Dolby Cinema Leicester Square

[sk3lph]

I was in London this week for a couple of days and took the chance to sample the new Dolby Cinema in Leicester Square for a screening of Captain Marvel.

It has to be said that it is definitely at the pinnacle of how good the cinema experience can be - picture and sound were exceptional, chairs were electric recliners and the most comfortable I've ever sat in for a commercial cinema - my criticism would be that the screen could have been a bit bigger - I'm thinking if you're sitting at the back then it'll lose a lot of its impact. If you want the serious wow factor I still think an Imax screening is the way to go.

There is a nice Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision demo just before the film that shows you what it can do which sets the scene very well.

I went to a 17:30 showing and the price for the best seat in the stalls was £17.50, but I believe ticket prices can go up to eye watering levels for new screenings at peak times - as much as £40 I've heard.

Well worth a visit if you get the chance.

 

[Poneros]

Had a similar experience (elsewhere) with a Dolby Cinema. Lovely seats, good sound, but unfortunately the projection was mediocre. They had the laser 3D projectors but when you put the glasses on it just looks too dim and ruins the PQ overall. IMAX on the other hand was flawless with regards to picture quality, though the sound was too loud & seats weren't as good. The size makes up for it though. I'm sure it's just down to the individual cinema but tbh I haven't been all the impressed with cinemas for a long time, and now with my own "home theatre" I'd rather just do that than bother with going out. I'll make the odd exception if I don't want to wait for the bluray but otherwise meh.

 

[sk3lph]

This was a 2D screening and the image was flawless to my eyes, but my favorite cinema experience though is still the Imax screening of The Dark Knight at the Printworks in Manchester, the size and PQ of the image when it went full size was just stunning - fantastic sound setup too.

In terms of home cinema, any public cinema has tough competition from my home setup shown below which is also an Atmos setup albeit on a much smaller scale. Admittedly its probably going to be quite some time before an affordable projector comes along that can do what this Odeon Luxe one could do.

 

[jpaul]

to sample the new Dolby Cinema in Leicester Square

I was intrigued what othe dolby cinemas there are in the uk https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/behind-scenes-dolby-cinema-odeon-3635999

There are 185 Dolby Cinema sites across the world, but the UK – for whatever reason London has had to wait
...
Dolby believes this isn’t enough. Vision HDR employs dual-laser projectors, offering a brightness that’s two times as much at 108 nits and a contrast ratio of a million:1. That makes for vivid colours, stark contrast and an infusion of brightness. The demos we witnessed at Dolby were striking, especially the solidity of blacks and vibrancy of colours. If Dolby can replicate this on a bigger scale, the OLS will be an impressive place to watch a film.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...olby+vision+cinemas+uk&hl=en-GB&gbv=1&ct=clnk

Today is a great day for British movie fans desperate for a premium cinema experience. Dolby has announced that it’s going to be working with Odeon Cinemas (an AMC Entertainment Company) to open no less than seven new Dolby Cinemas across the UK over the next few years.

The Odeon deal will make it the first company to introduce the full Dolby Cinema experience to the UK - which means us Brits can finally look forward to being able to visit cinemas that benefit from Dolby Cinema’s astonishingly contrast rich, colourful and crisp laser-driven Dolby Vision

so seems all dolby cinemas are not created equal ... where's the definitive list ?

In terms of home cinema, any public cinema has tough competition from my home setup shown below which is also an Atmos setup albeit on a much smaller scale. Admittedly its probably going to be quite some time before an affordable projector comes along that can do what this Odeon Luxe one could do.

it's nice, but don't you ever want to sit next to your other half on sofa and watch ... that's whats missing in the cinema - lol

 

[sk3lph]

so seems all dolby cinemas are not created equal ... where's the definitive list ?

it's nice, but don't you ever want to sit next to your other half on sofa and watch ... that's whats missing in the cinema - lol

AFAIK this cinema is the only one of its kind in the UK but more are going to be built as your post says - I think the next one is in Leeds without checking.

We have a lounge and a TV for watching regular stuff and I did think about having a two seater in the middle, the problem with that is you won't be properly sat in the middle with the room width I had and I'm fussy about that. The middle seat is used the most as my missus is not into films in the same way as me and having a comfy recliner right in the sweet spot for sound and vision with two arm rests won the decision.

 

[jpaul]

AFAIK this cinema is the only one of its kind in the UK but more are going to be built as your post says - I think the next one is in Leeds without checking.

agree looks like we are waiting for the other 6 genuine dolby hdr cinemas ...

so, for the video alone, imax laser and dolby cinemas are both 4K, with similar colour gamut / contrast ... just a question of whether you want an immersive field of vision filling screen, or smaller.

 

[sk3lph]

agree looks like we are waiting for the other 6 genuine dolby hdr cinemas ...

so, for the video alone, imax laser and dolby cinemas are both 4K, with similar colour gamut / contrast ... just a question of whether you want an immersive field of vision filling screen, or smaller.

The IMAX experience, such as the one at the Printworks in Manchester has the edge over this, as long as it was filmed using IMAX cameras and has the correct aspect ratio. As I mentioned the screen should ideally be bigger at the Dolby Cinema especially for the people towards the back.

 

[marc2003]

Thanks for the thread... I think it's convincing me not go. I live a long way from London but I like taking the occasional day out for the big releases of the year.... I'll be going for Endgame in a few weeks. Looks like I'll be sticking with the Laser IMAX just across the square at Cineworld. The quality of it over any other digital IMAX is just staggering and the size of the screen is stupendous.... I'll take that WOW factor over the recliners. I'm a big fat git and the seats in there are perfectly fine - unlike the BFI where I really do struggle.

 

[jpaul]

if, like The Black Night, its a genuine 70mm imax, although you benefit from the resolution/cinematography, is that still using the rgb laser and thus benefitting from its colour gamut/contrast, versus the conventional film projector .. I don't know?

 

[sk3lph]

Thanks for the thread... I think it's convincing me not go.

I think you're making the right decision, will be going to see Endgame at Manchester myself.

if, like The Black Night, its a genuine 70mm imax, although you benefit from the resolution/cinematography, is that still using the rgb laser and thus benefitting from its colour gamut/contrast, versus the conventional film projector .. I don't know?

A quick Google and it looks like the Manchester Printworks upgraded to a laser projector towards the end of last year so I'm definitely going to be making the trip for Endgame to see it there.

 

[marc2003]

Cineworld Sheffield also has a Laser IMAX. You're spoiled for choice oop North.

 

[jpaul]

if you're on laser imax the contrast apparently not as good as genuine dolby 8000:10^6 , article does not compare the gamut ...
but would the human iris be able to appreciate that, this is like the oled/qled debate.

but Endgame , being mastered for imax70mm, presumably better there.

 

[varkanoid]

Showcase Cinema's delux have had reclining seats for a while, big comfy armchair type jobs. I quite like their xplus screens. Has anyone tried the Cineworld superscreen cinemas just wondering whether to try it for Avengers Endgame. Not sure how peripheral screens work when you wear glasses.

There is a new Odeon opening in Leeds which is still being built and is meant to have the latest in cinema technology.

 

[vila]

Endgame , being mastered for imax70mm, presumably better there.

Its not 'mastered' for 70mm imax as the format is sadly virtually unused anymore.

But it is shot on Imax digital cameras at 6.5k and then edited at 4k with the exact aspect ratio of these digital imax screens.

The 4K Dual laser Imax screens are a bit step up for the regular Imax digital screens and its quite a difficult sell for the dolby when so many of the blockbusters are being made for that setup.

 

[jpaul]

OK, yes - it uses 'special effects' intensively, so unlike dunkirk no scenes/opportunity/budget for 70mm film, which is where imax excels, and thus, you can use the laser projection

Equally, if edited at 4k, it won't benefit from the staggered/offset >4K resolution the dual lasers can offer (dual gives increased brightness though)

For the surround imax screens, I thought there was some criticism, that in a front seat, 4k pixels were going to be visible, if indeed,
you wanted to go to an imax with the wrap around screen.

and its quite a difficult sell for the dolby

why do you think these films might be less compatible with dolby cinemas ... didn't get that ?

 

[vila]

why do you think these films might be less compatible with dolby cinemas ... didn't get that ?

The main reason would be most of the blockbuster films and currently all of the Marvel films have large portions of the film in Imax digital ratio 1.9:1

The dolby screens can't show this and have a cropped version.

I like the idea of what they are trying to do with dolby cinema but it you are stood in Leicester square on a Saturday night and you want to see the Avengers Endgame are you going to spend £40 to see it in a Dolby Cinema or £22 to go across the square to the Dual 4K laser imax which has literally more picture ?

 

[sk3lph]

The main reason would be most of the blockbuster films and currently all of the Marvel films have large portions of the film in Imax digital ratio 1.9:1

The dolby screens can't show this and have a cropped version.

I like the idea of what they are trying to do with dolby cinema but it you are stood in Leicester square on a Saturday night and you want to see the Avengers Endgame are you going to spend £40 to see it in a Dolby Cinema or £22 to go across the square to the Dual 4K laser imax which has literally more picture ?

I've mentioned this in another thread - a lot of emphasis was put on the fact that the IMAX version of Infinity War was the one to see as the aspect ratio had more picture however they still released the blu-ray version of the film cropped to 2.35:1, so most people had black bars on their screens, so I don't understand why they did that - bit off topic so maybe a conversation for elsewhere.

 

[marc2003]

I like the idea of what they are trying to do with dolby cinema but it you are stood in Leicester square on a Saturday night and you want to see the Avengers Endgame are you going to spend £40 to see it in a Dolby Cinema or £22 to go across the square to the Dual 4K laser imax which has literally more picture ?

And ignoring aspect ratios for one moment, LSQ Odeon Dolby Cinema is 13m x 6m and Laser IMAX is 26m x 15m.

At least the new Dolby Cinema being built in Leeds is a more respectable 19m wide.

 

[jpaul]

Agree £40 's exhorbitant to me ... although people would pay that for a football match

Bigger screen isn't always better ... had seen 70mm nature films at 40m imax omni screen dallas, and they fill too much of your field of view , a fast moving action film would be tiring, and, 4k pixels, as opposed to 70mm film, would be visible.

a lot of emphasis was put on the fact that the IMAX version of Infinity War was the one to see as the aspect ratio had more picture however they still released the blu-ray version of the film cropped to 2.35:1, so most people had black bars on their screens, so I don't understand why they did that

yes strange, I infer it's not across the board ... otherwise they can just be preserving a premium view exclusive for cinemas

 

[eddie101]

4k pixels, as opposed to 70mm film, would be visible.

You do know that 4k is around 8.3 million pixels... right?

Or have I missed your point?