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About the Omni Theater
Technology Upgrade| Technology | History | Omni Theater Films 1983 - 2008
With an eight-story domed screen and 30-degree stadium seating, the Omni Theater is the largest IMAX dome in the United States west of the Mississippi River. The Omni’s 120-foot-wide screen places the audience in the center of the action, producing a sensation much closer to real-life than a conventional movie theater.
Previously, the Omni could only show films of up to one hour in length. In late 2005, the theater upgraded to take advantage of new IMAX® technology, called digital remastering (DMR), which allows IMAX theaters to show films up to 2½ hours in length. The Omni Theater chose The Polar Express as its first DMR film due to its strong connection to the museum’s mission as a place for extraordinary learning, as well as the film’s tremendous appeal to families and children.
Before the innovation of IMAX DMR, it was difficult to project a standard-sized film to the scale of an IMAX movie and still have a quality picture. IMAX theaters were built for 70 mm film format; smaller film formats are comprised of a fine grain structure that would be magnified and detract from the underlying picture, generating a soft, fuzzy picture. IMAX DMR digitally removes the grain and preserves the quality of the picture, allowing it to be projected with precision and clarity onto an IMAX screen.
The Omni also added a new IMAX IDO projection lens that increases by 25 to 30 percent the brightness and sharpness of all films shown at the Omni. The Omni was closed temporarily in 2008 for renovation while the new Museum facility is being built. It now features new guest facilities, enhanced LED lighting, and a superior digital sound system. Developed over the last few years, the new system is designed to accommodate the special acoustic requirements for the largest of IMAX theaters and has four times the output capability and increased fidelity over the previous systems. The new system will use compression-free, state-of-the-art technology to create spectacular impact and clarity, ensuring that sound is reproduced as it was originally recorded.
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