It’s a big week for IMAX, which has been promoting today’s release Oppenheimer. It’s a big deal for IMAX because this film is the first 70 mm IMAX release since 2020. Tenet. So, you can understand why the company took to social media to boast about the size and scope of the film, which is he said 11 miles long and 600 pounds. But in addition to the blockbuster IMAX release is something that has not been shown in years: PDA.
And you can’t discuss personal digital assistants (PDAs) without mentioning PalmPilots. Palm computing devices were once the epitome of a handheld technology company. But Palm Computing, which endured several acquisitions before HP sunset sign in 2011, they developed devices other than PalmPilots. One of them is the Palm m130, which is apparently the IMAX projectionists’ best monitor for running 70 mm film.
As seen in the TikTok IMAX video below, the 70 mm print for Oppenheimer it is so big that they had to expand their film plate. That’s fun and all, but so is this 2002 PDA that seems to be running:
@imax Pushing the boundaries of film all the time. #Oppenheimer #ChristopherNolan #IMAX ♬ original sound – IMAX
The M130 didn’t even have one above the line when it came out in 2002. However, it brought color (12-bit, to be exact) to Palm’s M-series of handhelds. It started at $279 with a 2-inch, 160×160 screen and a 33 Motorola Dragonball VZ processor. But that was magic that was needed for IMAX purposes, so it didn’t change anything. The only difference is that it uses emulations sometimes. According to Seaside, the TikTok video shows a PDA modeled on a Windows 10.1-inch business tablet, the Winmate W10IB3S-PCH2AC-POE Panel PC. It is easy to find emulators for Palm OS on the Internetas he said Vice boards.
The PDA system controls the theater’s Quick Turn Reel Units (where the staff download film reels), which may also have integrated controllers instead.
Motherboard contacted IMAX about the past and a company spokesperson said, “The original Quick Turn Reel units worked on PalmPilots. OppenheimerIMAX Engineering designed and developed an emulator that mimics the look and feel of the PalmPilot to make it easier and more familiar to IMAX filmmakers.”
It is possible that some IMAX theaters still have physical PDAs. Ars Technica reached out to IMAX for clarification and will update this story if we hear back. As The Verge reported, a YouTuber named Yves Leibowitz, who shares a video from the IMAX theater at the aquarium with a support of 70 mm, has Palm devices in his hands. movies.
So what does a default emulator do? An IMAX spokesperson told The Verge that it includes left and right controls for the 3D projector, which is “a departure from the days of 45-minute 3D documentaries, where there was a right eye and a left eye that both went through the projector at the same time.” Operators can use the emulator to load a plate that has been prepared for film or feed film to a projector.
If it ain’t broke…
Twenty-one-year-old PDAs might not be what you’d expect to power one of the year’s most widely circulated movies, but if you look at the conversational speed at which technology and business processes tend to evolve, it’s hardly surprising.
Earlier this year, we had a preview of what Chuck E. Cheese was finally moving his animatronics floppy disks and in the modern era of … DVDs. It is not the only company that is using old technologies that many consumers have forgotten. Businesses with outdated processes and systems often rely on technologies that were well known when those systems were developed. It is common in the machining of products such as medical equipment, aircraft, textile machinery, and plastic molding relying on floppy disks.
Likewise, IMAX seems to be working with technology that they are familiar with, and therefore, do not require new or advanced training or major purchases and upgrades.
Currently, 70 mm IMAX film produces like Oppenheimer don’t come often, and when they do, only 30 theaters in the world can support them, Price CNBC be said, and not all will (Tenet is The 70 mm release, for example, was limited to 11 theaters due to pandemic restrictions, CNBC reported). This makes any need for upgrades and upgrades unnecessary.
“If 70mm IMAX were to start again, I would expect them to change [Quick Turn Reel Unit] the rulers. Until then, it’s best to ride until the wheels fall off,” an IMAX spokesperson told The Verge.
For anyone still wondering what the big deal is 70 mm film (except for size), the film website he says Oppenheimer “shot using 5-perf 65 mm film and 15 perf IMAX film.” The site says that “when shown on 70 mm IMAX, sequences shot on 15 perf IMAX are printed in full color in their original form – the highest quality ever created, offering 10 times the depth of standard color, and filling large IMAX screens from top to bottom.”