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Regal Entertainment Group teams up with Sony to bring subtitle glasses to US theaters
We've been hearing about glasses that only display subtitles to those who need them for years (most recently with a trial run in the UK), but it looks like they're now finally about to enter the US market in a fairly big way. Regal Entertainment Group announced today that it's partnered with Sony Entertainment to bring the company's Access Glasses to "practically all" of its digital theaters in the US (that includes the vast majority of its 500+ theaters and more than 4,700 screens in all). Those glasses work with both 2D and 3D movies (the latter courtesy of a clip-on filter), and can provide closed-captioned text in up to six different languages for the hearing impaired, as well as descriptive audio for the visually impaired when they're paired with headphones. According to Regal, the glasses are already rolling out to some theaters this month, and it says they should be everywhere by the first quarter of 2013.
3D glasses vending machine lets you be fashionable in the dark
There are certain things worth paying to upgrade: earbuds, perhaps, and maybe even Spotify. But when it comes to buying fancy 3D glasses for the sole purpose of looking cool in a pitch-black theater -- well, aren't we already spending enough on popcorn and Funyuns? EX3D doesn't seem to think so. Starting August 13th, moviegoers in San Diego will be able to trade in those freebies for fashion at a 3D glasses vending machine. At $22 - $30 a pop, these "affordable" and "stylish" glasses may be a boon for those who wouldn't be caught dead wearing the same specs as their friends. Of course, you can also use these babies out of the theater on a passive 3D TV. As for us? We'll stick with the freebies, thank you very much. Jump past the break for the full PR.
Theaters threaten boycott over DirecTV's proposed premium VOD
Paying $30 to watch a movie via DirecTV's video-on-demand might seem crazy to you, even if the movie did just hit the theaters less than two months ago, but not was crazy as it seems to the owners of the largest theater chains in America. You see, for the first time, maybe ever, the theater business is absolutely booming and the home media business is going in the opposite direction. So while Hollywood thinks that this is an opportunity to find lost ground in a suffering sector, the CEO of the nation's largest theater chain Regal Entertainment, Amy Miles, said "if a film has a four-to-six week window to a home, we're not going to give it screen time." Ouch. The big wig who runs AMC, Gerry Lopez, wasn't any more receptive, insisting "we do not intend to screen movies released under such circumstances." We'd prefer not to get in the middle of this lover's quarrel, but we have to say we doubt enough people would be willing to pay $30 to watch a movie at home to impact the theater business one way or another.
James Cameron talks Avatar's theatrical, Blu-ray Special Editions
This weekend Avatar comes back for more in theaters, packing an extra 8 and a half minutes and only available in 3D. According to director James Cameron, part of the reason is there are so many more 3D cinemas now than there were before, especially internationally. If you're still holding out for the (next) home release, expect even more footage with an extra 16 minutes added onto the original cut, which Cameron hopes will help hold fans over while they work on sequels that could take years to make. Oh, and the Blu-ray 3D release? The Hollywood Reporter says that's still on hold for 2011, while Cameron & Co. hold out for a larger installed base of 3D-ready displays.
New glasses-free 3D tech uses per pixel prisms for zero crosstalk, audience flexibility
Try as manufacturers might, attempts at autostereoscopic (glasses-free) TV have been subpar; existing tech typically makes for messy images due to ghosting, only provides a 3D effect if you're standing in one of a very few predetermined spots (usually 8-10 viewing angles, though we've heard of 64), and reduces display resolution -- all because only some pixels can be seen from each spot. With the occasional exception, it's not terribly impressive. Scientists at the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan are looking to change that. Rather than block light with a parallax barrier, their screen uses a matrix of specially cut prisms to reflect it, reducing ghosting to nil and maintaining display resolution by sending the same image to each viewer. Though there are still a fixed number of viewing zones, the prisms are so tiny that manufacturers can simply add more prisms to each pixel to increase that number -- with 11 prisms per pixel, researchers say such a system could support 100 simultaneous 3D moviegoers. We've no word on whether the tech is affordable or when we'll see it, but we expect it to handily beat cyborg eyeballs to market.
The amazing shoe box theater powered by an iPhone
I love home theater. I love it so much that I have a real one in my house with a nine foot 2:35:1 screen and enough clean sound to be IMAX's little brother. Now Gary Katz has taken the opposite approach and built an absolutely gorgeous Liliputian theater out of a shoebox, some rubber cement, laser printed graphics and a very sharp knife. Take a look at the hand in the picture above and you'll be able to see the scale. Open the doors and you'll see a quite realistic-looking theater. And what powers the magic? An iPhone of course, which is cleverly slipped into a slot at the back of the shoebox. This little jewel box of a theater is a work of art in itself and the attention to detail is remarkable. I can easily see an audience of green army soldier toys happily watching Toy Story. I think they'd like it much more than Ratatouille. Read on to see the theater in action and then check out the inevitable 'making of' documentary. [via iPhone Savior]
Sony joins up with DCIP, assists in switching theaters over to digital projection
Proving it can play well with others, Sony Pictures has decided to throw in with most of the other major studios in the Digital Cinema Implementation Partners to fund digital projection switches across North America. Similar to its existing deal with RealD to go straight to 3D with 4K SXRD equipment, these digital cinemas can be converted to 3D later. Since we first heard about the group's plans to upgrade movie theaters, plans have slowed due to the credit crisis, but with every major studio except Warner Bros. on board, it would seem they've got the backing to make 20,000 digital perfect -- and cheap digital print movie distribution compatible -- sooner rather than later.
Can 3D cinemas really take off?
Every so often, a technology manages to get everyone on board at just the right time in order to make a surge. Recently, that technology has been 3D cinema. After titles like Hannah Montana and U2 3D hit the scenes, the buzz swept over ShoWest in Las Vegas and has continued on with announcements that all future DreamWorks Animations productions would be made in 3D and even the NBA dipping its toes into the third-dimension during the regular season. Still, word on the street has the price of bringing a Dolby 3D Digital Cinema experience to theaters between $20,000 and $30,000, and of course, you have to convince viewers to wear those somewhat uncomfortable glasses and probably pay a premium just to sit down. Quite honestly, we still don't see 3D becoming a dominant force in tried and true theaters for years; as amazing as the technology can be when executed perfectly, there's still quite a few detractions holding it down. What say you? Can you imagine a 3D theater or two popping up in your local Cineplex? Would you even go if it happened?[Via AboutProjectors, image courtesy of LA Times]
