Digital cinema: a slow revolution

Digital cinema offers a high-quality image, unaffected by repeated showings. So why can't you see it at your local multiplex? The explanation for this apparent impasse is a combination of technical complexity and an industry structure that's fundamentally antipathetic to investment in digital technology. A lack of common standards is another major part of the answer. Resolution has become a big issue in the digital cinema debate, but in comparing digital cinema and conventional celluloid it's only part of a complex picture. Once the problem of standards has been overcome, the industry will be able to get down to the really big challenge: sorting out the business case. Digital cinema will produce sizeable savings, but will also require massive levels of investment. Digital cinema has suffered from hype in the past, and the technical and commercial barriers remain formidable, but a cautious optimism may now be justified as the UK and China prepare to invest in this new medium.