Filmmakers trying desperately to lure customers out of their front rooms and back into the cinemas may soon be facing big-screen competition not just from your TV, but also your automobile.
BMW has unveiled plans to kit out its future luxury-class models with an automated 31-inch 8K TV, complete with smart features and Amazon Fire TV built-in. The BMW Theatre Screen will offer rear passengers the chance to relax while enjoying immersive entertainment on the ultra-wide panoramic display.
The retractable system extends out of the headliner via a rotary movement on two articulated rails and relies on a 5G connection to stream content through Fire TV (or an alternative streaming offering for customers in China).
In its fully lowered position, the screen will reach down from the headliner to the backrests of the front seats and stretch across the entire interior of the car. A zoom function will allow playback of content in 16:9, 21:9 or 32:9 screen ratios with a maximum display resolution of approximately 8000 × 2000 pixels. For ultimate comfort, the display can be tilted using the control menu on the in-car entertainment system, which also offers options for screen format selection and two individual passenger volume controls.
Sound will be delivered by a Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound System, and courtesy of a function called My Mode Theatre you can flip to your preferred set-up including theatre screen position, lighting level and lowered sunblinds at the touch of a button.
And because in the hypothetical future no detail is too fine, when My Mode Theatre is activated, the motion of the screen will be accompanied by an exclusive 'sound experience' composed by non-other than BMW enthusiast Hans Zimmer. You'll also see a graphic animation timed to finish precisely when the screen reaches its final position.
Currently, The Theatre Screen is being teased as a concept, hopefully, by the time it comes into existence, there will actually be some 8K content to stream on it.
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