Originally Posted by
JohnYayas
You may be right but the new digital projectors do more than just project dots on the ceiling and can simulate stars from any point of view (ie the opposite end of the galaxy) whereas the old projectors are pretty limited in that regard. So, although the dots may not look as bright or sharp, the rest of what the new systems do (which includes full dome video projection) blows the old star casters out of the water. I've seen the difference at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill and I could tell there were pros and cons with the new system.
My objection was to the phrase "run circles around the old technology." The "old" technology does exactly what it's designed to do, and does that part better than any fulldome system. The limitations of fulldome are your imagination, your skill, your budget, and that it can't do the night sky remotely as well as the "old technology". I don't have a problem with anyone who wants to go fulldome rather than hybrid, I just have a problem when they pretend they're not settling for a 3rd rate starfield. You can have the best of both worlds, but surprise! The best is expensive.
"There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." Pablo Picasso