The benefits of digital cinema to producers, exhibitors, and the cinema audience are many, proponents say. The distribution and projection technologies are here. The cost benefits are real. Last fall, a proof of the DLP Cinema projector concept from TI turned many of the remaining Hollywood skeptics into true believers. According to TI executives, all that remains is for the movie industry to develop industry standards for compression and encryption, a digital distribution infrastructure, and then to buy into the future.
Digital technology is already a large part of the modern film making experience.
Most movie sound tracks are digital. Film editing is accomplished with the help of computer software. Computer graphics have replaced many of the volatile special effects that punctuate today's blockbuster hits. Despite all this, however, film has remained king of the feature movie because only recently has digital electronic projection technology been capable of providing the cinematic experience that the audience has adored for over 100 years. Film's basic analog nature, although as archaic as the vinyl record, contains an almost infinite variety of possible signals, giving the cinematographer the ability to create a totally unique mood for each scene.