Software Features

When you relax into a cinema chair for that long-awaited blockbuster, icy drink in cup holder and bag of popcorn balanced on lap, it’s a fair bet that the last thing on your mind will be a shape of the big white screen in front of you. Chances are that your movie will be shown in one of two commonly used aspect ratios – 1.85:1 or 2.39:1, typically referred to in the filmmaking world as flat and CinemaScope respectively. But you might witness something a little more unusual – 2.0.1 or a retro-tinged 1.37:1. And turn the clock back sixty years and it would have been a different situation entirely.

It's an interesting time for cinema companies. While there's a perception that streaming platforms, home media and online piracy have dealt the commercial theatre market near-fatal blows, box office records seem to be repeatedly smashed, most recently by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Meanwhile, attendance at UK cinemas was up 17 per cent in 2015, and new technologies (Dolby Atmos, IMAX Laser) and old (70mm) are working hard to lure punters.

Fans of horror, or genre movies in general, will have heard of FrightFest, the international film festival which plants its flag in Leicester Square each August, runs a two-day terrorthon at the Glasgow Film Festival in February, and organises one-off screenings, panel discussions and more throughout the calendar. Since its debut in 2000, it's hosted premieres from directors including George A. Romero and Neil Marshall, and been described by Guillermo del Toro as 'the Woodstock of Gore'. 

TV has evolved. Fuelled by the rollout of broadband internet, Netflix and Amazon have transformed the concept of on-demand viewing and created a culture where it's easy to be a TV addict. Binge-watching has become a cause célèbre; booking a day off to devour the latest hot season when it lands has become a social more.

First through DVD and now via Blu-ray, Eureka's Masters of Cinema label has aimed to furnish film fans with high-quality releases of classic titles. We spoke to Director of Production Craig Keller about the company's plans for 2015, sourcing new releases and its #100 Masters of Cinema Blu-ray, legendary Holocaust documentary Shoah...

By the end of the year, nearly all the key AV receiver manufacturers will have models compatible with the new Dolby Atmos 3D audio format. Atmos differs from conventional surround in that it features a height component and 'object-tracking' skills.