Omnimax • Hacker News Board

Re: Omnimax

#51

Post by qingcharles » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 1:31 AM UTC

rjmunro wrote: post #35

"Back to the Future: The Ride" was also an Omnimax dome system, but with moving platforms instead of seats. It was installed in 3 locations, with 2 screens at each, so a total of 6 screens. I'm not sure if any later similar rides used a similar system, (for example Disney's Soarin') or if they are new enough to be digital from the start.

I forgot that it was Omnimax. I did some test scans of the 70mm reel from that ride at one point. They replaced it with Simpsons, which I believe reused the dome, but was probably digital projection I would imagine.

Re: Omnimax

#52

Post by mrandish » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 5:22 AM UTC

jrowen wrote: post #32

mrandish wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people I know assumed that the Las Vegas Sphere interior screen was on the "other side" of the exterior dome. They were surprised when I showed them this image: https://i0.wp.com/alia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sph...

I was certainly surprised when I saw images of the inside, and upon reflection wasn't sure exactly what I had had in mind or how that would have worked with the realities of infrastructure needs for a venue like that. But still, it feels weird to express a sentiment of "well it didn't really live up to the sphere thing" while dismissing the massive obvious spherical component that was the innovative work of engineeri…

> "well it didn't really live up to the sphere thing"

I never thought it didn't live up to being a Sphere. The outside is definitely a big ass sphere of impressive proportions. To me, that impressive size (for whatever it's worth) never relied on the interior screen also being that size.

Having visited it, I found the exterior even more impressive when standing near it. Aerial photos don't really convey just how damn big the thing is due to the frame of reference being nearby Vegas casino buildings. Vegas casino towers tend to be larger than they look and farther apart than one might assume.

However, on watching their demo movie Postcards From Earth, I now think the Sphere is a poor venue for theatrical story-telling due to poor contrast, self-illumination and being too big and too wide. The size and edge-to-edge arc are so extreme they introduce challenges which significantly reduce the quality of any theatrical presentation. Basically they went overboard on maximizing the 'curb-appeal' first-impact of building. So much so, they basically fucked any chance of it ever being a high-quality venue for wide format movies. I'd much rather see a wide format movie on an Omnimax screen than the Sphere.

Re: Omnimax

#53

Post by jrowen » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 4:41 PM UTC

mrandish wrote: post #52

jrowen wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was certainly surprised when I saw images of the inside, and upon reflection wasn't sure exactly what I had had in mind or how that would have worked with the realities of infrastructure needs for a venue like that. But still, it feels weird to express a sentiment of "well it didn't really live up to the sphere thing" while dismissing the massive obvious spherical component that was the innovative work of engineeri…

> "well it didn't really live up to the sphere thing" I never thought it didn't live up to being a Sphere. The outside is definitely a big ass sphere of impressive proportions. To me, that impressive size (for whatever it's worth) never relied on the interior screen also being that size. Having visited it, I found the exterior even more impressive when standing near it. Aerial photos don't really convey just how damn…

That's kind of Vegas in a nutshell, right? It's first and foremost about superficial glitz and glamour. Nothing wrong with that really, and they sure are good at it.

I saw Eagles at Sphere with my family (part of the fun of that trip was realizing that both of those entities explicitly [perhaps vehemently] do not use an article in the name and thus that is grammatically correct).

I agree that it is a very strange venue that doesn't seem to know what audience it's going for. Band culture, and generally the types of acts that play to a seated crowd, is more about the performance than over-the-top and overwhelming visual stimuli. Dance music culture, the people that love that, prefers a flat open dancefloor. As you mention, it's not really built for moviegoers either. But it is still a really impressive and enjoyable experience and I hope they can figure it out.

(And just be clear, my paraphrase that you quoted was referring to the original article)

Re: Omnimax

#54

Post by sjm-lbm » Tue, Jun 10, 2025, 6:39 PM UTC

rjmunro wrote: post #35

"Back to the Future: The Ride" was also an Omnimax dome system, but with moving platforms instead of seats. It was installed in 3 locations, with 2 screens at each, so a total of 6 screens. I'm not sure if any later similar rides used a similar system, (for example Disney's Soarin') or if they are new enough to be digital from the start.

It's not at all a similar ride, but Epcot Center's Horizons (at Walt Disney World) used two Omnimax screens back to back as part of a dark ride. There's a map showing what that looked like here: https://parklore.com/main/horizons/3/