Posted in: Cinemacon, Movies | Tagged: film, sony

[CinemaCon 2019] Previewing the New Sony Digital Cinema Premium Large Format Auditorium at Galaxy Theatres

Published Sun, 07 Apr 2019 15:45:36 -0500

If there is one debate that people within the film industry keep happening it's the conversation about streaming versus the theater experience. There are people who think we're one Netflix movie away from the entire movie theater experience ending. At an event like CinemaCon, which is all about the theater experience, there are some nervous faces but plenty of people optimistic about the future.

Select attendees of CinemaCon were invited out to the Galaxy Theatres at 3680 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite 182, in Las Vegas. The Boulevard Mall is about three miles from the strip and the new theaters are hoping to bring new life to the area. The big thing that Sony wanted to show off was is the Sony Digital Cinema Premium Large Format auditorium. The nine auditorium theater is already one looking to bring max comfort when it comes to the theater experience but the PLF as it is called is something.

Sony brought us into the 200+ theater and every single chair with a leather recliner. Unlike some reclining chairs, these chairs have two different options with one that reclines you back and the other that adjusts the headrest. The seats are very comfortable, black leather, so they're the perfect place to settle in for one of those long haul, three-hour movies. You aren't walking away with back pain with these chairs.

The theater has ATOM sound and a 70' x 40' screen. The theater has over 200 seats and during the presentation, they showed off several trailers so we could see the SRX-R815 projector in a couple of different types of movies. We saw trailers for Yesterday, Bohemian Raspody, and put on 3D glasses for Avengers: Endgame. We saw the second trailer of Avengers: Endgame, the one that shows off footage from previous movies in black and white. 3D can be dark and hard to see and even more so when you involve something like black and white footage. However, it was bright and very clear which was very impressive.

After showcasing the footage we were allowed ask questions of Sony's Head of Cinema Bob Raposo and while a lot of people were focused on the technical specs [this makes sense since CinemaCon is an industry event for theater owners] Raposa pointed out that while we could get hung up on the specs all we want the customer only wants a great experience.

The Sony Digital Cinema Premium Large Format Auditorium starts screening movies last night with Shazam! While the mall it is located in is a bit sketchy this is the sort of theater that could really help the mall and keep it going. If you're in the Las Vegas area this might be worth checking out. Tickets are a little expensive, $18.25, but you're getting a high-quality experience out of that price.