Dolby Surround, Dolby Atmos, IMAX: how modern cinema hall formats differ

Why do we go to the cinema? To immerse yourself in the world of the film for a couple of hours, without being distracted by anything, and to appreciate all the sound and visual effects that the director used in the film!

Special equipment used in cinemas helps us to achieve the effect of presence. It can be located in the hall according to four main systems, and now we will figure out how they differ from each other.

The same sound

The oldest system that works in most cinemas in Russia is dolby surround 7.1 ex. Its main feature is the sound that literally surrounds the viewer due to the speakers and subwoofers placed throughout the hall. One of the main problems of cinemas operating according to this scheme is that cinema owners are not always ready to spend money on replacing and repairing outdated equipment, which can cause distortions in both picture and sound.

A newer technology is dolby atmos. To set it up, an engineer is invited who can not only control the calibration of the equipment, but also do it himself. This system includes additional speakers hidden in the ceiling, additional subwoofers in the back, and speakers directly behind the screen. Due to this, the sound does not just hang in the air around the viewer, but can move to different points in the hall. For example, an airplane taking off will "sweep" right over your head.

Picture perfect

Another technology that focuses not so much on sound as on a picture as close to reality as possible is dolby cinema. In it, the effect of presence is achieved not only with the help of sound, but also with the dolby vision mode: the black colors are deeper, and the bright glare dazzle the eyes just like in reality. Alas, there is no such technology in Russian cinemas, but it is actively used in Europe and America.

IMAX technology can be called an ideal combination of good sound and cool picture. All the halls are designed at the head office in Canada (!), The sound is controlled from the same place. The image is broadcast on a 29-meter screen, and viewers sitting close to it get a viewing angle of 79-80 degrees - this is how peripheral vision is involved. Colors are rendered so well that when you turn black on the screen, questions arise - is the projector working, or has it just turned off?

Conveniently, you can evaluate each of the formats yourself in the respective cinemas, so that later you can choose the one that you like and suit you personally.

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