Digital Cinema - A Wise Move?

Digital Cinema should be the next logical step in the advancement of movie technology, as the debate between analog and digital has long since been won by the latter. There have been efforts to promote digital cinema and standardize theaters for digital technology, but it's been a stiflingly slow process. So slow that the question arises: is digital cinema a wise move?

Many people who worked on Star Wars Episodes 1 to 3, which were all shot and produced digitally, will have to say yes, it is a wise move. First of all, they saved thousands by shooting digitally, whereas they would have spent millions shooting on celluloid film. Special effects was a breeze, as editing could begin instantly, even minutes after the director can yell, "Cut!" Film still has better quality over digital video, at least initially. Eventually, however, film's quality lessens the more it gets played, while digital movies maintain their crispness all throughout. So why aren't theaters rushing to get digitized?

Let's consider the audio counterpart. Between a CD and a cassette tape, it's no contest: get the CD. CDs play music at the best possible quality, and will last you a long time. Cassette tapes warp over time, the tape itself stretches out and deteriorates each time it is played. Today, the only way a cassette tape trumps a CD is it is easier to record on a cassette tape, as long as you have a cassette recorder. You can record on a CD also, but you'll need a digital recording device, and then transfer the files to your computer, convert the files if you have to, then you'll have to install all kinds of software first, and learn how to use them. All that versus just pressing a button.

In a sense, it's the same with cinema. Making the movie on a digital camera makes editing and post-production way easier and definitely way cheaper, as well. Post production is so easy that even movies shot on film are digitized so that they can be edited digitally. These movies are usually again transferred to film after the editing process; even if it is more expensive, it is easier to distribute these to theaters that can only support film projectors.

And that's where the entire problem lies - it is too expensive to convert theaters for digital projection. Installing one such screen would cost at least $150,000. Theater owners are reluctant to take the plunge, knowing that digital projectors are not as sophisticated as the rest of digital technology and are known to break down easily. The technology is not as mature as the tried and tested. Given that a film projector can last up to 50 years of dependable service, a digital projector would not make a sound investment. So compare all the converting and troubleshooting and getting used to the new hardware to simply using the old projector you've always been using.

Of course, the technological points of digital cinema is still improving, still maturing. When it does become ready, it should roll out to theaters in full force. Digital cinema can be a wise move. Let's just hope it starts moving a bit faster soon.

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