BMW unveiled a new in-car tech it calls Theater Screen at this year’s CES. It’s not clear when or if this massive 31-inch 32: 9 screen will be made available to consumers, but BMW suggests that it may be installed in the ceiling of cars somehow. luxury, descending to transform the rear seats into a “private cinema room”. . ”
The screen itself has an 8K resolution of around 8000 x 2000 and can play content with a 16: 9, 21: 9, or 32: 9 aspect ratio. It runs Amazon’s Fire OS operating system, which means it should have access to most modern video streaming services and other Fire TV apps that can stream through the car’s own 5G connection. It’s a touchscreen, and there are also small touchscreen controls built into the rear doors of the car.
The screen measures 31 inches, with an aspect ratio of 32: 9. Image: BMW
Theater mode includes surround sound of course, with a system consisting of over 30 speakers from Bowers & Wilkins. BMW describes the sound as “4D” because it includes speakers built into the rear seats themselves so that viewers can feel the audio vibrations in the most intense moments. When the screen descends from the ceiling, BMW says “the sun shades for the side windows and the rear window are closed and the ambient lighting at the rear of the vehicle is dimmed”. Honestly, this seems like a great way to watch a movie.
BMW has a working prototype of the in-car cinema screen at the CES show with which BMWBlog has had hands-on experience. The company has attempted to hide the exact model of the car the system was installed in and did not answer questions regarding its identity, but BMWBlog notes that it appears to be part of the company’s luxury 7 Series.
The company has yet to announce when the system might be available to customers or how much it might end up costing. But during the company’s presentation at CES, the BMW presenter said that the features “seemed quite similar to what will be launched in series production very soon.” This suggests that it might appear ahead of BMW’s other big tech announcement at CES, its color-changing E Ink car, which it called an “advanced research and design project.”
