Written for Presentation at the SMPTE 2010 Technical Conference & Expo

The adoption of digital projection in the cinema is gaining momentum. The challenge for the adoption of digital cinema has been system cost. Even with the promise of incremental revenue from 3D and cost sharing with motion picture studios, overall cost of ownership remains an obstacle for many theater owners. Today, digital cinema projectors using Xenon light sources have become the dominant design. However dramatic improvements in the price/performance of high-power lasers in recent years create great opportunities for both reducing operating costs and improving the quality of digital cinema projection. Both the potential and the pitfalls of 2D and 3D digital projection based on laser light sources will be discussed. System impacts on contrast, efficiency, brightness, color gamut, and laser speckle will be considered. — Kodak has built a fully functional, DCI ready 2D and 3D laser projector prototype demonstrating a unique optical architecture that takes advantage of the best attributes of lasers. Enhanced image performance is delivered in a cost-conscious design. The challenges of lasers, such as speckle, are addressed throughout the system, providing excellent performance on the large screen.

Published

2010-10

Content type

Original Research

Keywords

Kodak, TI, DLP, 3D, Digital Cinema, Laser, “Cost of Ownership”, contrast, brightness, color gamut, laser speckle, projector

DOI

10.5594/M001399

ISBN

978-1-61482-944-7