suicide Squad (shot with

10260-751: The show begins, the screen can be backlit to show the speakers and girders behind it. The screen may be a permanent fixture, such as at the Museum of Science and Industry ( Henry Crown Space Center ) in Chicago, Illinois; the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History ; the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the St. Louis Science Center ; Boston's Museum of Science ; Richmond's Science Museum of Virginia ;

10368-500: The size or shape of ESTAR print film, and IMAX's pin registration system ( especially that of the camera mechanism ) does not tolerate either sprocket -hole or film-thickness variations, but the film can still swell or shrink under varying temperature and humidity. This requires projection booths to be kept at a temperature of between 20 and 23.8 °C and a humidity of 50%. The film is too large to be moved using its sprockets, so they are instead used for registration, to aid in aligning

10476-416: The sound mix engineers to take advantage of the screen's greater height. Transporting the large film stock through the optical system presented challenges for both the camera and the projector. Conventional 70 mm systems were not steady enough for the 586× magnification. On the projector side, William Shaw adapted an Australian patent (no. 291,375) for film transport called the "rolling loop" by adding

10584-427: The standard image resolution of the moving image produced with the film-speed of 24 frames per second , an IMAX film requires three times the length of (negative) film stock required for a 65 mm film of comparable scope and cinematic technique . In March 2022, IMAX announced a new initiative in cooperation with Kodak , Panavision , and FotoKem to develop "a new fleet of next generation IMAX film cameras", with

10692-485: The system facilitates inexpensive distribution of IMAX features, the company announced in February 2012 that they were renovating specially selected locations around the world to present both 70 mm analog as well as digital presentations. To do so, IMAX developed a rail system that moves the projectors in and out to accommodate either a full-frame film print or a digital-only release. These theaters were prepared in time for

10800-458: The theoretical resolution of traditional IMAX film, which is estimated at up to 12,000 lines of horizontal resolution on the 65 mm camera negative (12K) and approximately 6,000 on a 35 mm release print (6K), the new laser system features dual- 4K resolution projectors, each capable of displaying four times the detail of one Digital IMAX projector. Like Digital IMAX, images from the two projectors are projected superimposed on each other with

10908-561: The viewer has a 16:9 set which stretches the image out to normal-looking proportions, or a set which squishes the image vertically to present a letterbox view of the image, again with correct proportions. The EU defines HD resolution as 1920 x 1080 pixels or 2 073 600 pixels and UHD resolution as 3840 x 2160 pixels or 8 294 400 pixels. Note: Image is either a frame or, in case of interlaced scanning, two fields (EVEN and ODD). Also, there are less common but still popular UltraWide resolutions, such as 2560×1080p (1080p UltraWide). There

11016-497: Was abandoning the format and would discontinue development, marketing and manufacturing of HD DVD players and drives. The high resolution photographic film used for cinema projection is exposed at the rate of 24 frames per second but usually projected at 48, each frame getting projected twice helping to minimise flicker. One exception to this was the 1986 National Film Board of Canada short film Momentum , which briefly experimented with both filming and projecting at 48 frame/s, in

11124-462: Was added to accommodate traveling exhibitions and, in 1991, The Charlotte Observer IMAX Dome Theatre opened as the first giant-screen motion picture theatre in the Carolinas. The Carol Grotnes Belk Education and Parking Complex was completed in 1996. In 2010, Discovery Place was significantly redeveloped, with an 18-month, $ 31.6 million renovation. The museum has continued to grow with the expansion of

11232-550: Was featured in the US Pavilion (the largest structure in the expo). It became the first IMAX Theatre to not be partnered with any other brand of movie theatres. About five million visitors viewed the screen, which covered the viewer's total visual field when looking directly forward. This created a sensation of motion in most viewers, and motion sickness in some. Another IMAX 3D theatre was also built in Spokane; however, its screen size

11340-415: Was located at the tip of Canada Place , a Vancouver landmark. In 2008, IMAX extended its brand into traditional theaters with the introduction of Digital IMAX, a lower-cost system that uses two 2K digital projectors to project on a 1.90:1 aspect ratio screen. This lower-cost option, which allowed for the conversion of existing multiplex theater auditoriums, helped IMAX to grow from 299 screens worldwide at

11448-546: Was the largest IMAX Dome/OMNIMAX theatre in the world) with an Evans & Sutherland Digistar 6 "True8K" digital system in 2017. In November 2018, the Hackworth IMAX dome in The Tech Museum (now The Tech Interactive ) replaced its 70 mm IMAX projector with a 4K IMAX Laser projector. It became the first digital IMAX Laser dome theater in the world. High-definition video High-definition video ( HD video )

11556-405: Was three times longer, and so Jones's invention was necessary for the novel IMAX projector method with its horizontal film feed. As it became clear that a single, large-screen image had more impact than multiple smaller ones and was a more viable product direction, Multiscreen changed its name to IMAX. Co-founder Graeme Ferguson explained how the name IMAX originated: ... the incorporation date [of

11664-485: Was unsuitable for use inside a dome because it had a 3.65 m (12.0 ft) tall lamp house on top. IMAX Corporation redesigned its system, adding an elevator to lift the projector to the center of the dome from the projection booth below. Spectra Physics designed a suitable lamphouse that took smaller, 46 cm (18 in) lamps and placed the bulb behind the lens instead of above the projector. In 1970, Ernst Leitz Canada, Ltd. (now ELCAN Optical Technologies ) won

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