The Evolution of Digital Cinema

Digital cinema describes adoption of digital technologies in the movie industry to digitally record or deliver motion pictures instead of the conventional use of classic reels of moving picture film, including 35 mm conventional films. This digital format is available on a compact size, hand held electronic device with built-in digital video recorder (DVR). The user can transfer the video onto a computer using a device with an optical disc reader or by means of a digital media DVD/CD. Digital movies can also be copied onto DVD-R (Widescreen) or DVD-RAM discs.

The advancement of digital cinema brought about several innovations in its technical and marketing aspects. Video cameras that are capable of taking digital pictures were first introduced to the market; these devices enable users to capture and store digital video scenes. Digital video recording has also contributed to digital movie distribution which is popular in the market for the last twenty years.

The first digital cinema camera that was used in the market was the Handycam 200 which was somewhat successful as a standard model. However, it had serious defects such as slow recording speed and poor image quality. This model was phased out after the introduction of the Handycam 300 model. The Handycam 300 offered significant improvements over the previous models such as higher maximum resolution, improved auto exposure, and increased picture settings flexibility. In addition to those additional features, the Handycam 300E included a newly designed self-timer option.

Since digital cinema cameras started to enter the market, digital video recording and image quality improvement have continued to improve. High-end digital cameras including the EOS 7100 and the Aries models offered image quality rivaling those of the classic 35mm cameras. However, the biggest weakness of digital cinema cameras is the fact that they tend to be heavy and large, often requiring special housing. Digital HD channels have greatly improved since their introduction on HD televisions, although the quality of the picture still suffers from the effects of the compression process used by the television networks.

The popularity of digital cinema cameras and movie viewing has created a new market for accessory items such as digital projectors and screen printers. Projectors are used by professionals who use digital video for professional purposes to deliver an original look to the movie. Movie printing companies have responded to this increased demand by producing prints that can be directly reproduced on home-based digital cameras or onto regular film and thereby replacing the need for expensive film prints. These digitally reproduced prints offer a cheaper alternative to hiring a movie projectionist.

In addition, the creation of the DVD player and its use of digital video has eliminated the need to rent movies during vacations, allowing families to take their favorite films along on family trips. Another digital cinema accessory which has only recently entered the market is the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone system. The VoIP phone connects a user of the phone system to the internet, using digital technologies such as GSM and CDMA/PDA technology, so that they can make telephone calls without using a traditional telephone line.