The differences are subtle, but they are there.

Some people attending a movie in the coming months at Premiere Theatre in Rocky Mount might not realize that something has changed, said John Zenner, product manager with United Entertainment Corp., which owns the theater. Moviegoers may walk away with the impression that the picture was a little clearer and sound a little crisper but not know what caused the improvement.

Others will detect right away the subtle but definite enhancement caused by the transition from 35 mm to digital projectors scheduled to take place in 12 of Premiere’s 14 theaters, Zenner said. The remaining two screens already use digital projectors.

“As far as the consumer is concerned, the difference is going to be the clarity, the crispness and the longevity. It will all be on digital, so it will be digital sound and projection. The sound doesn’t get pops or things like that,” said Zenner of St. Cloud, Minn.

The switch to digital projectors is a change United Entertainment is making at its 14 theaters nationwide in the next six months, said William Butler, general manager of Premiere. The change also will include theater upgrades, though not necessarily at the same time.

“I feel that business will increase a little more with upgrades. Everybody likes new stuff. I feel it is going to upgrade the business and the film quality. I think a lot more people will enjoy that. So that is good. We like happy faces,” Butler said.

Plans still are tentative for theater upgrades, but probably will include new leather chairs in most of the auditoriums, replacing tile and carpet, the addition of self-serve drink machines at the concession stand and painting the building’s exterior, said Steve Ross, general manager of theater operations United Entertainment. The company also plans to launch a customer loyalty program. Premiere is not expected to close during the digital transition or theater upgrades.

Using digital projectors improves film and sound quality, especially after the movie has been playing several weeks, Butler said. A 35 mm projector wears a film creating scratches and problems syncing the sound with the picture.

In contrast, digital movies arrive at the theaters on a hard drive that can be loaded into the theater’s system and will not deteriorate in quality even weeks after it has opened, Butler said.

Installing digital projectors is an expensive project for United Entertainment, but the company hopes the benefits will outweigh the costs, Zenner said. One possible advantage is being able to provide a wider variety of films. Since 35 mm prints are expensive to make, studios are selective about where they release some movies.

People sometimes complain that there are not more independent films shown at smaller theaters, but often that is because the studios limit the release, Zenner said.

“We are hoping that the availability of some of the more limited products will increase with digital over 35 mm because the studios would be more willing to go into different markets than just the safe big markets on what you might call an art house picture,” Zenner said.

Eventually, studios only will release certain products in digital format, and if a theater is not prepared for that, it will not be able to show the movie, Zenner said.

Another benefit would be that the theater would be better equipped to deal with special events, such as corporate functions and midnight showings, Butler said.

In addition to going digital, several screens also will be made 3-D capable, though not all of them, Zenner said. That gives the theater more flexibility in moving films to different size auditoriums depending on demand.

“It would be unlikely that all 14 would be 3-D capable only because it would be an unusual circumstance to have more than four pictures showing that would be 3-D. It would be more likely to be half of the projectors would be 3-D capable. That is not an exact number,” Zenner said.