In recent years the movie industry has found itself confronted with the effects of online piracy. Much like the music world in the wake of Napster, Hollywood and cinemas across the globe have found themselves in a precarious position as they consider how best to combat this growing digital threat.

   Showcase Cinemas , with the launch of their new XPlus screens, may have found the ideal solution - who in their right mind would strain their eyes watching a pixelated version of the latest blockbuster on their iPhone, when cinema can offer a unique experience THIS immersive?

What Is Xplus?

   XPlus is Showcase Cinema’s latest innovation in bringing a premium big-screen experience to the fore. The format utilises a mixture of the most advanced digital technologies available to create a sight and sound adventure like no other - coupled with a stylishly designed auditorium and ultra-comfortable seating (with more than ample leg-room), Showcase have fashioned an experience which mixes the best of deluxe movie-going with some of the most inventive progressions seen from mainstream film-going in recent memory.

The Silver Screen

   The wall-to-wall screen is a marvel; a sheer delight to view. XPlus projects entirely in digital against a plus-size silver-screen and boasts an image as crisp and clear as possibly imaginable. Whilst many cinema screens appear to dim noticeably during 3D presentations, Showcase's new XPlus screens maintain a pleasing brightness and thus no quality of the image is sacrificed in favour of another. Whilst, for this lover of all things classic cinema, it would be a great shame if celluloid projection became a thing of the past entirely, there's no denying the absolute and startling precision on display here - in an ideal world celluloid and digital can live side-by-side like MP3s and vinyl, newspapers and the internet. And, in terms of digital projection, this is about as good as it gets.

   The greatest aspect of XPlus, however, is the sound.

Dolby Atmos

   Sound-wise Dolby Atmos is, according to Showcase, the “most significant development in cinema audio since the arrival of surround sound”. Here, XPlus takes the concept of surround sound and embellishes it to an incredible degree. A line of state-of-the-art speakers run across the walls of the auditorium so the film's sound can pan and track as the action onscreen does too. Even more impressively, a glance at the ceiling shows an array of speakers above too - during demonstrations of the system, Showcase illustrated the unique potential of Dolby Atmos as swelling ambiance enveloped the audience. To experience this is a somewhat overwhelming sensation which puts to shame much of the marketing hyperbole around 3D cinema; this is what truly immersive movie-going truly feels like.