I can’t believe I’ve seen 2 movies in one week! My brother is in town for a visit and we decided to go see Transformers last night at the new Regal Cinema in Summerville. As we were walking in he told me that this was going to be shown on a digital projector and my heart sank. I was curious, but not optimistic.

I tend to be a bit of an A/V snob. If the sound isn’t right or the picture is less than perfect, which it often is at the local theaters, (how hard is it to make sure the projectors are focused?) it takes away from the overall experience. I have to say I was unexpectedly impressed by the image quality. Transformers is visually stunning and the digital projection seemed to let it shine.

For most people, if they didn’t look at the ticket they probably wouldn’t have known they weren’t watching film. I would equate it to going to the best theater in town on release night. Not only was the picture clean and crisp, it was brighter and seemed to have more color depth. (though that could have been more to do with the particular movie…) The only thing I noticed that gave away the secret was an interference pattern that was apparent on the left side of the screen, almost like ripples. It was hardly noticable, but seemed to be a DLP artifact.

Transformers itself was amazing for this fan of the animated series. I found that while the movie looked and felt quite different, the characters & their motives were still basically the same. It made me want to go back and watch some of the old series again. I really hope there is a sequel to this movie. If the post credit scene is any indication, I’d say there’s at least a chance.