Dolby Cinema is a premium cinema created by
Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in Noise reduction#In audio, audio noise reduction, Audio data compression, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and ...
that combines Dolby proprietary technologies such as
Dolby Vision
Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
and
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...
, as well as other signature entrance and intrinsic design features. The technology competes with
IMAX
IMAX 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.
Graeme F ...
and other premium large formats such as
Cinemark's XD and
Regal's RPX.
History
The first installations featuring Dolby Cinema were JT (now Vue) Bioscopen Cinema in Eindhoven, Netherlands on 18 December 2014; followed by Cinesa La Maquinista in Barcelona, Spain. Dolby Laboratories has partner contracts with Cinesa,
Vue Cinemas
Vue International (, like "view"), is a multinational cinema holding company based in London, England. It operates in the United Kingdom and Ireland as Vue, with international operations in Denmark and Germany (as CinemaxX); Italy (as The Space ...
,
AMC Theatres
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...
(known as Dolby Cinema at AMC, formerly Dolby Cinema at AMC Prime until early 2017),
Cineplexx Cinemas
Cineplexx is a cinema company based in Vienna, Austria, owned by Constantin Film-Foundation. The company was founded in 1993, and operates mainly in Austria where it is the largest cinema chain with 28 locations, mostly multiplex cinemas under t ...
,
Wanda Cinemas
Wanda Cinemas () is a cinema operator in China, headquartered in the Wanda Plaza ( 万达广场) in Chaoyang District, Beijing.[Reel Cinemas
Cathay Organisation Holdings Limited is one of Singapore's leisure and entertainment groups. It has the first THX cinema hall and digital cinema in Singapore. The group has operations in Singapore and Malaysia.
History
Associated Theatres L ...]
and
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon, stylised as ODEON, is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name of ...
to install Dolby Cinemas.
On May 26, 2017, Dolby announced they made a deal with
Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé to open 10 new locations in Europe. Seven will be located in France and three will be located in The Netherlands.
Technology
Dolby Vision
Dolby Cinema utilizes a
Dolby Vision
Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
projection system developed by Dolby Laboratories in conjunction with
Christie Digital. The system consists of dual Christie 4K 6P (primary) modular laser projectors featuring a custom design to allow for unique light path. The system is capable of delivering up to 14
foot-lambert
A foot-lambert or footlambert (fL, sometimes fl or ft-L) is a unit of luminance in United States customary units and some other unit systems. A foot-lambert equals 1/π or 0.3183 candela per square foot, or 3.426 candela per square meter (the corre ...
(48 nits) on unity-gain matte-white screens for 3-D (and up to 31 foot-lambert (106 nits) for 2-D), a substantial improvement on current generation 3-D systems which deliver in the range of 3 to 4 foot-lambert for 3-D. The result is improved brightness, color and contrast compared to traditional xenon projectors. The first theaters temporarily used off-the-shelf dual Christie 4K
laser projector
A laser projector is a device that projects changing laser beams on a screen to create a moving image for entertainment or professional use. It consists of a housing that contains lasers, mirrors, galvanometer scanners, and other optical component ...
s until the Dolby Vision-capable ones were shipped out in spring 2015.
Dolby 3D uses spectrum separation, where the two projectors function in stacked operation with each projector emitting a slightly different wavelength of red, green, and blue primary. There is no polarization present on the projector, and the 3-D spectacles have notch filters that block the primaries used by the projector projecting the image intended for the other eye.
Dolby Vision is able to display the following combinations of resolution and frame-rate:
* 2K – 2D at 120fps, 60fps, 48fps and 30fps
* 2K – 3D at 120fps, 60fps, 48fps and 30fps per eye / projector
* 4K – 2D at 120fps, 60fps, 48fps and 30fps
* 4K – 3D at 120fps, 60fps, 48fps and 30fps per eye / projector
* 8K – 2D at 120fps, 60fps, 48fps and 30fps
* 8K – 3D at 120fps, 60fps, 48fps and 30fps per eye / projector
Although the twin projectors are capable of displaying the 7,500:1 contrast ratio defined by the DCI fixed luminance gamma function, for movies not graded with Dolby Vision, the projectors are limited to 5,000:1 contrast ratio. The Hollywood studios have graded over 100 films directly on Dolby Cinema projectors, the creative team can then create content with contrast ratios of 1,000,000:1.
Dolby Atmos
![Dolby Cinema in Hilversum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Dolby_Cinema_in_Hilversum.jpg)
Another component of the Dolby Cinema experience is
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horizontal, nor verti ...
, an object-oriented, 3-D immersive surround-sound format developed by Dolby Laboratories.
The system is capable of 128 simultaneous audio inputs utilizing up to 64 individual speakers to enhance viewer immersion.
The first film to support the new format was Disney and Pixar's animated film ''
Brave'', released in 2012.
Signature entrance
Most Dolby Cinemas feature a curved video wall entrance displaying content related to the feature film playing in the auditorium. The content displayed on the video wall is specifically generated by the film studio and is intended to immerse viewers in the movie experience before the movie has started. The video is generated using multiple short throw high definition projectors in the entrance ceiling and proprietary software is used to pixel map the different images together along the wall. Similarly, the audio is generated using speakers placed in the ceiling of the entrance.
See also
*
IMAX
IMAX 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.
Graeme F ...
*
RealD 3D
RealD 3D is a digital stereoscopy, stereoscopic projection technology made and sold by RealD. It is currently the most widely used technology for watching 3D films in theaters. Worldwide, RealD 3D is installed in more than 26,500 auditoriums by app ...
References
External links
Dolby Cinema Homepage{{Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories
High dynamic range
Premium large format movie formats
Surround sound