Is Soarin' getting a makeover?

[Albion218]

Just saw this on American Coaster Enthusiasts Facebook page and didn't see a thread here on it.

Thoughts?

http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2013/07/soarin-update-soarin-hd-version-in-2014.html?m=1

 

[castlecouture2011]

Saw an article on this a few days ago on wdwthemeparks. I hope it's true. Actually, I wish they would keep one side as is and change the other side to something new. I just love that orange grove smell too much to let it go forever!

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Saw an article on this a few days ago on wdwthemeparks. I hope it's true. Actually, I wish they would keep one side as is and change the other side to something new. I just love that orange grove smell too much to let it go forever!

Soarn' over Fla can continue to have the orange grove smell....after all, most people associate Florida with Oranges much more than California. But that is just in case they do Soarn' over Florida.

 

[Michael623]

Soarin' over FL? I'm guessing 20 minutes of strip mall footage?

 

[castlecouture2011]

I'm not getting where y'all are getting Soarin over FL from...everything I saw said Soarin over the World would be at WDW...?

 

[OKW Lover]

Soarin' over FL? I'm guessing 20 minutes of strip mall footage?

Maybe throw in some gators? beaches? Space flight? boating?

 

[DizCaptain]

As much as Id like a new film, they need to do something with the projection system, and get a new one. The film's quality is out of date and is scratched and flakey. If they would just clean the film, remaster it in HD, and keep it nice, Id be happy. When I go on the ride anymore I feel like I'm watching an old documentary.

 

[Hoodie]

Saw an article on this a few days ago on wdwthemeparks. I hope it's true. Actually, I wish they would keep one side as is and change the other side to something new. I just love that orange grove smell too much to let it go forever!

What would be the smell soaring over New York?

 

[ImDisneyDreaming]

What would be the smell soaring over New York?

Smog!!

 

[OklahomaTourist]

What would be the smell soaring over New York?

Bodies decaying within the chalk body outlines?

 

[Spacedog1975]

Roasting Chestnuts.

I would really appreciate a Soaring over the World update.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Soarin' over FL? I'm guessing 20 minutes of strip mall footage?

exactly...

the point of soarin over california is that california is the most interesting state (by far) in terms of what it contains....surfers and 12,000 foot skiing mountains...completely different climates from top to bottom...

flordia is nothing of the sort...its still all scrub or swamp...with beaches. no landmarks...no variations

this is yet another completely silly rumor in the million entry volume of "people making up wdw rumors without employing a brain" library

 

[d1gitman]

As much as Id like a new film, they need to do something with the projection system, and get a new one. The film's quality is out of date and is scratched and flakey. If they would just clean the film, remaster it in HD, and keep it nice, Id be happy. When I go on the ride anymore I feel like I'm watching an old documentary.

Agreed. Luckily i have it on good authority that display systems are bent worked on. Something that would put the wow in the videos we see at WDW

 

[doconeill]

As much as Id like a new film, they need to do something with the projection system, and get a new one. The film's quality is out of date and is scratched and flakey. If they would just clean the film, remaster it in HD, and keep it nice, Id be happy. When I go on the ride anymore I feel like I'm watching an old documentary.

Part of the rumor is that it will go to a digital projection system. They haven't done this yet because the technology to project at a high enough resolution hasn't been there yet. Soarin' is essentially an IMAX film, projected onto a domed screen at an angle (it used to be called "Omnimax", now the format is called "IMAX Dome"). IMAX's 70mm film has a VERY high effective resolution - somewhere around 12k I believe. Most projection systems are only just passing the 4k mark. Blow that up to an IMAX screen and it can be noticeable.

The so-called "Digital IMAX" was actually a smaller resolution and was not projected at the full size of IMAX screens.

IMAX has been working on new digital projectors, that they are just beginning to roll out this year. I believe they are actually using a dual projector system to get the resolution high enough. How easily this will be adapted to a domed system (the images on film are distorted, and then it is projected through a special distortion lens to "correct" it on the screen, to correct from the projection angle), and then to Soarin', will decide what they do with Soarin'. But once done, they can do all sorts of things - like make it a variable ride experience like Star Tours: The Adventure Continues...

That's why I've been predicting for about a year it would be at least 2014 before they switched Soarin' to digital projection.

 

[d1gitman]

Part of the rumor is that it will go to a digital projection system. They haven't done this yet because the technology to project at a high enough resolution hasn't been there yet. Soarin' is essentially an IMAX film, projected onto a domed screen at an angle (it used to be called "Omnimax", now the format is called "IMAX Dome"). IMAX's 70mm film has a VERY high effective resolution - somewhere around 12k I believe. Most projection systems are only just passing the 4k mark. Blow that up to an IMAX screen and it can be noticeable.

The so-called "Digital IMAX" was actually a smaller resolution and was not projected at the full size of IMAX screens.

IMAX has been working on new digital projectors, that they are just beginning to roll out this year. I believe they are actually using a dual projector system to get the resolution high enough. How easily this will be adapted to a domed system (the images on film are distorted, and then it is projected through a special distortion lens to "correct" it on the screen, to correct from the projection angle), and then to Soarin', will decide what they do with Soarin'. But once done, they can do all sorts of things - like make it a variable ride experience like Star Tours: The Adventure Continues...

That's why I've been predicting for about a year it would be at least 2014 before they switched Soarin' to digital projection.

8k isn't high enough res?

 

[doconeill]

8k isn't high enough res?

8k may be high enough for most purposes - I don't actually know what the resolution of the new system will be exactly. I don't think they are actually trying to hit 12k - that's just the "effective" resolution of the current film format. The intricate part is getting to projectors to work seamlessly. It's one thing to use two, projecting side by side, each doing half the image...but to get them to line up PERFECTLY...but that isn't how the new system will work, exactly...one of the other problems is brightness of such a large image...you can increase the brightness by using two projectors, projecting on top of each other. That's how they did it with the older Digital IMAX. But the new system is supposed to use a laser light source, which should allow them full brightness at IMAX screen sizes.

 

[Disco]

Smog!!

That would be more for LA.

 

[Disco]

8k may be high enough for most purposes - I don't actually know what the resolution of the new system will be exactly. I don't think they are actually trying to hit 12k - that's just the "effective" resolution of the current film format. The intricate part is getting to projectors to work seamlessly. It's one thing to use two, projecting side by side, each doing half the image...but to get them to line up PERFECTLY...but that isn't how the new system will work, exactly...one of the other problems is brightness of such a large image...you can increase the brightness by using two projectors, projecting on top of each other. That's how they did it with the older Digital IMAX. But the new system is supposed to use a laser light source, which should allow them full brightness at IMAX screen sizes.

I was researching theaters with the new Imax digital 3D (which is also 48/60fps) to watch the Hobbit and I think there was only one or two on the west coast. It gives an idea of how new the tech is. I think the Hobbit was only shot at 4k but the theaters can display 8k or more.
I beleive Transformers will be the first 8k movie and I think they are only filming parts of that in 8k.

"Bay also tells Collider that one of these new IMAX cameras costs more than the entire budget of his most recent film, Pain and Gain."

Might be a couple years more years before we see it at Disney...

 

[Jonathan Swift]

I wasn't impressed with the clarity of Soaring the last time I went. It's gotta be digital, right?

They should not only increase the resolution, they should increase the frame rate. That's partly the secret to why Captain Jack looks so realistic in that new ride at HS.

 

[doconeill]

I was researching theaters with the new Imax digital 3D (which is also 48/60fps) to watch the Hobbit and I think there was only one or two on the west coast. It gives an idea of how new the tech is. I think the Hobbit was only shot at 4k but the theaters can display 8k or more.
I beleive Transformers will be the first 8k movie and I think they are only filming parts of that in 8k.

"Bay also tells Collider that one of these new IMAX cameras costs more than the entire budget of his most recent film, Pain and Gain."

Might be a couple years more years before we see it at Disney...

IMAX Digital 3D is actually not new. It's been around for a bit, and most aren't even 4k...instead, it uses dual 2k projectors, projected on top of each other, to brighten the image, not increase the resolution. I think a few of the newest installations do basically the same with 4k projectors.

But the new system they are developing is even better...it will be much brighter and capable of projection on the largest IMAX screens - something the current ones don't do (and typically use their own screen, different from typical IMAX screens.) It will still be 4k though, unless the specs have changed since I last saw it. Brightness is a big problem when you project larger.

And as mentioned earlier, it isn't all about the resolution or screen size - they also have to adapt it for the curved projection system needed for Soarin' (and other domed systems).

As for TF4, there is some conflicting information about the camera he is supposed to be using...it was previously spec'd at 4k...