Eager to raise the standard of home theaters like it did with regular theaters, IMAX has announced a new certification program that aims to bring unrivalled audio/visual quality to living rooms around the world.
The program, dubbed IMAX Enhanced, is being developed in partnership with the audio experts at DTS, and will invite manufacturers of televisions, soundbars and hi-fi systems to have their devices officially certified by the world's leading large-format cinema company.
"To qualify and carry the IMAX Enhanced logo, the highest-end TVs, projectors, sound bars, and AV receivers must meet stringent performance standards established by IMAX, DTS and Hollywood’s leading colorists in order to create a consistent and higher bar for image and sound performance on premium devices," explained the company on its new IMAX Enhanced website.
Looking at the bigger picture
The site also states that "IMAX digitally re-mastered content for the home environment is created to provide the sharpest 4K HDR images and powerful sound as the filmmaker intended," and that the company is "designing an IMAX Mode for the enhanced devices that will be meticulously optimized to play digitally re-mastered content to deliver the best viewing and listening experience on that device."
Perhaps most exciting for home cinema enthusiasts, the company also states that select titles filmed with IMAX cameras or formatted for IMAX screens will also be presented in their expanded aspect ratios for home viewing — director Christopher Nolan's IMAX films have always been released this way on home video, though many other big-format movies studios (we're looking at you, Marvel/Disney) have been slow to adopt this approach outside of the dying 3D format.
The IMAX Enhanced program is set to launch between now and December of this year. For more information, including the ins and outs of how IMAX Enhanced products will work with non-certified devices, head over to the site's FAQ section.
