World’s largest screen brings film scenes to life

The Starium theater at the Yeongdeungpo CGV multiplex has the largest screen in the world, measuring 31.4 meters (103 feet) in length and 13 meters in width. Provided by CJ CGV

The word “big” is not enough to describe the world’s largest movie screen, located right here in Korea at the Yeongdeungpo CGV multiplex in western Seoul.

The massive screen, located in CGV’s Starium theater, measures 31.4 meters (103 feet) in width and 13 meters in height, ranking it as the largest one on the globe, according to Guinness World Records.

Previously, the largest movie screen in Korea was at CGV Centum City in Busan, which measures 27 meters in width.

One of the most striking aspects of the Starium theater is its powerful sound system. For the best sound, it uses an 11.2-channel stereoscopic system, which it claims provides uniform distribution of sound in every part of the theater.

Some moviegoers who have watched a film there have even said the acoustics are similar to what you’d find at an opera house.

The Starium boasts 50 speakers, more than double the number that regular theaters often use.

The speakers are actually the same ones found in concert halls. They are spread out over a long line, and each speaker can be adjusted manually in order to balance the sound across the theater.

Additionally, the subwoofers at this theater are two to four times more powerful than those in regular movie venues.

By leaving a solid impression on moviegoers, the Starium has become a popular venue for Hollywood blockbuster movies and other hit films. Most recently, it premiered “2012,” the $2.6-million disaster movie from Sony Pictures. Some viewers who saw the local hit film “Haeundae” in regular theaters watched the movie again at the Starium, leaving with a higher satisfaction level the second time around, according to CJ CGV, the operator of CGV multiplexes in Korea.

James Cameron’s 3D sci-fi epic “Avatar” and the Korean blockbuster “Jeon Woo Chi” (“The Taoist Wizard”) are expected to be shown at the Starium theater as well.

As the screen occupies 407.9 square meters (4,390 square feet), the theater wall had to be torn down three times to get the screen through the entrance.

The distance between the screen and the first row of seats is 11 meters - much further than 4 to 8 meters at regular theaters.

Still, some consumers have complained about the view from up close.

“If you watch a movie from a seat in the first five rows, you may feel a little sick,” a customer wrote on the theater’s Web site.

For 3-D films, seats located at the sides of the theater should be avoided if possible, those in the know say.

“Three-dimensional films require both the left and right eyes to take in the images and send them into our brains, where the two images are combined into a full picture, said Yim Jeong-hun, CJ-CGV’s technical expert.

“Therefore, it is better to be seated in the middle so that the images can be easily processed. It also provides less pressure on your eyes, and viewers will be able to concentrate on the movie better.”

By Ki Sun-min [jbiz91@joongang.co.kr]