IMAX going digital this summer

The large-format movie company is set to raise the curtains on its first all-digital screens in July—just in time for "The Dark Knight," which was partially shot in IMAX—with 130 IMAX Digital theaters slated to arrive in the coming months.
USA Today reports that AMC theaters in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. will be among the first to get commercial, DLP-powered IMAX Digital projectors. About 100 AMC screens in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami will get the IMAX Digital treatment in the next several months, along with 31 Regal theaters, according to the USA Today story.

While thousands of standard movie screens are going digital (and even 3-D) this year, today's IMAX theaters still use good, old-fashioned film—albeit, "large-format" 70MM film that crams the equivalent of 70 megapixels into every frame.

The images produced by "traditional" IMAX projectors are certainly dazzling, but with IMAX reels weighing between 300 and 500 pounds each—and prints costing $22,000 and up, compared to $1,000 for a typical 35MM print, according to USA Today—the IMAX format was in danger of going the way of Cinerama, another eye-popping but prohibitively expensive big-screen format.

IMAX says its new digital projectors, capable of displaying both standard and 3-D IMAX movies, have passed the Pepsi challenge with test audiences—and I'd certainly hope so, given that we're expected to shell out $3 extra (or more) for the full-on "IMAX Experience."

Personally, I'm looking forward to checking out "The Dark Knight," which reportedly boasts four sequences shot with IMAX cameras—apparently a first for a full-length Hollywood film.

Unfortunately, besides "Dark Knight" (opening July 18) and the just-released bomb "Speed Racer," only one other big release is getting the IMAX treatment this summer: "Kung Fu Panda." Greaaaat.

So, what about you—would you be willing to cough up more cash to Batman in IMAX?