02.04.2008 — The 2.35 (Cinemascope) widescreen viewing experience provides dealers with a new way to tap into their existing client bases, thanks to forthcoming movie-like lens systems that provide opportunities for installers to retrofit existing 16:9 projection systems for 2.35:1.

Leading the way in the 2.35 movement have been companies like Runco and Stewart Filmscreen, who have been advocating the benefits of high-definition video systems capable of displaying Cinemascope content without black bars.

Panamorph, which manufactures conversion lenses for home theater projectors, has recently introduced its UH380 lens and M380 transport, which turns a standard 16:9 projector into 2.35 content without black bars.

The UH380 MSRPs for $2,995, and the IR-controlled transport, which can change the aspect ratio in under 3 seconds, costs $2,995.

Movie Basics

According to John Schuermann, who handles sales and marketing for Panamorph, the origins of widescreen images dates back to the days when the movie industry worried about competition from television.

The movie industry, based on research that human sight is more sensitive to information to the left and right, rather than top and bottom of a screen, introduced widescreen aspect ratios, designed to be more immersive than the traditional square-like shape of television.

The problem that developed from the shift from 4:3 (1.33:1) to the two most common widescreen aspect ratios—1.85:1 and 2.35:1—is that they produce unwanted letterbox black bars that shrink the image on the screen of a 4:3 television, says Schuermann.

Schuermann notes that moviemakers had to come up with a cure for the black bar problem.

“Motion picture engineers developed a system to create widescreen images that utilized the full 35-mm film frame by using an anamorphic lens when shooting a film,” he says.

“An anamorphic lens horizontally squeezes the light coming into the camera so that a panoramic, widescreen image could be stored on what was essentially a square film frame. The image that was horizontally compressed by the anamorphic lens on the camera is now horizontally expanded by an anamorphic lens mounted to a projector to eliminate vertical stretching and the result is a properly displayed widescreen image.”

Opportunity Knocks

When high-definition television (HDTV) first started to gain momentum, many electronics professionals were installing plasma and LCD flat-panel televisions, as well as two-piece projection systems that featured 1.78 (16:9) aspect ratio screens.

Schuermann says clients with these types of products in their home may be ready to upgrade into a retrofittable widescreen solution.

“If the customer has the wall space and budget for a 2.35:1 screen, then our UH380 lens and M380 motorized sled can be added to just about any 16:9 projector currently on the market,” he comments.

“We do recommend that the throw distance be at least 1.6 times the width of the 16:9 screen, however.”

He adds that an effective way to sell clients on the differences between the aspect ratios is to demonstrate how much the experience changes from the smaller format to the larger one.

“We recommend starting a demo with the screen masked to its 16:9 mode, with a 2.35:1 or 2.40:1 movie playing with the usual black bars top and bottom. Customers will relate to experiencing the black bars at home, and the salesperson can make a point that not only are the black bars annoying, they also represent a loss of resolution and brightness compared to the film’s presentation in the movie theater,” Schuermann explains.

“Once the customer understands that it’s simply a matter of pressing a button on the control system to reveal the full immersive anamorphic widescreen image, the combination of the lens moving, the black bars disappearing and the screen opening up to display the full 2.35:1 film frame make for a truly stunning demo.”