Lazy theaters may be making movies appear darker

3D glasses? Or sunglasses? 3D glasses? Or sunglasses? Photo: NIGEL TREBLIN, NIGEL TREBLIN/AFP/Getty Images Photo: NIGEL TREBLIN, NIGEL TREBLIN/AFP/Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Lazy theaters may be making movies appear darker 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Did that movie you saw the other day seem really dark? Did it feel like you were watching it with sunglasses? Turns out, you might not be crazy.

Theater chains across the U.S. are being lazy with their projector lenses, making many movies appear much dimmer than intended, the Boston Globe reports. And while executives are remaining mum, it seems to be an unspoken corporate policy at several cinemas.

The culprit, it seems, is a digital movie projector made by Sony. Well, not the projector itself, but the lens theaters must use for 3D films. This special lens is required for the two rapidly alternating, polarized images that make the 3D effect work.

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The problem is, the lens absorbs half of the light. That's good for 3D movies. But 2D movies? Not so much.

Theaters are supposed to switch lenses so they're not using 3D lenses to show 2D films. But are AMC Loews, National Amusements and Regal cinemas doing their job?

From the Globe report:

They're not doing that, and there's an easy way to tell. If you're in a theater playing a digital print (the marquee at the ticket booth should have a "D'' next to the film's name), look back at the projection booth. If you see two beams of light, one stacked on top of the other, that's a Sony with the 3-D lens still in place. If there's a single beam, it's either a Sony with the 3-D lens removed or a different brand of digital projector, such as Christie or Barco. The difference can be extreme. Chapin Cutler, a cofounder of the high-end specialty projection company Boston Light & Sound, estimates that a film projected through a Sony with the 3-D lens in place and other adjustments not made can be as much as 85 percent darker than a properly projected film.

But there's gotta be a reason, other than laziness, why theaters aren't switching lenses, right?

The Globe reported that it's a giant pain in the neck: The Sony projectors, because the company uses proprietary lenses, require projectionists to enter security clearances and passwords while switching lenses, otherwise they'll shut down. It also costs money, time and expertise.

The thing is, most moviegoers probably won't notice the difference. I'll bet they would if you showed them the images side-by-side.

Said one theater projectionist, who spoke to the Globe anonymously: "To me it feels like they're serving people pigeon burgers and telling them it's grade-A beef.''

Nick Eaton can be reached at 206-448-8125 or nickeaton@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/njeaton. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.