Month: October 2022

Last week, I was kicked out of my own home cinema by my teenage daughter. It’s fine, she’d warned me that this would happen. It was for a pre-Halloween film party with some friends, and as my cinema room can just about squeeze in seven people seated (two have to make do with bean bags), she naturally invited eight other friends. Perhaps a couple of them hung from the ceiling – I’m not sure, but it wasn’t my problem – as I had to give up my room and my usual film night.

“Why don’t we go to the cinema for a change?” my wife asked. She fancied seeing The Woman King, and as I’d heard good things, I was happy to see it, so that was settled. So why did it turn out to be a disappointing evening out? Well, it wasn’t the film, which I would recommend.

The problem was that the movie had been out for a few weeks so my normal first choices for cinemas were unavailable – I had to find in showing anywhere I could find. This meant an Odeon near central London, about half an hour’s drive from my house. Doable. The journey was a little stressful, mainly as we realized there was no dedicated car park and my better half spent the journey battling with the Just Park app – but we managed to get it sorted and arrive in time.

The problems began in the foyer. As with every mainstream cinema, it was bright but charmless, and as we didn’t have time to eat before we left, we had to get quickly something to eat and drink. We then queued up to be told that we had to go to the machine on the wall to order our drinks, and then had to queue again – and then wait as our order was prepared, with the numbers of our ticket appearing on a screen. It felt a bit like waiting to be served in a shoe shop when the kids were little. When the order finally arrived, the chips turned out to be limp and tasteless. I would have preferred eating a shoe. I complained and was given a replacement – which proved to be essentially the same thing again. Not wanting to miss the start of the film I gave up and accepted the meager, overpriced fare.

None of that would have mattered though had our cinematic experience have been up to scratch –sadly it wasn’t. Immediately upon entering the screen I was taken aback by the small size of the screen in relation to the room. Having fed myself an almost exclusively IMAX-only diet it was a shock. It was a bit like the IMAX, but the other way round – all seats and almost no screen.

Fortunately, I’d expected as much and I’d booked relatively close to the screen, but it was still too small. At least the seat recliners were fine and the table for our ridiculously oversized drink and our pitifully cold chips was fine too.

What wasn’t fine was the next problem in the room – other people. The film started but people were still coming in – and standing at the side, trying to sort out the other people that had sat in their seats. I had this the last time I went to an IMAX – hundreds of seats and a couple had chosen to sit in the two seats that I had carefully selected. Back at the Odeon, ‘SeatGate’ was eventually sorted, and I could start to immerse myself in the film.

At least I would have had I not been troubled by the lackluster picture quality. The image was flat, dim, and uninspiring, which was a shame considering the drama on screen. It wasn’t helped by the soundstage which had no impact. The screen is allegedly Dolby Digital capable, but the front sound stage was weak and there were no discernible surround effects. It just felt very underwhelming. My wife even commented later on how the setup felt like it detracted from the film, rather than enhancing it.

What was also irritating was that some lights were left on during the whole film, presumably so the people walking about as if it was a museum could see where they were going.

But sadly, all of this seems to be standard for your average cinema screen. Too small, too dim, and poor sound, with disappointingly behaved audiences. Is it any surprise that after the high cost of tickets, food, and travel, cinemas are struggling to get people to come back through their doors? The lure of a 4K disc or stream, a regular Blu-ray, or even, would you believe it, a DVD holds more appeal for many.

As I regularly write about here, premium formats, such as IMAX, and Dolby Cinema, Premium Large Formats such as Superscreen, and even 4DX, are the way to experience movies in the cinema. However, with so many films competing for premium attention, you have to be quick off the mark to catch them in those formats – as well as caring about doing so enough in the first place.

For the average punter then, the standard quality of regular screens isn’t good enough.

Of course, not all standard screens are not poor. It’s not as if you have to have a giant screen, 4K, or super advanced Dolby Atmos sound to have a great experience. A well-maintained, regular lamp-based projector, with 2K resolution and 5.1 surround, can still deliver a superb cinematic experience – as long as it’s bright enough, the seats good enough, and some care and attention paid to removing excess lights, as well as some screen masking to maximize contrast without black (or rather grey) bars.

Is it too much to ask?

Or course, cinemas are going through a tough time, and funding upgrades must be impossible, so suggesting people stay away is not what I want to do. Going to the cinema and seeing something great, with a packed audience can be a transcendent experience.

So, when you do go, go premium if you can, or simply take the time to find a decent-quality screen, and stay away from those that aren’t up to par.

And cinema managers? If you can’t find the funds to get a new bulb and some screen masking, or even bother to turn the lights off, at least try and make sure your chips aren’t completely cold.

One of the more exciting things Apple did with the new iPhone 14 is to include a satellite connection for use in emergencies in the U.S. and Canada. While the audience for this type of messaging service may be small, serious adventurers who love to hike in the backcountry and sailing enthusiasts who, when sailing or boating, is often out of cellular service range applauded this move. It is also valuable for emergency services and the military when connections are needed in areas where cellular calls are unavailable.

Within minutes of Apple’s announcement of this new feature, I began to see tweets and comments about the idea of Apple eventually adding satellite calling features to the iPhone in the near future.

Satellite stand-alone phones have been available for decades but are almost always used in specialized circumstances. For example, the U.S. military has used satellite phones on the battlefield and in remote areas for decades.

As mentioned above, satellite phones have been used for communications on the high seas and within many types of emergency services where cellular connections are not available.

Dedicated satellite phones can cost as little as $500.00 to well over $1500, depending on features. However, the more significant issue with satellite phones is the cost per minute. With cellular phones, voice calling is cheap and unlimited in most carrier services. However, satellite phone calls can cost anywhere from $1.25 per minute to over $10 per minute, depending on a person’s location.

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote a story about this and cast a skeptical eye on the ability to see satellite voice calling embedded in smartphones anytime soon.

“The stakes of such a wager are high for satellite ventures that typically spend several billion dollars apiece just to launch their networks. The potential rewards from reaching even a sliver of the world’s more than six billion smartphones are likewise rich, assuming that companies are able to make their services work on a global scale.

Several other satellite companies are trying to grab a share of the cellular market. SpaceX, the rocket company, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk, in August said it will join with T-Mobile U.S. Inc. to make its Starlink service compatible with the U.S. cellphone carrier’s network. The companies said they would begin testing the service before the end of 2023.

“I’m personally a bit of a skeptic,” says Iridium Chief Executive Matt Desch, calling such seamless connections “not a service that the public will see for at least a few years.” A more feasible goal, he says, includes satellite-based text messages that work as well on a smartphone as they do on the specialized satellite phones available today.”

As I looked into the idea of embedding satellite voice calling into a smartphone, it became clear that while it has potential, it is not something we will see anytime soon. Elon Musk wants to offer it via a partnership with Starlink and TMobile by the end of 2023, but a lot has to happen for this even to be possible.

I was at an event recently where Umair Javed, General Council for the FCC, spoke. I asked him what it would take to bring satellite communications to smartphones. He answered that it would have to go through FCC regulatory scrutiny and new spectrum allocations. He also pointed out that other countries have dedicated spectrum for satellite voice communications, and there will be a need to develop cross-spectrum technology and partnerships around the world to offer a global service.

I also spoke to an OEM who makes smartphones. They pointed out that adding the specialized radio and electronics needed to power these satellite calls would add at least another $200-$300 to the retail price of a satellite-enabled smartphone.

Mr. Javed of the FCC said that they see a significant business opportunity for satellite companies and smartphone makers to add satellite calling to smartphones sometime in the future.

Although the audience for these types of smartphones with satellite calling will be smaller, there will be many businesses and even some consumers for whom a satellite connection in a smartphone makes sense and will be worth the extra expense. However, it will never be for a mass market since worldwide cellular connections will be sufficient for most smartphone users.

Adding a satellite voice connection to smartphones will likely happen. However, do not expect it anytime soon.

We’re in the build-up to the latest Marvel blockbuster again but this time things are bittersweet. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is a movie that, as the trailer reveals, deals with a world that has lost T’Challa, the Black Panther of the first movie, just as we so tragically Chadwick Boseman in 2020. It promises to be emotional and powerful, so the question you might be asking is, which format should I book tickets for?

The short answer is likely to be IMAX. The film poster declares that the movie has been “Filmed for IMAX” but note that this is different from “Filmed with IMAX”. The latter is what purists would consider the real deal – as in a film captured on IMAX film stock, and, in some cases, (aka Chris Nolan films), even projected from a film print. However, this is very rare, and most IMAX films will be the former – “Filmed for IMAX.” This means that the film is captured on a digital camera that has been certified by IMAX as having a sensor that meets its requirements for detail capture to be able to offer what it considers to be IMAX quality.

In the case of Wakanda Forever, the camera in question is the Sony CineAlta Venice. This was the same camera that was used for Top Gun: Maverick, which gave us some first-rate visuals, so we don’t have to worry on the quality front.

The Venice has a 36 x 24mm full-frame sensor that is close to the 4:3 aspect ratio of native IMAX film and has a 6K sensor, giving enough detail for the director to build his frame. None of Wakanda Forever is going to be presented in full frame, however, but rather certain sequences will be in the 1.90:1 ratio – so taller than the standard widescreen, but not full frame; IMAX says this as “up to” 26% extra picture. How much of the movie will be full frame is unknown but judging by the IMAX trailer there will be switching aspect ratios.

If you are fortunate enough to have a choice of IMAX theatres in reach then investigate if one has a laser projector, as this will give a bright picture and more intense color and contrast than the standard Xenon-based ones especially if the lamp is aging. It will also offer 4K resolution, and as IMDB claims that a 4K digital intermediate has been made it should look fantastic – if the visual effects artists were given long enough to complete their work.

If you’re quick of the booking mark, you might even find a showing in IMAX 3D, which, along with Dolby 3D, are the only 3D formats worth going for, due to the extra scale and brightness – (though less so if the IMAX projector isn’t laser). Yes, it’s complicated.

While I’m here, I’m very pleased to note that the London Science Museum IMAX screen has once again opened its doors to mainstream cinema, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever the first film it is showing on release since before the pandemic and since its refurbishment. While the movie won’t make use of the full 1.43:1 aspect ratio screen, it’s still a fantastic place to watch a movie, so if that’s an option, put it on the shortlist – if only so we keep getting films there.

Londoners also have the option of the newly upgrade BFI IMAX, which will reopen its door in November, especially for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as the first film using its new single-laser IMAX projection system with 12-channel sound.

The main alternative to IMAX will be Dolby Cinema, which does not have the extra image in IMAX sequences, but enjoys the very best black levels, and true high dynamic range (HDR) visuals. In other words, it’s the format that will “pop” the most – and the seats are always really comfortable.

My next recommendation would be 4DX – the system that brings a visceral theme park ride vibe to cinema-going, with seats that move, and rumble in response to the action, air that’s blasted, lights that flash, and even water that sprays over you. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will even be shown in 4DX 3D, so you’re truly getting all the senses involved. It can be a bit much, but it does work for fun movies.

Finally, the fourth option would be to seek out a premium large-screen format such as Cineworld Superscreen with 4K projection, Dolby Atmos sound, and comfy seats.

After that, you have ScreenX, which projects extra image down the sides and is frankly odd. And then, finally, we have standard 2D and 3D screens – usually, small screens, dim projectors, lights on, and non-discerning clientele that will probably use their phones all the way through and talk.

If you’re going to a big movie, do yourself a favor, and find a proper screen to see it on.

iOS 16 continues to cause problems for iPhone owners, despite receiving four updates in just six weeks of release. And now the latest update has introduced another significant issue.

Users are reporting that iOS 16.1, released last week, is causing iPhones to disconnect frequently from WiFi, and frustration levels are reaching boiling point.

First spotted by MacRumors, iPhone owners are taking to Reddit, Twitter, and the Apple Support community forums to complain about the problem, which can cause iPhones to disconnect from WiFi as frequently as every few seconds.

“It’s driving me crazy,” tweets one user, with criticism of Apple and iOS 16 consistently being among the highest–ranked comments. Others are losing patience over the ongoing instability of iOS 16. Especially given the potentially significant data charges that being forced onto cellular can cause.

Other than updating to iOS 16.1, there appears to be no obvious trigger for the problem. Affected users report WiFi disconnecting when their iPhones are in use and others when their phones are in standby or charging overnight.

There is also no consistent fix. One user says that switching off Location Services for Networking & Wireless solved the problem (Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services). Still, it has not worked for others, and even a complete reset of network settings appears to make no difference.

At this stage, it remains unclear how widespread the issue is, but there is enough activity across social media and Apple’s forum to suggest a fix is needed ASAP. Adding to the problem, iOS 16.1 is a feature-packed release with over 20 security patches, making it a compelling update.

That said, for anyone still running iOS 15, the newly released iOS 15.7.1 contains the same critical patches and is significantly more stable. I have contacted Apple about these discoveries and will update this article if/when I receive a response.

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