Hey guys, I recently re-watched The Batman in 1U's TGV IMAX and Tropicana Garden's GSC BigScreen DA, and I would like to share my thoughts on both of them. I watched them on the same day (wutface) as I was free that whole day, so I can vividly remember the distinct difference both had to offer. Do note that I did write about Tropicana Gardens' BigScreen before and it may feel like a regurgitation here. However, at that time, I didn't really paid too much attention on assessing the hall's quality compared to this time, so I hope this will be more informative than before.

1U TGV IMAX

     
I wasn't able to snap a photo of the entire screen despite me being at the opposite end of the hall. I believe I missed a bit of the screen's top part in the photo. I sat in the middle of row H.

The screen is pretty big honestly, slightly smaller than Velocity's but I don't have any qualms when it comes to size when comparing between big screens. The thing that bothered me though was how blurry the image quality was during certain sections of the film. The dark light performance was especially poor and considering The Batman mostly takes place at night, it was very disappointing. It's the projector that is at fault here and as I mentioned in my previous posts, the difference is not that big of a deal unless you have keen eyes for this sort of things. However, considering how many cinema halls I have visited (too many and too often now, honestly), I deem IMAX's image quality to be sub-optimal. I won't complain too much as it has been vehemently pointed out here, but unless TGV decides to upgrade their projectors to something better, this negative will always be there.

Sound wise, this shit be popping, man (sorry for me informal speech here). The volume is set quite high along with the bass, so at many tense moments, you will feel vibrations throughout your body along with popping, heavy audio. This is especially true during the car chase sequence, where I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. it was super thrilling and honestly had me on edge. Additionally, during the night club scenes, the hall's audio really simulated the experience of a dance club. The music there was loud and popping; you can really feel the vibration of the pops that plays out from those scenes. I know I use "popping" a lot for my description of the audio, but it really rings true here and honestly made it a riveting experience. Additionally, because the volume is louder and more emphasized, you can hear more audio details in each scene, adding more intrigue to the film's narrative quality and experience.

One small nitpick is that the volume can be a bit tad too loud and overbearing. I feel TGV could optimize it to be more comfortable to the ears while maintaining the intense audio experience.

In regards to the seats, the arrangement itself is pretty alright. Before the film started and while the hall was mostly empty, I changed and tested seats between row H, primarily G and J. Personally, I think I prefer row G, mainly cause while watching throughout the film in row H, the heads of other viewers below were slightly noticeable, and because there is a height gap between H and G, the floor light was (very minor, but) slightly distracting as well despite it being very dim. I wasn't able to fully encompass the whole screen as well as the bottom was slightly cutoff by the height gap, but considering the film doesn't utilize the whole screen for its aspect ratio, the film itself won't wasn't cut off. J on the other hand doesn't have this issue but you are slightly above and further away from the screen which is not to my liking. On a side note, the chairs are not as comfortable as GSC's (moreso MBO's considering BigScreen halls were previously owned and manufactured by MBO) imo.

Tropicana BigScreen Dolby Atmos

     
I sat in row F, F13.

The screen from the looks of it looks smaller than 1U's IMAX, and when watching the film itself, I had this feeling that it isn't as big as IMAX. That's alright though because the image quality was way better than IMAX's, and I will gladly take that any day because for me, big screen sizes doesn't really matter at a certain point and you can mostly solve that with your seating choice. Of course, a bigger screen with bigger image size will bring a more "larger than life" kind of feeling and I definitely felt a bit of that during my IMAX sessions, but considering IMAX's outdated projectors which dampens the image quality, that is a major blow. BigScreen on the other hand had clearer and sharper image quality, and the dark level performance was pretty good. It's not as good as Onyx, but considering it's coming from a projector vs Onyx's LED screen, and of course the larger screen size, BigScreen is a great balance for both screen size and image quality.

Seating wise, I find it comfortable with the ratio of screen fit to my peripheral vision. I think seats E, F and G are the best rows for viewing comfort. Also the seats are more comfortable posture wise, but are quite squeaky so beware to not annoy other viewers when you readjust your bum Xd.

When it comes to audio though, things become complicated. Do note, what I am about say regarding the Dolby Atmos implementation here isn't all negative criticism, but could actually be a different approach to audio optimization in my opinion.

The audio volume and bass here is more subdued compared to IMAX's. I didn't feel the pops and vibration that much (but they are there in key action sequences, just not very emphasized), and considering that I'd watched the film in IMAX prior in the same day, the jarring difference here is severely underwhelming from BigScreen's Dolby Atmos. I do not know if this is exclusively a BigScreen issue as my experience with Dolby Atmos in IOI City's Maxx halls were pretty good as it was both comfortably loud and bassy, which came with the vibrations and pop (this was from my comparisons with Spiderman: No Way Home). This sentiment is also true with Tropicana's Onyx DA, where I had a better audio experience there compared to BigScreen, although I may have to visit that hall again to fully confirm this assessment.

Also, because BigScreen's audio volume is lower, some of the dialogues spoken were slightly muddy, and many layers of audio detail were harder to pick up.

This problem that I faced mostly stemmed from the beginning of the film, and overall, the audio experience did improve for me as the movie continued, but I assume this is due to me adapting to the hall's audio as time went on. My primary problem is the low audio volume and I think my problem would be solved if they just increase the volume further, though I think it is more complicated than that (I am no audio expert/engineer. I am sure the people at GSC are more knowledgeable at audio design and implementation, and "just increasing the volume" wouldn't necessarily solve the problem, but as a consumer, I just find the audio experience here to be lacking compared to other locations).

However, despite my complaints and I am going into a conjecture here, I think that BigScreen's DA implementation is trying to do something different than just highly emphasized bass and very loud volume, instead, they are aiming for clarity and accuracy.

One thing I noticed and actually find pleasant was the surround sound and audio clarity. Some audio cues can be heard from a different angle and actually adds more complexity to scenes without being distracting to the overall audio mix. Dialogue spoken in the open and in high locations were distant but not too low in volume where you can't hear it for the purpose of simulating realism of outdoor audio. The gunshots are not too shocking and overbearingly bassy as IMAX's (though I feel it can be a bit louder for a more thrilling experience), making them more comfortable to go through, and the car chase scene still felt great as the surround sound simulates the audio direction and location, while still being comfortably loud and slightly bassy to make it a riveting sequence.

It just felt clear and balanced.

Again, that doesn't change the fact that the audio at certain sections of the film felt underwhelming compared to IMAX, but it is DIFFERENT, and honestly, still an enjoyable experience.

Closing Thoughts

I really want to know more about the difference between Dolby Atmos and IMAX speakers, as well as the the different optimization of DA in different malls' cinema halls (DA only, Maxx DA, etc) from you guys because I am torn on BigScreen's audio as of this moment. Is this just a different signature in audio implementation; DA's clarity and accurate surround sound vs IMAX's high bass and centered focus sound signature? Could it be that this is MBO's optimization of DA and not GSC's (since GSC bought majority of MBO's assets back in 2021 and just essentially rebranded previous MBO cinemas to theirs)? I am genuinely perplexed and am unconfident with my take on BigScreen's DA audio because for all I know, I could be mistaken.

Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read my long post and I hope it helps you in movie-going adventures.

PS. Yes, I have essentially watched The Batman 3 times in the span of 7 days and I really dug the film. It was better the second time around as the pacing made more sense for me, as well as admiring the more grounded, dark-detective approach of Batman; really faithful to the comic book/cartoon materials.

Hey guys. I have visited quite a few specialized cinema halls enough times now to be more confident in my assessment and would like to share . Do note that I will be brief since these details were discussed in my previous posts, but my opinions have changed in regards to my preferred cinema halls.

Disclaimer - do note that this is my personal opinion and I do not believe it is the end all, be all. I would encourage people to try out these halls themselves and come up with their own conclusions, and hopefully share them here too because it is interesting to see feedback on Malaysia's cinema quality while also hoping it could influence these cinema chains to improve with said feedback.

Films I have watched in their respected halls and location recently

Dr. Strange 2 - Onyx DA (GSC Tropicana Gardens Mall), IMAX (TGV 1-Utama) and Hall 11 MAXX DA  (GSC IOI City Mall)

Top Gun: Maverick - IMAX (TGV 1-Utama)

Onyx DA, Tropicana Gardens Mall GSC - Dr. Strange 2

Best visuals hands down; true blacks, vibrant colours, clear and crisp images. The great thing about Tropicana Gardens' Onyx hall is that the screen is actually pretty big. It is not as big as IMAX or MAXX, but it is definitely larger than the one in Mid Valley and your typical classic halls. I would recommend sitting in row F, G or maybe H, closer to the screen if you want to emulate that large screen factor of the biggies. I sat in row G and the screen encompass my vision almost fully. You don't have to worry about leaning your head backwards when you're this forward in this hall as the seating positioning centers you straight directly to the screen. I don't have the opportunity to visit Central I-City to witness their Onyx screen size, but I do believe Gardens' houses one of the largest Onyx screens available in Malaysia, at least maybe until LaLaport's GSC opens.

Audio wise, the Dolby Atmos here is pretty sub par compared to other DA halls. While it has punch you would expect of DA speakers (pretty bassy and high volume but not ear shattering), it somehow lacked the surround sound aspect you would expect from DA. Maybe my ears are not as fine tuned as proper audiophiles, but I couldn't hear nor feel the surround imaging in this hall compared to my experience in IOI City's Maxx DA, where the audio imaging was very apparent. Furthermore, the highs were very harsh in some areas, more specifically, the saw scene on the bus (this isn't a spoiler as it is in the trailers), while the lows, primarily bass, was over-boosted, to the point where to me, it affected character dialogue as some lines became quite muddy to hear clearly.

Do note that it is not unwatchable with regards to my complaints about the audio, it is a relatively smooth ride. The audio just tends to be a bit distracting in few moments of the film. The big problem I have is the weak or even lack there of surround sound imaging. When halls are advertised to have Dolby Atmos, you would expect the distinct signature of directional audio that reflects what the film is displaying, and it is pretty disappointing to see the hall not uphold this promise well.

I would still recommend this hall purely for the visual quality. It was impressive to watch Dr. Strange 2 which contained quite a lot of vibrant, colourful imagery. There are few short scenes where the screen goes completely black, thus making the hall pitch black, further adding to the immersion of the film. I will say though, with a film with a lot of visual presence and motion, it did leave me a bit nauseated at the end, so do beware when watching a film with a lot of visual flare in this hall.

IMAX, 1-Utama TGV - Dr. Strange 2 and Top Gun: Maverick

I have been very critical of IMAX in my previous posts, mainly because of the experience you get doesn't necessarily justify the price you pay for. RM33 is no joke (used to be RM30, increased after The Batman) where other biggies' tickets can be bought for less than half the price (e.g. IOI City Maxx DA RM16 for early birds/Wednesday). There is the Maybank RM5 discount but unless the film still airs in IMAX halls in the 2nd week's Friday + weekend, let alone you owning a Maybank card, it's not really reliable. RM33 sets a very high expectation, and even though my gripes about Malaysia's standard of IMAX still holds true... I hate to admit, man, but I've converted (screeched, my wallet).

The screens are humongous. It could be because IMAX tends to position the seats closer to the screen compared to GSC/MBO's biggies but man, you can really feel the overwhelming sensation from the screen's scale. Yes, the IMAX screens in Malaysia aren't true IMAX size, but it's still darn impressive to witness every time I enter these halls. However, what harms IMAX a lot is the image quality. I won't regurgitate what this thread has mention many times about the outdated projectors, but yeah, it really sticks out like a sore thumb during few moments of the films, in particular with extreme wide-angle shots (landscape shots). You can really notice the blurriness and weak contrast during these landscape shots. For example, during the opening scene of Dr. Strange 2 with those colourful debris, you can notice how awkward the colours looked along with how noisy/messy the scene was contrast wise, as the camera shot zooms in towards the two characters.

Thankfully, Top Gun: Maverick didn't really suffer much from this problem. It could be due to how this film was shot when considering the aspect of aviation flights, and how they are able to mask a lot of the extreme wide-angle shots with speedy action and some scenes with colour filtering/post-processing. Despite this, the blurriness was primarily noticeable during a landscape shot of a snowy forest filled with coned-like trees. The greens of the trees looked quite washed out, especially when the camera's moved to zoom in. Honestly, most films look off when there's fast camera movement, especially during noisy scenes that pertains many objects, but this can't excuse how low resolution these extreme wide-angle shots look. I definitely feel like these problems can be minimized with higher resolution projectors. Do note that during my Onyx session with Dr. Strange 2, motion clarity was a bit harsh as well, but it was not as bad as IMAX & Maxx.

Aside from wide-angle shots, every other aspect of the films was very impressive to watch. Any shots smaller than wide angled ones looked sharp and crisp, and even though these landscape shots are distracting and somewhat low resolution, you still feel some wow and awe BECAUSE of the large screen size.

Image quality aside, audio is what many people here adore about IMAX. I did complain in prior posts about IMAX's audio volume before as it was uncomfortably loud at certain scenes during my The Batman session. It still kinda holds through but during my viewing of Dr. Strange 2 and Top Gun 2, it pleasantly comfortable. It was still loud, high octane and awe-inspiring, but not as harmful to me during The Batman. I mean, all films are post-processed differently as they are made by different people, but overall, I was very satisfied with IMAX's audio. The surround sound was definitely noticeable, though in my opinion, not as impressive as good Dolby Atmos halls. Despite that, IMAX makes up plenty with this... rumble sensation... I don't know man haha, I'm not a seasoned audiophile who knows the proper words to critically describe the audio sensations, IT JUST FELT BOMBASTIC!

I hate to admit it because I hate spending a lot of money to watch films in cinemas, especially when you can purchase tickets half the price of IMAX from big screen competitors, but man, there are films where you really have to experience them in IMAX, and to be honest, these two films are no exception, Top Gun: Maverick especially. I mean, the fact that I still harbor that wish to watch The Batman again in IMAX despite my complaints prior shows how captivating IMAX is. While I don't believe its image quality is the best (in terms of biggies, BigScreen is better than IMAX) nor is my favourite audio set up (I still prefer IOI City's Maxx Dolby Atmos' audio signature), IMAX for me contains a high level of consistency between impressive visual and audio quality, thus making 1-Utama's TGV IMAX my go-to cinema hall for the time-being (as Central I-City is way too far and complex for me to visit).

MAXX DA (Hall 11), IOI City Mall GSC - Dr. Strange 2

Formerly my go-to cinema hall, mainly because it is the closest one to my residence while being reasonably priced. It will still be my go-to hall ONLY for re-watches after IMAX.

In my opinion, there isn't much of a visual quality difference between MAXX and IMAX (digital which all Malaysian IMAX halls use), but because the latter is bigger (or at least feels bigger because of how close the seats are to the screen), IMAX comes out to be the more captivating experience. Both suffer from low resolution shots, primarily with extreme wide-angles. The small positive of MAXX is that because the screen size isn't as big as IMAX, the problems regarding visual quality isn't as jarring as the latter, but I will still prefer IMAX purely due to the screen's size and scale. That and again, IMAX still looks sharp and crisp in any shots smaller than extreme wide-angles, same can be said about MAXX, but again, won't feel as impressive as IMAX.

Now on to audio. It is slightly lower volume than IMAX, but it's still loud and impressive, and in my opinion, more comfortable than IMAX. It's only in IOI City Mall where a big screen is accompanied by an impressive Dolby Atmos speakers configuration. I would attribute this towards the THX certification these halls hold, as other big screen halls (Tropicana and Starling BigScreen in particular) advertises to have DA, but they don't have THX certifications, thus they have inconsistencies that I've complained about prior. IOI City's DA has great bass, better and pinpoint-able surround sound and decent rumble; I think it's less bombastic than IMAX but is more comfortable to the ears IMO.

While it is not as impressive as IMAX as a whole experience, it is still very compelling and a great value for the price. I still believe it is a way better value than IMAX (RM16 early bird vs RM33 no early bird discount offered, no competition), but IMAX still has that wow factor that other biggies haven't really inspired in me yet.

Quick summary of other cinema halls I've visited (more info about them can be found in previous posts here)

Mid Valley GSC Onyx: Great visuals, but I would treat this hall as a tech-intro to Onyx rather than a go-to cinema hall. It uses a JBL surround sound system, but honestly, it didn't sound as good as IMAX or DA. If you prefer Onyx, I would recommend the one in Tropicana Gardens Mall instead as that one comes with (not-so-great but still an improvement) DA speakers and a larger screen.

Starling and Tropicana Gardens GSC BigScreen: Starling's screen is bigger than Tropicana's, but IMO, the latter is way easier to visit (personally) because the mall is directly connected to the MRT station. Visually, you can't go wrong with both screens as they use 4k projectors compared to IMAX's dual 2k (which I believe MAXX uses as well), and among the biggies, BigScreen is visually the best. The only downsides are their DA configuration. They are pretty low volume and have less noticeable surround sound accuracy. The audio signature here tends to be flat and clear, which you may prefer. Do note that I'm basing my info about BigScreen mostly from Tropicana's, as I've only visited Starling's BigScreen once (and never again) and apparently, quite a few people here along with OP have praised Starling's sound system quite significantly, so I would advise you to visit and judge for yourself.

Sunway Velocity TGV IMAX: I think it is the 2nd biggest IMAX screen in Malaysia, only behind Central I-City, but like any other IMAX halls, it is has the quality assurance. The downside is that the air-conditioning blows very loud from above and is audible during quiet moments of films. Otherwise, this would be my go-to IMAX hall since it is the closest one to my residency... but... oh man... the God damn seating arrangements are TRASH, HORRIBLE! (Reference: "Stephen A. goes on EPIC RANT after Knicks blow 28-PT lead to Nets | NBA Countdown," Youtube). More info of my rant can be found in prior posts. I would recommend this hall if you live near it and most importantly have a partner to go with. Otherwise, not great for a solo movie goer.

Classic halls, GSC vs TGV: TGV classic halls are better as the audio tends to be higher quality there. They balance their audio much better than GSC, which the latter may have certain audio tracks be louder than the dialogue ones; GSC tends to be more imbalance. In regards to dialogue censoring, TGV censors cusses better than GSC as the former silences dialogue only whereas GSC just cuts all the audio during the cussing moment (biggest and recent example is Dr. Strange 2 where Strange swears as he faints. TGV muted the dialogue but maintained the background audio while GSC just cuts that whole audio segment out in general, leaving the cinema hall awkwardly silent for a short moment).

I did visit other cinema halls in the past such as Mid Valley's DA and Sunway Pyramid's IMAX, but that was many years ago, before I became a cinema enthusiast as of recently.

TLDR of my personal thoughts

Visual quality: Onyx > BigScreen > IMAX > MAXX (note that IMAX still wins out for that large screen awe factor, just not visually)
Audio quality: IOI City's MAXX DA > IMAX > Tropicana Garden's ONYX DA > BigScreen DA

I may try 4DX and MX4D in the future, but I'm not too fond of the idea of moving seats while watching a film. I still prefer sitting idly while enjoying a large screen experience with impressive audio. I don't think those motion halls contain special speakers like DA but who knows. There's 1U's ScreenX and DA only halls as well but again, not too interested. I hope you guys can share more about your experience with these halls and hope some of you can convince me like how many here convinced me about IMAX despite the price. Thanks again for reading and I hope this helps!

Damn, been some time since I posted here. @yimingwuzere Unfortunately no, Malaysia doesn't house any IMAX Laser currently, bar the one "coming soon" from IOI City Mall's phase 2. While visually, Onyx and BigScreen/Barco 4k are better than current IMAX, the audio department for these screens pales when compared to IMAX. That and the sheer size of IMAX screens are hard to beat when it comes towards scale and awe.

You can read my previous posts in this thread as I'd shared my thoughts about Tropicana Gardens' and Starling's special cinema halls, but tldr BigScreen is Big (though not IMAX scale level) and has higher visual fidelity against IMAX, but the audio experience is pretty lacking as they sound low and had little to no surround sound. Onyx in Tropicana is definitely the largest Onyx screen in Malaysia and is the best visually, but the Dolby Atmos though better than BigScreen, had weak surround sound as well as being overly bassy. Even though these halls advertised to have Dolby Atmos speakers, I think due to the lack of THX certification, these halls do not sound remotely close in quality against its other DA brethren (GSC Mid Valley, 1Utama, IOI City Mall etc.) that actually have that THX cert.

Anyway, update on the new cinema halls I've visited.

Central I-City TGV IMAX - Top Gun Maverick

I finally did it... well quite a few months back. I drove almost two hours to Central I-City and back just to see what the fuss was all about with the latest and best TGV outlet Malaysia had to offer (while of course exploring this high-end mall). As everyone here has pointed out, the screen is massive like damn. It is still using the 2 2k Xenon projectors but man did the Top Gun look great on this screen. Screen aside, the hall was very dark and well designed. For instance, unlike other IMAX halls I've visited, there aren't any distracting lights on the sides of the hall's walls (1Utama and their glaring "Keluar" sign). The glide chairs are well cushioned and adjustable, but the positions can easily change will a small amount of force, so it's pretty awkward to wiggle here and there without the cheat adjustment changing. I still prefer stationary chairs in other halls but the cushions and headrest are great additions.


Couldn't take photos of the screen properly as the hall was very dark to pin-point the screen.

Overall yeah, it lived up to the hype. Whether it was worth driving through a ton of traffic and paying tolls to and back is... questionable. Naturally, it will not be my regular IMAX hall since it is very far from where I live. That and IOI City's IMAX Laser is coming soon and I live closer to this mall instead xd.

MyTown GSC BigScreen Atmos - Smile, Black Adam & Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

MyTown had a pretty well-liked Maxx DA hall many years back that I didn't get to visit, but the hall was closed for maintenance back in 2020 according to GSC's Twitter (still can't post links, sadge). Turns out, GSC refurbished it into a BigScreen hall due to them acquiring major assets from MBO during 2021 covid-lockdown period. Since MyTown BigScreen is closer to visit for me vs Starling and Tropicana Gardens. I decided to paid it a visit.



The screen isn't as big vs Starling's and Tropicana Garden's, so it's quite a bummer to see that. Watching Black Adam on this screen was rough as the film's aspect ratio did not fit right with this screen, so there was pretty large letterboxing (black bars) from the top and bottom. Visually... I don't know. It is advertised as 4k laser ala Barco, but Wakanda Forever's dark scenes were pretty greyish and honestly comparable to IMAX's 2k projectors, which are inferior to Tropicana Garden's and Starlings BigScreen. While IMAX in Malaysia compensates slightly worse visual quality with screen size and scale, MyTown's BigScreen feels like MAXX DA from the one in IOI City Mall's phase 1 outlet instead of the BigScreen halls already opened before the refurbishment.

While the screen is disappointing, the audio makes up for it as it has the Dolby Atmos you would expect. One thing OP of this thread posted was MyTown's Maxx DA having great audio experiences, and that's very likely due to the THX certification it has, vs the ones in Starling & Tropicana (even Onyx DA) which lacks it. The audio is loud and has great surround imaging, the latter which the hall damn well ensures you'll never forget as it plays FOUR Dolby Atmos advertisements consecutively while demo-ing its surround greatness.

Personally, I'm questioning on whether MyTown's BigScreen DA is worth it vs IOI City's Maxx DA as IOI has THX certification too. Sure, it's advertised as BigScreen 4k Barco laser, but the screen size is small and is comparable to IOI's Maxx DA, both size and visually, while imo lacking the visual fidelity of its siblings in the other two malls. Hope some of you here have tried it out and can share your thoughts, especially those who had visited this hall as Maxx DA before it's renovation and change.