From the first images, the difference is obvious. Already spectacular, the Song of The Wolf , a film about the submarines of france Antonin Baudry with Rateb Kateb, Mathieu Kassovitz, Omar Sy and François Civil, impresses more when you see it in the new room opened this weekend in Paris. When the Special Forces were preparing to slip out of a beach syrian, the camera turns towards the sea. In a cinema, the rendering is a little grey. Here in room 8 (*) the Pathé Beaugrenelle, the water is a deep blue over the entire width of the screen. The colors are more varied and vibrant, blacks deeper and the contrasts more intense. The effect Onyx operates. For the viewer, this technology changes significantly his perception and gives him the feeling of a true immersion in the film.

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In another scene, a submarine, hostile loomed silently behind an attack submarine nuclear French. The submarine enemy is otherwise no longer black and appears more threatening than in the classic version. On earth, in scenes of dialogue is more intimate in the harbor of Brest, the quality of the image jumps to the eyes. The characters seem to be detached from the scenery, to get out of the screen thanks to a high contrast that accentuates their relief. In the scenes inside the submarine, the details of instruments, screens, such as the insignia with skull white stitched to the shoulder, One has the impression of having a picture without a filter, the brightness bright, where the texture appears in the smallest detail. As a zoom net standing. The whole gives a striking picture of realism.

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To optimize the effects in this room, the Song of The Wolf has been reworked in the studio post-production Eclair-Samsung, based in Paris. Jacques Durand, director of innovation of the cinemas Pathé Gaumont, stresses that this is not mandatory. According to him, even if not specially treated, a film will be improved in a room Onyx. The viewer quickly understands that the image is no longer broadcast from the back of the room from a projection booth, but that it emerges from the screen. And for cause: Onyx is built like the tv of your living room, with thousands of LED assembled in 96 panels. Result: you have before you the quality of the small screen HDR by ten metres by five in the Pathé Beaugrenelle.

The door 8 at the Pathé Beaugrenelle, which gives access to the room of the screen Onyx. Léna Lutaud / Le Figaro

The other detail that strikes, it is the black of the screen. When the generic Song of the Wolf will scroll with white letters on a black background, is particularly striking. Around 22 hours on Saturday 23 February when the light is turned back on, several curious spectators went to touch the screen. The effect is particular. Closely, you’ll see a screen jet black and no longer white. And instead of feeling smooth, it feels good, the pellet of each pixel. Question her, the room had to be re-thought: couldn’t the spark behind the image, as usual. The speakers have therefore been placed above and below the screen. As a staff, we still prefer by far the sound enveloping Dolby Atmos. The effect is more dramatic. The real difference in a room and Onyx, it is the quality of the image.

Up here in Pathé, the public had the choice between the rooms, the classics, the ones with the sound enveloping Dolby Atmos theaters, Dolby Cinema, Imax and finally the rooms 4DX and Screen X. The basic idea is always the same: to encourage spectators to move to see the films on the big screen, all together, in the dark, rather than at home or on a mobile phone.

pioneering

Unveiled in Las Vegas in 2017 by Samsung, Onyx is presented as a revolution. Since then, this technology has primarily been installed in multiplexes in Korea and China. In Europe, Switzerland was the first to move to Zurich in march 2018 followed by Vienna Austria and Frankfurt in Germany. In France, the Pathé Beaugrenelle is a pioneer. A second room Onyx will be launched at the Pathé Lyon-Bellecour at the end of march. «Our goal is to have installed 41 screens by the end of the first quarter of 2019,» says-t-on at Samsung. This deployment relates primarily to the Asia.

As with any technology, there needs to be content. Side films, the Song of The Wolf is the first French feature film to be specially reworked for the meeting Onyx. Produced and distributed by Pathé, this blockbuster was to inaugurate the last room futuristic of the group of Jérôme Seydoux. For feature-length films to come, it is more confusing. No title has been unveiled. But Samsung has installed several studios, post-production in the world. In Los Angeles as in Paris.

For the viewer, the extra announced for the moment at Pathé is three euros for the special screenings in 3D. Remains to be seen how for the same movie, the audience will choose his room between the Dolby Atmos, 4DX, Dolby Theater, Imax, Ice, and now Onyx. There is no fifty solutions: it is necessary to test the six categories and determine which effects you prefer.

for example, If the sound is the main criterion, preference should be given to a room Dolby Atmos. For thrills with the chair that moves way amusement park, the 4DX. For comfort, nothing beats the large reclining chairs of the Dolby Theater. For an effect on the lateral sides, that is Ice in the multiplexes CGR or Screen X. The giant screen, it is the Imax. For a realistic image, full contrast, and color revived, it is best to test the Onyx. Not to mention that a good session of cine, it is first and foremost a good movie.

(*): room Onyx Pathé Beaugrenelle is not yet reported on the tab reservation on the application PathéGaumont. It is necessary to reserve your seats in room 8. The room number is indicated on the plan when it is necessary to choose its places.