Movies from space

The idea is simple: get rid of those expensive reels of 35 millimeter film that are no sooner delivered to your local multiplex than they're scratched to pieces by a soda jerk posing as a projectionist.

The execution is complex:

Transfer the film to High Definition Video, uplink it to a communications satellite, and downlink it to participating theatres world-wide, where it is projected—without flicker, flutter, scratches, or wear and tear—on Texas Instruments' 21st Century Digital Light Processing^® projector.

The system works. The digital "film" is in many ways better than the 19th century variety. The satellites are in place, with bandwidth to burn. All parties involved—from the studios, to the audiences who've seen it in tests, to the theatre-owners and accountants who have to pay for it in reality—love the idea of a pristine digital image each and every time the "film" is shown. Error-free accounting and the quicker payback that comes with such a computerized process is also a very strong incentive.

Only cost—the usual bugaboo of any new technology—keeps you from never screaming at a "projectionist" again.

And the cost, unlike the satellites, will come down.