Get ready for live Broadway events, live opera from the Metropolitan Opera, classic film showings and 3-D movies - all right here in Williamsport. The Cinema Center, now the Digiplex Cinema Center, 300 W. Fourth St., has gone digital.
The city theater is the fifth theater that Digiplex Destinations has renovated in the state, with the theater in Bloomsburg being the first and theaters in Camp Hill, Reading and Selinsgrove undergoing the change as well.
So, what does "going digital" mean?
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Well, in part, it means a better image on the screen.
"It's like the difference between VHS and DVD, but better," Jeff Butkovsky from Digiplex Destinations said. "And it means that the last showing of a film will be just as good as the first."
"There's no more deterioration. No more scratches on the film, no more hiccups in the presentation," Les Barnhart, the general manager of the theater added.
It also means that the theater won't just be focusing on movies anymore.
"It turns to the theater into an entertainment center," Butkovsky said. "It allows the theater to feature alternative content beyond the movies."
Instead of a projectionist splicing film and threading projectors, everything will be controlled by the manager through a computer program.
"The theater will be a different experience not only for the viewer but for the management as well," Butkovsky said. "Think of it like iTunes - you have the content that comes in and you're moving it out to your players."
"The movies used to dictate what we could do, depending on availability and logistics, but now we can dictate what we do," Barnhart said. "We can tailor showings for the audience ... and can change them very easily. Flexibility is the big thing."
For more information, visit digiplexdest.com.
