Even dedicated theaters like those IMAX uses (well, at least some of them are dedicated) need a little help when it comes to achieving the best sound. Take a look across the consumer AV receiver landscape and you'll see that various flavors of Audyssey's MultEQ technology is pretty popular for measuring and correcting the artifacts that arise in real-world rooms. Small wonder then, that MultEQ (no doubt a pro variant) has been selected by IMAX to help iron out problems with in-theater sound. Who knows, maybe we were distracted by the armrest-gripping visuals, but we've never had a complaint about IMAX sound. Still, we'll take any improvements we can get once the technicians start running through IMAX theaters with mics and test tones in 2010.

It's absolutely no secret that The Dark Knight director Chris Nolan is a big fan of IMAX, the latest rumors indicate his third Batman flick could make the jump from part-time to full time. The IMAX scenes fom The Dark Knight came home in frame filling 16x9 to the delight of some and the ire of others, but perhaps a movie that didn't switch between aspect ratios would have a more universally positive response. Of course, Ain't It Cool News reports this could all fall through despite the best of intentions, but, are you excited by the potential of 100% IMAX feature films?

[Via Splash Page]

Hope you liked The Dark Knight's treatment of its shot-for-IMAX scenes, as it may be a trend. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen director (and Blu-ray fan for life) Michael Bay has stated that among other unspecified extras, the disc release will see similar frame filling transfers that let viewers see top to bottom. This is your chance to be heard, are you a fan, or just want everything in one aspect ratio?

Since most of you are apparently waiting to see Star Trek at home anyway, this might not affect you but recently there's been a ruckus over what constitutes "real" IMAX. Judging from the map above, the company has been very successful spreading its IMAX Digital gospel to movie theaters across the country, but when patrons drop an extra $5 or so and don't see the gigantic field of vision-filling screen they're used to, is that really the IMAX experience? Whether you agree with IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond that the quality of digital projection, improved sound and slightly shifted viewing angle is enough to create the "wow factor" or Aziz Ansari's accusation of Liemax for the converted theaters, it's not right that it usually isn't clearly indicated which kind of setup your local theater has until you're actually inside. Check out the Google Map link to know what your local moviehouse is like, and let us know which kind of screen you've seen recent blockbusters like The Dark Knight and Star Trek on.

[Thanks, Ryan]

Read - AZIZ VS. IMAX ROUND 2: IMAX CEO Responds! And so do I. I challenge you to a televised debate sir!
Read - IMAX Digital vs. 70mm IMAX Google Map

With all the buzz about the new Star Trek movie -- IMDB of 8.2 and at #82 of all time already -- we might actually head to the theater to check it out instead of just waiting and enjoying it on our HDTV at home. So we're wondering: Which is the better movie going experience, IMAX or DLP, for an HD Snob? Now there is little doubt that DLP is the way to go when a movie is created with a digital camera like the RED, but Star Trek was filmed the old fashioned way with Kodak 35mm film (Kodak Vision2 100T 5212, Vision2 500T 5218 to be exact). At the same time IMAX is a no brainer when there are IMAX filmed sequences in the movie like in the case of The Dark Knight. So considering that to present Star Trek on either IMAX and DLP requires some sort of conversion, we wonder which is the best way to go?

IMAX has been around for years, while 3D is just now starting to really infiltrate the theater scene. Curiously, it looks as if 3D will have more of the alternate cinema market share than IMAX in no time flat, despite IMAX's tremendous advantage in launch time. Thanks to The Dark Knight, however, IMAX could receive that much-needed breath of life it has been waiting for. Director Christopher Nolan has reportedly stated that he'd like to shoot an entire film for IMAX, even though it would undoubtedly be down-converted for playback on traditional screens. He did admit that the noisiness of the camera could cause issues, but that's nothing a hard-working set pusher couldn't overcome. For those who viewed the latest installment of Batman in theaters, many were most captivated by the expansive IMAX sequences -- in fact, we'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't want an entire film to look like that.

[Via FirstShowing]

Don't let that December 9 street date fool you, it seems like many are taking our advice and getting their hands on The Dark Knight Blu-ray disc as soon as possible. Reports have popped up on more than one forum over the last weekend of people ordering -- and receiving -- copies from retailers with 7-11-style views of release date tyranny, or for the less scrupulous, downloading ripped copies. Even worse the biggest Blu-ray debut to date is being met with criticism before it even (officially) goes on the shelf, with complaints about edge enhancement, compression and director Chris Nolan's aspect ratio choices in relation to IMAX / non-IMAX footage. Need to check it out for yourself? A bit of poking around should earn a copy sooner rather than later, no mail-ins necessary.

Read - AVSForum
Read - Blu-ray.com

Canadian broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV has just acquired the exclusive rights to a number of IMAX originals, and it's not just keeping them for itself. A total of 20 IMAX films will begin airing in December on its suite of HD channels: Oasis HD, Equator HD, Treasure HD and Rush HD. Among the titles are The Secret Of Life On Earth, Fires Of Kuwait, Hail Columbia, The Nutcracker, T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous, Space Station, Into the Deep, Destiny in Space, China: The Panda Adventure, Blue Planet, Ozarks: Legacy and Legend, Heartland, L5: First City in Space, The Last Buffalo, Skyward, The Dream is Alive, Mission to Mir, Galapagos, Survival Island and Mountain Gorilla. Thank goodness it didn't have to ask the CRTC for permission to add 'em, though.

Confirming earlier indications The Dark Knight's IMAX sequences would remain largely intact -- full widescreen with the rest of the movie letterboxed --on Blu-ray, director Christopher Nolan pushed for Academy members to receive that version as a screener (why not give them a guided tour via BD-Live?), prompting Warner to mail them ahead of time offering the option of Blu-ray or DVD. The Hollywood Reporter mentions other studios are thinking about making the switch -- notably Sony regarding Will smith's upcoming Seven Pounds -- but haven't done anything yet, with concerns about cost and piracy. We wouldn't be surprised to see watermarking systems like the one Fox recently adopted come into widespread use, as much as studios want to avoid leaks they still want their productions seen in the absolute highest quality, right? Still, the first hurdle is making sure people can actually watch them, the report ends mentioning several members tossed the letter since they don't own a Blu-ray player yet.

[Via MovieWeb]

Enjoying the small clip of IMAX The Dark Knight footage featured on the recent Batman Begins Blu-ray release? Even before the next flick hits theaters, director Christopher Nolan has already revealed plans to convert all the scenes shot for IMAX screens for use on the Blu-ray copy, whenever it hits shelves. Some cropping will be done to make everything fit but we'll still enjoy the extra detail in 1080p.

Keep an eye out for a new development at IMAX theaters near you, as it starts to roll out digital projection to its 296 theaters next month. Two sites in Washington and one in Philadelphia are first (not to mention those new theaters in Russia), with 50 expected to be complete by the end of the year. The big deal here is that the savings cost, switching from a $22,000 70mm IMAX print to $800 hard drive copies, along with more joint venture deals, should lead the company to profitability according to analysts. Look for more flicks available in IMAX format as a result, with Madagascar 2 making the first big jump to digital, with plans to hit 35 screens on November 7.

With premium content like that beamed onto IMAX screens, we had a feeling Northstar Media wouldn't have to wait long before finding buyers for its distribution rights to 21 IMAX films. Less than a month later, we find that the Documentary Channel has stepped up to the plate to bring the features to TV. The multi-year agreement with an undisclosed price (read: big bucks) gives Documentary Channel exclusive rights (read: really big bucks) to the content, bundled under the aptly-named "IMAX XXI Film package." We'll leave the rich comic potential of Tom Cruise narrating Space Station ("Hey, is that Xenu?") and Tom Hanks' take on Magnificent Desolation for our dear readers in the comments below, but this is some great content that you should keep an eye out for; if the Documentary Channel is available from your provider, that is.

Looking to get the IMAX experience while traveling to the largest country on Planet Earth? If you can manage to hold off a bit longer (2009 to 2011), you can. Announced this week, IMAX Corporation has inked deals to get its digital projection systems into three separate venues in Russia -- one each in the cities of Sochi, Nizinhy Novogorod and Novosibirsk. Respectively, the agreements are with Luxor Cinemax, Electronika and Art Science Cinema Distribution. As it stands, IMAX theaters already operate in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan, but plans are to have a total of ten open in the country by 2011.

[Via AboutProjectors, image courtesy of Pathe-IMAX]

IMAX flicks have consistently made a good transition to high definition, and it looks like distributor Northstar Media plans to keep that trend going. It's licensed a package of 21 movies with the specific intent of delivering the IMAX experience in high definition., according to Greg Foster of Imax Corp. Been waiting to see Blue Planet, Space Station or Into the Deep at home? Expect to see them sooner rather than later on TV, VOD, mobile and broadband services. Peep the read link for a full list.

Electrosonic's MS9600 isn't the only thing flying out of ShoWest this week -- oh no, we've also learned that Texas Instruments will have quite a bit to do with forthcoming IMAX deployments. Apparently, the aforementioned outfit has inked a deal that will land its DLP Cinema projectors in "each IMAX Digital projection system to be deployed to commercial exhibitors around the world from mid-2008." Unfortunately, all the gory details we crave were left out -- starting with a list of cities in which to expect these DLP-powered venues -- but thankfully, the release did manage to spare the whole "it's the mirrors" tagline when getting the point across.

[Via AboutProjectors, image courtesy of Pathe-IMAX]