It’s a mistake to choose the middle seat without thinking! Here’s how to choose the best viewing seat for watching movies during the Spring Festival

Review expert: Zhu Guangsi, member of Beijing Science Writers Association

During the Spring Festival holiday, one Lunar New Year movie after another is scheduled for screening and release in full swing. In addition to choosing films, the different theaters are also dazzling, such as IMAX theater, Dolby Atmos theater, CINITY theater, CGS China Giant Screen Theater, etc. What do these terms represent, and how are they different from traditional theaters?

Image source | pexels

This article will explain the concepts behind the names of different theaters, and teach you step by step how to choose the best viewing seat and how to choose the appropriate theater according to the movie.

1

How to choose the best viewing position?

When buying movie tickets, if you want to choose a viewing seat with the best audio-visual effects, it is not as simple as choosing the middle seat. Instead, it requires comprehensive consideration of many factors such as movie type, theater specifications, screen size, step angle, screen angle, and viewing needs.

For 2D movies , according to the best viewing position guidelines published by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the picture should first fill the audience's field of vision as much as possible, and the angle between the audience and the two sides of the screen should be at least ≥36° . The diagram is as follows:

Source | Hand-drawn by the author

Secondly, in order to avoid cervical fatigue, the elevation angle between the audience and the horizontal line of the screen should not exceed 35° , as shown in the following diagram:

Source | Hand-drawn by the author Based on these two principles, the seats on the sides with too small horizontal angles to one side of the screen, the front row seats with too large an elevation angle, and the last row seats that are too far from the screen and too close to the rear speakers will all affect our audio-visual experience of watching movies, so if you want to get a better viewing experience, it is not advisable to choose these seats.

Taking the audio-visual effects into consideration, and in order to facilitate everyone to make a quick choice, the editor summarizes the best positions corresponding to theaters of different sizes as follows: If it is a small theater with 8-14 rows, it is best to choose the center position around the 5th and 6th rows; if it is a medium theater with 15-20 rows, it is best to choose the center position around the 7th and 8th rows; if it is a large theater or IMAX theater with 21-25 rows, it is best to choose the center position around the 9th and 10th rows.

If you are watching a 3D movie, since 3D glasses will reduce the screen brightness by about 40%, for better visual effects, you should sit at a position 1/2 of the distance between the screen and the projection window . The diagram is as follows:

Source | Hand-drawn by the author

The ticket prices at different seats in the same screening room in a cinema are also different and are priced according to the viewing effect. However, since everyone's viewing needs are different, the specific choice should be made based on one's own needs.

2

What are the differences between different cinema halls ?

I believe many audience friends have noticed that the price of movie tickets is also closely related to the type of screening hall. So what is the difference between IMAX halls, CINITY halls, Dolby Atmos halls, etc. and traditional theaters?

Movies are an audio-visual art form that combines sound and light technology. The screening effect of a movie is determined by the projection system and sound reproduction system of the theater.

Image source | pexels

The playback quality of the projection system is closely related to the screen and the projector. Traditional digital projection mostly uses ordinary-specification screens and low-brightness xenon lamps as light sources. The resolution (affects the clarity of the picture and is positively correlated with the clarity of the picture) can reach 2K, and the frame rate (the number of picture frames refreshed per second. The higher the value, the more coherent the visual effect and the clearer the picture) is generally 24 frames. Today's high-specification screening halls mostly use giant screens with a width greater than 21.3 meters (such as IMAX halls, CGS China Giant Screens, STARMAX, etc.), and mostly use high-brightness lasers as light sources (such as laser halls). The resolution is as high as 4K (such as 4K halls), and the frame rate can reach up to 120 frames (such as CINITY).

The sound reproduction system determines the auditory effect of the movie. Traditional theaters use 2D surround sound, while high-specification theaters, such as Dolby Atmos theaters, use 3D surround sound to bring a better auditory experience.

Generally speaking, high-standard theaters often have multiple high-standard projection technologies at the same time, such as "giant screen 4K laser theater". When choosing a theater, the brightness of 3D movies is dimmer, so it is better to choose a laser theater ; horror movies with panoramic sound effects will bring a hearty and frightening experience; the dynamic seats in the 4D theater plus environmental effects such as water mist and smell will bring a richer experience to the audience, but it is also easy to make beginners feel uncomfortable. Therefore, different theaters should be selected based on the type of film and specific needs.

Image source | pexels

The mainstream high-end cinemas on the market currently include IMAX, Dolby Cinema, CINITY and CGS China Giant Screen.

IMAX features an extra-large screen and IMAX cameras, which allow audiences to see 26%-40% more images than on a regular screen . Currently, the most widely used is digital IMAX, and the best is laser IMAX. If you are watching a movie with an IMAX-exclusive frame, it is recommended to watch it in an IMAX theater.

Dolby Cinema combines the high-definition Dolby Vision and the immersive Dolby Atmos. You need to look for the "DOLBY CINEMA" logo. The general "Dolby Hall" refers to a screening hall that only uses the Atmos technology, because Dolby Atmos can be used with any screen, but Dolby Vision is only used in Dolby Cinema. Audiences who pursue the ultimate experience of sound and picture quality can choose Dolby Cinema.

CINITY is the only theater in China that supports "4K+120 frames+3D" screenings. When paired with high-quality movies , it can provide the best viewing experience. For ordinary movies, its immersive effect is actually not as good as that of the giant screen theater.

The CGS China Giant Screen is a domestically produced giant screen that is comparable to IMAX . Although it is officially promoted as being in no way inferior to IMAX in every dimension, due to the lack of uniformity in actual configuration standards, there is a certain risk of encountering poorly maintained, low-configuration theaters, so caution is required.

In short, how to choose a cinema and viewing location is closely related to the type of film and everyone's viewing needs. I hope this article can help you gain a preliminary understanding of the characteristics and differences of different projection technologies, and add a bit of calmness and composure to your next movie ticket purchase!