Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mr. Sunshine who wrote (24130)	3/12/1999 7:28:00 PM
From: Boplicity	Respond to of 152472

Film Reel Running Out of Time By MICHAEL FLEEMAN .c The Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The curtain appears to be lowering on a longtime Hollywood symbol -- the film reel. With the advent of the digital theaters and projectors, the movie industry is embarking on the biggest technological change since sound and color became part of motion pictures. Leading the revolution is director George Lucas, whose eagerly anticipated ''Star Wars'' prequel, ''Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace,'' will be shown this May in four digitally equipped theaters. In two to five years, increasing numbers of movie houses could go digital as exhibitors work out technical and business problems. ''I'm very dedicated and very enthusiastic about the digital cinema,'' Lucas told thousands of theater operators at the ShoWest convention late Wednesday. He cited the ''quality, the savings in cost and the ability to do things that just aren't possible today.'' In digital cinema, the movies are shot on film and then converted to a digital format, though soon the work may also be shot on digital cameras. The completed movies are distributed from studio to theaters by satellite, over fiber-optic cable or on special discs. The movies are shown on a digital projector, a significant upgrade from the standard film projector whose basic technology has barely changed since Edison's Kinetoscope in 1891. It used George Eastman's celluloid film on 35 mm stock -- the same as today. One digital projector, developed by Texas Instruments, creates a screen image by bouncing light off 1.3 million microscopic mirrors squeezed onto a square-inch chip. The cost of the digital tools will be a pricey investment for theater owners. A digital projector runs about $100,000, compared to about $30,000 for a standard projector. But digital technology allows theaters more flexibility in show times and the number of screens showing a particular movie, since theaters aren't limited by a finite number of film prints. While the technology will be a boost to convenience, audiences are likely to see only minor differences in quality. A demonstration at ShoWest on Wednesday, with film and digital scenes projected side-by-side on a big screen, revealed digital movie quality is now as good -- and in some respects better -- than film, with a cleaner, sharper image that won't show wear and tear with repeated showings. The only problem with digital appeared to be color, with white tones taking on a yellow tint, the blues becoming purplish and skin tones giving actresses in the demonstration an artificial, almost mannequin-like complexion. ''I was very impressed with the quality. It's almost to the point where it's ready,'' said Mike Goakey, director of construction for Signature Theaters, with 145 screens in California and Hawaii. ''I think the big issue is going to be the money end of it.''