Stomper dismayed by pixel patches during $25 IMAX screening at Shaw Theatres Lido
A family's long-awaited movie outing was ruined by defective screen patches at Shaw Theatres Lido's IMAX hall.
Stomper Audrey told Stomp the incident happened on July 20 at about 8.15pm, when her family caught Superman at the Orchard cinema.
"It's been a while since our family had a movie outing," she said. "We thought Superman surely deserved one."
They chose the IMAX cinema "to truly appreciate the movie production and its post-production efforts".
"We thought the movie would be worth the $25 per pax IMAX experience. To our dismay and disappointment, we had to deal with eight patches of dead pixels in the middle of the screen throughout the whole show," she said.
"It was so, so disappointing, Shaw Theatres. The sight of the patches just irritates you. There is no way to appreciate the movie when the defects are right in the middle of the screen."
Audrey added that the experience had put her off returning to IMAX screenings anytime soon.
She later updated Stomp on July 22 that Shaw had reached out to apologise and offered her cinema vouchers as compensation.
"Yes, I'm satisfied with the response," she said. "But in all seriousness, they should at least declare the screen condition and perhaps offer a discounted fare. But I suppose it is a tricky situation."
Ongoing issue
Audrey is not the only cinema-goer who has raised concerns about the screen quality at Shaw Theatres Lido's IMAX screen.
Thread user @ervination wrote on July 7: "It is not right to charge full price IMAX until this is fixed. Honestly."
On Reddit, multiple users have posted complaints over the past year, calling the issue "distracting".
One Redditor shared an email from David Keighley, IMAX's Chief Quality Officer, who said a new screen is currently being fabricated in Canada and will be shipped to Singapore "in the near future".
"I cannot give you a date," he wrote, "but hopefully in the next few months, you'll have a brand new screen at Shaw Lido."
Some users also mentioned that the IMAX screen at Shaw Theatres Jewel has a similar problem.
Stomp has contacted Shaw Theatres for comment.
