KEY POINTS:
Film-goers unhappy over picture and sound quality at their local cinema may be able to lodge a complaint under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
The Herald has received numerous complaints about bad experiences with movies in digital format, mainly at smaller arthouse cinemas.
It had been sparked by a complaint by a viewer of the film Breach at Rialto Newmarket last week.
Two bad experiences from another cinema-goer prompted an unsuccessful complaint to the Commerce Commission, which did not consider it to be a breach of the Fair Trading Act.
Yesterday, the commission reiterated its position, but said: "Although the Fair Trading Act is not relevant in this situation, the Consumer Guarantees Act may be.
"Please note that the Commerce Commission does not have responsibility for the CGA - it is self enforcing, which means that people need to take their own action."
Andrew Cornwell, general manager of Sony Pictures New Zealand, said there was nothing inherently wrong with digital formats, and DVDs do have their place.
"Generally as a distributor, we have supplied DVD. I wouldn't want them playing in a 200-seat auditorium because I don't think it actually does the product justice, but in a small 50-seater, 60-seater it's probably okay."
An industry standard, where the digital format is said to be DCI compliant, means many consumers would not be able to differentiate between 35mm film and digital, he said.
Mr Cornwell said DCI compliant digital formats remove a lot of the initial costs of releasing a movie, but the costs of installing the equipment is prohibitive.
"I can understand some of the complaints made, like if you're playing a DVD in a big auditorium, that's a bit of a risk, but certainly it's not always a bad thing. Digital, as a concept, is quite a good idea, it's just how we get there."
He said there was merit in telling people in advance the format the movies were being screened in.
Bill Hood, executive director of the Motion Picture Distributors' Association, which represents the major Hollywood distributors, did not consider DVD a "true" digital format.
"For us in the industry, we don't see DVD as a digital system for the exhibition part of the industry. We know they play it, but it's not a true digital system."
There was still no standardised international system for digital movies.
A Rialto spokeswoman said it would tell people the movie format in advance "if there is demand".
