There has been another demonstration of high frame rate projection and also a display of a stereoscopic film at 4K resolution as momentum slowly builds toward a seachange in theatrical exhibition.
At a Digital Cinema Symposium in Texas earlier this month, server developer Qube Cinema arranged for a screening of factual giant screen film Space Junk 3D to be projected in 3D at 4K projection from a single DCP through a single server.
Presented to an audience at the Moody Gardens 80’ x 60’ Giant Screen in Galveston, TX, the demonstration used a standard Qube XP-I server paired with Qube Xi 4K Integrated Media Blocks (IMBs) installed in two Barco DP4K-32B projectors.
The Qube Cinema system played back an 800 Mbps DCP, more than three times the maximum DCI bit rate specification of 250. It is claimed that this marked the first time a single server with one DCP has driven two projectors.
"Seeing the film in 4K 3D was a startling experience," said the film’s director Melissa Butts. "All the hard work we put into shading, lighting and textures was that much more brilliant and remarkable. What Qube is offering is very exciting for filmmakers and audiences. With all the detail, everything just looks and feels more real."
Added Rajesh Ramachandran, president and CTO of Qube Cinema, “With 4K 3D, and the high frame rate capabilities of the Qube XP-I server, the promise of digital cinema is now being realised.”
At the same event, Qube also demonstrated the high frame rate (HFR) capabilities of its server with 2K stereoscopic content. This demonstration compared 3D material at 24, 48 and 60 fps.
"I was most impressed with the Qube XP-I's ability to play back all our high bit rate 4K and high frame rate 2K content from a single server," said Andy Wood, senior vice president, business development at D3D Cinema and Giant Screen Films. "Before Qube's innovation, at standard DCI specs, we could only achieve dual projector 4K 3D playback with a complicated double server configuration which included ancillary sync generators and a very restrictive setup. Qube Cinema has made 4K 3D and high frame rate 2K a reality."
The Qube server with IMB is capable of data rates of up to 1,000 Mbps or 500 Mbps per projector. The system can support frame rates of 30 fps for 4K projection, and frame rates of up to 120 fps for 2K content.
