IMAX Melbourne is home to an IMAX dual 4K Laser projection system, the most powerful and technologically advanced system available.
WHAT DOES IMAX LASER MEAN?
Each of the proprietary IMAX 4K digital projectors uses a high-powered Laser light engine to light the screen sheet, replacing the traditional Xenon lamps used in most mainstream cinemas.
Laser light engines allow significantly more light output than Xenon lamps, producing much brighter images and an even distribution of light across the screen sheet to enhance the onscreen presentation.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE ON SCREEN?
Crisp, bright and clear! An IMAX Laser image is noticeably brighter with the even distribution of light across the screen, particularly in comparison to film.
Crisper and clearer images are also enhanced by much greater levels of contrast (the difference between the brightest whites and the darkest blacks) and an expanded colour range.
These differences combine to create more vivid and lifelike images, delivering a heightened sense of realism to fully immerse you in the movie experience.
WHY TWO PROJECTORS?
The quality of 3D presentations is boosted by the use of two projectors, enabling the simultaneous projection of separate images for the left eye and right eye.
By contrast, in mainstream cinemas a single projector alternates between projecting images for each eye, a compromise that negatively impacts the 3D presentation.
IMAX also makes use of both projectors for 2D films, each projecting the same image with one offset by half a pixel. This technique increases resolution and brightness to produce a superior onscreen presentation.
WHEN WAS THE LASER SYSTEM INSTALLED?
IMAX Melbourne's Laser projectors were installed in 2015, only the fifth IMAX Laser system in the world at that time and the first Laser system ever installed in Australia. Our Laser projectors now sit alongside our beloved IMAX 1570 Film system in the projection booth.