Giant screen specialists IMAX is ramping up its conversion of its projection systems. CEO Richard Gelfond told the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference that the company was embracing Laser projection in order to better illuminate existing digital screens, but also to follow on with even larger screens.

“Laser is definitely one of our [key priorities} because not only will it light the bigger screens but it will create more differentiation between IMAX and other [projection] technologies. So laser is way brighter than even the brightest film projector today,” said Gelfond.

IMAX cinemas will start showing Warner Bros’ latest box-office blockbuster ‘Gravity’ next week. Gelfond told delegates that IMAX was in discussion with director JJ Abrams about shooting the next Star Wars movie “with probably IMAX cameras”.

As far as commercial expansion was concerned he explained that IMAX now had a backlog of some 400 cinemas to equip with IMAX projection systems. “The Chinese market will be as big as the North American market. We have 40 theatres in Russia. In the UK we had 8 theatres two or three years ago. Now, including the backlog, we have around 30.”

Other posts by :

1. Starcloud wants 88,000 satellites
2. Lynk Global requests “experimental” satellite access
3. Safran Space links laser direct to satellite
4. SpaceX fearful of AST SpaceMobile’s potential?
5. Equatys wants 2,800 new satellites
6. FCC eyes freeing up Weird Space Stuff spectrum
7. SES happy with releasing 160MHz of spectrum for 5G
8. Inmarsat “likely to win appeal” over Ligado/AST action
9. FCC seeks fair play over foreign satellite access

Categories: Articles, Content, Production