IMAX has rolled out a lesser product than their brand implies and are charging the same price for it. The image below, taken from an article on LF Examiner, illustrates the vast difference between what AMC and Regal cinemas are calling "IMAX" screens at the behest of IMAX themselves. Make sure you don't get suckered into substandard presentation by checking this list at LF Examiner before buying tickets. Real IMAX is denoted as 1570, whereas Fake IMAX is denoted as "D."
The unmistakably huge difference between IMAX 1570 and IMAX D
Aziz Ansari has posted not one but two pieces on this and it's been discussed around the web today, setting comment sections aflame, including Jeff's post from earlier.
IMAX's decision to not rebrand these IMAX D screens for what they are dilutes their brand, but they have been doing that for a while in ways the public has let them get away with. Before I went off to college, I never had a negative experience at the IMAX in Dallas at Fair Park, at the time the only one in the area.
Once I got to school, the Challenger Center IMAX in Tallahassee was a significant disappointment. The screen has a tear or crease in it that interferes with the viewing of anything, and the projector is vastly under-lit. Clouds of dust blow around, and the entry/exit door opens directly into a hallway outside, producing tons of noise whenever someone goes out for any reason.
As much of an improvement as the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum IMAX in Austin is, it's still imperfect. The projector lens is rarely free of dust (who knows if it's ever cleaned), and the location of the exit presents a more disruptive experience than most theaters.
You enter underneath the auditorium seating, as in many museum-bound IMAX theaters, and the exits are directly behind the back row. Kids leaving slam the push bars like they're trying to knock someone down in the schoolyard. Daylight floods in during matinees, ruining the integrity of the viewing experience. Did that destroy my ability to enjoy The Dark Knight in IMAX when I saw it there last summer? No, and I wouldn't trade having seen it on a screen that big for anything, but I would have preferred a more pristine experience for the premium price. If they've transformed into "selling an Experience," they need to clean up what they've already got going.
I don't expect things to be perfect, but being complacent in this case is tantamount to telling people it is all well and good to talk during the movies. I've been spoiled, living in Austin. I'm used to bright, crisp, dust-free projection at all the original Alamo Drafthouses in town, and the IMAX D Experience sounds to me like the quality of the Alamo presentation being brought to other theaters, which in itself is a good thing. The problem is that the branding is horribly misleading. IMAX=70 foot screen, period. When a filmmaker shoots on huge IMAX stock, what's the point of going to that quality and resolution if you're going to show it on a shrunk-down screen? It's like watching Blu-ray on a 7-inch tube TV from 1985.
I never thought I'd tout Cinemark's standards for any reason
Since I left home nearly ten years ago, Cinemark has added a full size 1570 screen to one of their multiplexes out in Plano (one of Dallas' major suburbs). They physically remodeled their facility significantly to accommodate the gigantic screen and do things the right way. Recently, the AMC 30 in Mesquite, near where my parents live, has added one of the IMAX D screens, where my mother and younger brother saw Star Trek last Friday morning.
In her estimation, it was definitely a high-quality presentation with great sound, but it was not nearly as immersive as the giant 70 foot screens she had seen before. Granted, "it was easier to not lose your balance" ascending the steps and it didn't give her the "dizzying feeling" she would occasionally get watching True IMAX with her bifocals; however, "it was like they took a regular screen and made things a bit sharper and clearer." She wasn't sure why there was a difference in ticket price than usual since it wasn't "Real IMAX" in the first place.
Be vocal and comment on Aziz's original blog post. I'd love to see him tear the IMAX CEO a new one on TV. Anyone else?