Airbus IMAX Theater

Giles on January 30, 2015 at 1:25 am

new press release:

Over the next few months the IMAX Theater at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will be undergoing renovations to upgrade to the first major technological innovation since the advent of digital projection-the new laser digital projection system! The IMAX GT (Grand Theater) Laser Digital Projection System is designed to replace IMAX film projection systems, which have long been the most advanced theater projection systems in use. 3D content will fill the six-story IMAX screen with stunning brightness, clarity, and contrast, and will also contain more brilliant colors than have been possible to date with any theater projection system. Complementing the projection system will be a brand new, multi-channel and multi-dimensional sound system that will allow viewers to hear sounds at specific points in the theater space. During this transition to the laser digital projection the Airbus IMAX Theater is expected to close towards the end of February with completion and re-opening slated for April. The Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater at the National Air and Space Museum and the Samuel C. Johnson IMAX Theater at the National Museum of Natural History will be fully operational during this time frame.

Giles on April 17, 2015 at 9:11 pm

the reopening of the converted screen will debut with the release of ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, 3D and as the Smithsonian commented: “the first new film to utilize the new 12 channel sound system.”

Giles on May 13, 2015 at 6:59 pm

saw ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ yesterday and was thoroughly impressed; the laser system had great colors, sharpness, ample light for the 3D to properly work and the discrete 12-channel sound while loud, had tremendous power and aural soundscaping to justify and compete with Dolby Atmos / Auro 11.1

oh and the screen under the conversion also got bumped up a foot in the process – it’s now 86 feet in width.

Giles on December 18, 2015 at 3:29 pm

mentioned in today’s Washington Post’s Weekend section as one of the top three places to see (“experience”) the new Star Wars movie – I agree!

JodarMovieFan on June 30, 2025 at 7:29 am

I know I have visited this venue and have blogged about it but like other comments, they’ve disappeared. Honestly, I don’t remember the first movie I saw here but I’m guessing it may have been the last Matrix movie maybe. My friend and I were waiting to go into the auditorium snaking around some hallway entering in from the bottom.

I caught the latest (maybe last) Mission Impossible movie on a Wednesday on a fluke being that I was working nearby. The $18 ticket price was far more agreeable than the $25 or so the AMCs and Regals are charging for their so-called IMAX presentations. Driving almost an hour and saving $7 in the admission price would sound crazy, but I’d rather support the Smithsonian than AMC in this case. :).

Since I bought my ticket online I didn’t have or couldn’t get a paper one and my electronic proof of purchase didn’t produce the barcode they scan to get in. Fortunately, the nice usher just let me in having verified my confirmation time. :) Talk about nice customer service.

I sat at the bottom of the top tier of seats. I’ve forgotten what they’re called. Mezzanine level? Didn’t want the ones closer to the screen or the nosebleed seats. LOL. Maybe more like the motion sickness ones. LOL.

For all the hype about the stunt work, I have to admit the format was disappointing and its because of the lack of ‘first person’ shots during the aerial scenes. Sound to me was not engaging either because of where I was sitting or it just wasn’t working for me. With the wide screen aspect of IMAX, the format would have shown off to better effect but for the way they DID shoot it, I’m thinking why bother? They could’ve done the usual digital backdrops and no one would know the difference. And the flashback scenes from the prior movies had some grain and text was not crisp and pixellated to me. I know the earlier films blown up would have some artifacts. I get it. Against its $400M production cost, I’m thinking okay, where did the $ go?? And its end of time apocalyptic storyline was too Terminator/Final Impact-ish with its doomsday rattling.

One last annoying thing was the people behind me kicking my seat a few times and not apologizing assuming it was a mistake and this woman a few seats down exposing her stocking feet to stretch out. I mean really? Are you people at home? You’re in a public place.

Would I make the travel out here again? Hell, yeah. I only wished the Jurassic Park movie was in IMAX. Not a real race car fan to see F1 here.