jkjome85 Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 Hi all, today I went to a not so local movie store, and saw a small collection of about 10 IMAX films. Such titles were ALASKA, GRAND CANYON, BLUE PLANET, and others from dinosaurs to space exploration. Upon closer inspection of the DVD cases, I found that they said that they maintain their original film ratios or something like that. I dont know much about film ratios, but I am curious to know what watching these films on a regular tv, or a Widescreen one like I own would look like? Are they going to be presented in widescreen, fullscreen, or something else? The movies look really cool, and I would like to purchase some, but want to know if it would work right with my non-IMAX theatre. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 Good question! How you liking your reciever? It is on my short list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 I beleive the format allows you to see 1/867th of the picture at a time. Unless you can pan to see the rest of the picture or stack up a whole bunch of tvs you are kinda outta luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 The IMAX aspect ratio is only slightly wider than standard TV. The area of each frame is just much larger than that of a standard 35mm motion picture frame. This allows much more detail and therefore a bigger usable screen. Don't expect to have anywhere near the impact you would experience at an IMAX theater when watching at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodj101 Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 IMAX movies would be kinda lame after seeing them on those big *** screens and going to something tiny....just my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkjome85 Posted September 13, 2003 Author Share Posted September 13, 2003 Ok, so if I were to buy any of these movies and watch them on my widescreen tv, I still see every bit of picture.. it just won't "perfectly fit" the screen? Oh, and I absolutely love my H/K AVR525 reciever!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR69 Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 IMAX is shot on 70mm film stock with an aspect ration of 16x9 versus standard definition TV which has an aspect ratio of 3x4. On a widescreen TV, you should see everything you would see in an IMAX theatre without the immense size of the screen (normally 50 to 60 feet tall and concave to suck you into the movie), but beware as some newer TVs will will automatically letterbox (black bands on the top and bottom) the video to keep the aspect ratio. On regular TVs, you will not see the left and right sides of the video...you lose about 16% of the picture (I think) For me, a big part of the IMAX experience is the larger than life screen, 15000 Watts of audio power the fact that the big film looks better than any video source including HD. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 ---------------- On 9/13/2003 2:47:54 PM cluless wrote: I beleive the format allows you to see 1/867th of the picture at a time. Unless you can pan to see the rest of the picture or stack up a whole bunch of tvs you are kinda outta luck.. . ---------------- Look! I found a cluless IMAX video! Whoa! Im getting dizzy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 No, the IMAX aspect ratio is approximately 1.43:1. Plain old TV is 4:3 or 1.33:1. HDTV is 16:9 or 1.78:1. IMAX is not a wide screen format. It is a big screen format. FWIW, although it is shot on 70mm stock, it is shot sideways. The frame is 15 sprocket holes wide. And it is as tall as a normal 70mm frame is wide. The result is a frame with roughly ten times as much information on it as a standard 35mm motion picture frame. No wonder they can use a screen so big! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 NOW THIS IMAX... Diggs...Hope you don't mind me borrowing your avatars.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkrop Posted September 14, 2003 Share Posted September 14, 2003 I have the feeling SOMEONE IS WATCHING ME! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Palm Posted September 21, 2003 Share Posted September 21, 2003 I have the IMAX release of "The Mysteries Of Egypt". It is in 4:3. I have a 57" wide screen Toshiba. It has silver bars on the sides for 4:3 images. If I use CinemaII to fill the screen up the pixils are enlarged so there is a loss of definition. I hate these silver bars and would have bought a different brand in order to have black bars. I hang curtains over them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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