Soarin' cleaned up

[AndyFL]

A few months ago there was a thread about the poor video quality of Soarin....artifacts on the video, etc. We went today and the video seemed markedly clearer and free of defects. Just wondering if anyone else had noticed this.

 

[Junebugwv]

We'll be there in 2 weeks and I will enjoy Soarin' much more if the quality has improved. It will be a better attraction without the distractions.

 

[larryz]

Ah, so now the alien amoebas that used to hang out over the golf course are gone?

 

[Laura727]

Sorry to disagree but still saw the amoebas floating around yesterday.

 

[byeo]

Sounds good, hope it is true. I can't help but think how good it would look in HD

 

[jsilvers]

A few months ago there was a thread about the poor video quality of Soarin....artifacts on the video, etc. We went today and the video seemed markedly clearer and free of defects. Just wondering if anyone else had noticed this.

Actually, when I saw it on Saturday, i thought it looked worse than ever - there were at least two giant spots on the lower left.

 

[Schmeck]

Aren't there two projection rooms for Soarin'? Maybe one was fixed, and the other wasn't...

 

[Robo]

Sounds good, hope it is true. I can't help but think how good it would look in HD

The film is far, far better quality than HD.

 

[christie_megansmom]

It was pretty bad 2 weeks ago.

 

[neoavatara]

Was there on 8/22, and the artifacts were certainly there.

 

[kathyell]

A few months ago there was a thread about the poor video quality of Soarin....artifacts on the video, etc. We went today and the video seemed markedly clearer and free of defects. Just wondering if anyone else had noticed this.

Were you in Concourse 1 (the left) or Concourse 2 (the right)? We just rode Soarin' a few times this past Saturday, and we were sent to Concourse 1 each time. The movie in Concourse 1 is in rough, rough shape. Lots of spots on the film, as well as a distorted strip about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom of the screen that runs the entire length of the screen.

I can't report on Concourse 2 as we were, through luck of the draw, not sorted that direction this past Saturday.

 

[yulilin3]

that was my next question PP. Because we were there Saturday (8/28) and went to the right and the film was really bad, filled with the "aliens".

 

[ccudmore]

The film is far, far better quality than HD.

Concur. Phyical film will always have a better resoulution (essentially unlimited) than any digital technology (HD and beyond). However digital doesn't degrade over time like film does.

 

[Robo]

It is worth noting that the Soarin' visual presentation is not "video" at all, but a very large "film" format called "Omnimax HD."

It is a film strip (not electronic video) process that uses a very large "frame image" (compared to regular 35mm theatrical films) and a double-speed projection shutter (48 frames per second, compared to the traditional 24 frames per second of regular theatrical films.)

This combination of factors yields a MUCH higher quality image than standard film or video projection systems.

Dirt and other artifacts that attach to the film and/or hang up in the projector's shutter-gate ("hair-in-the-gate" is the common term) can be problematic in mechanical film projection at all times,
but with the Soarin' Omnimax...considering the short duration of the Soarin' film (lot's of "repeats" throught the day) and the high-brightness/high-contrast scenes (lots of "sky, clouds, snow") and the extra large image, and guests being positioned very near the screen, any of these pesky artifacts can be very annoying.

They can be eliminated (or severely reduced) by frequently replacing the film prints used in the show.

I have no idea how many prints that they actually use, but it is POSSIBLE that they keep some "extra clean" loops of the films around and can thread those in when they need a "VIP showing" or similar.
Just a guess.

Could they convert Soarin' to video projection?
Yes.
But, I doubt that the image (with the technology available today) would
be nearly as sharp as the current film strip shown.

Times (and technology) can change, however, so stay tuned.

 

[chartle]

The film is far, far better quality than HD.

Concur. Phyical film will always have a better resoulution (essentially unlimited) than any digital technology (HD and beyond). However digital doesn't degrade over time like digital does.

Last time this came up I did a little research.

There is digital IMAX though its still way less resolution than normal IMAX and just a little better than HD which if projected the size of an IMAX screen each pixel would be about an inch square.

ETA: and what Robo said.

 

[Robo]

Concur. Phyical film will always have a better resoulution (essentially unlimited) than any digital technology (HD and beyond).

However digital doesn't degrade over time like digital does.

I assume you mean.

However digital doesn't degrade over time like film does.

 

[neoavatara]

Were you in Concourse 1 (the left) or Concourse 2 (the right)? We just rode Soarin' a few times this past Saturday, and we were sent to Concourse 1 each time. The movie in Concourse 1 is in rough, rough shape. Lots of spots on the film, as well as a distorted strip about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom of the screen that runs the entire length of the screen.

I can't report on Concourse 2 as we were, through luck of the draw, not sorted that direction this past Saturday.

Did the ride twice, and once in each...noticed the marks both times. Ugh.

 

[AndyFL]

Were you in Concourse 1 (the left) or Concourse 2 (the right)? We just rode Soarin' a few times this past Saturday, and we were sent to Concourse 1 each time. The movie in Concourse 1 is in rough, rough shape. Lots of spots on the film, as well as a distorted strip about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom of the screen that runs the entire length of the screen.

I can't report on Concourse 2 as we were, through luck of the draw, not sorted that direction this past Saturday.

Ahh, I didn't even think of that but YES we did ride a different concourse than in the past. Never pay attention to the conc number but this time we were sent to the one on the right whereas in the past we seemed to always get the one on the left. We were also seated all the way to the right side of the screen and in the past we've been seated towards the left side. I'm sure we'll be riding it a few more times this week and will note which concourse we ride on.

 

[santadog]

We were there the 19th to the 29th (got home late last night) and rode Soarin' 3 times, I was quite dismayed at the poor quality of the film. It is in dire need of cleaning.

 

[ccudmore]

I assume you mean.

However digital doesn't degrade over time like film does.

Doh! Thanks. Must learn to re-read posts before clicking Submit.