Five cinemas, including three in the UK, will replace conventional film with a set of hard disks and a projector built around optical chips.

US cinemagoers have already seen a digital projection of Tarzan � Disney

The animated Toy Story sequel, created entirely on computer, will as a result bear the distinction of being the first major feature to dispense with film entirely.

Several films, including Tarzan and Bi-Centennial Man, have already been shown in both all-digital and conventional forms in the US. But Disney and the technology's creators, Texas Instruments, say it is time to demonstrate the advantages of digital projection to a broader audience.

The pioneering computer animator John Lasseter, who directed Toy Story 2, is convinced.

"You'll see the brightest colours and the clearest pictures ever projected on the big screen," he says. "It's pure eye candy."

Main advantages

The companies involved say the results are at least as good if not better than 35mm film and that the toughest test audience - professional cinematographers - have already given the technology the thumbs up.

The main advantage for audiences is clear. Each digital showing of the film will be exactly the same quality as the first - no scratches or fading prints, whether it's the first or the fortieth run.

At the heart of the TI Digital Light Processing (DLP) projection system are three optical chips. White light is split by a prism into three different coloured beams, each directed to a different chip.

First major feature to dispense with film entirely
� Disney/Pixar