I actually look forward to the 48 fps revolution!

Will have the same jarring difference like the Star War prequels?

It's not being shot on film. It's being shot on digital cameras at 5K and 48fps in 3D.

Whoa whoa whoa. 48fps is one thing... but 60fps? That's crazy!

But as for choosing between 48—which Peter Jackson has selected for production of The Hobbit—and 60, Cameron left that for the industry to discuss.... Cameron said, “If the exhibitors will adopt the idea of a dual standard, than I’ll probably want to shoot 60. If they don’t, then I will have to look very carefully at the pros and cons of 60 and 48.”

“The trick in the near term is going to be to not have a big upward inflection in the cost of visual effects,” he explained... "You can’t expect people to run off adopting a higher frame rate if it is going to cost an [additional] 10 percent of their FX costs, which are already pretty high. We have to get it down to 1 percent or so, which I think is achievable.”

Peter Jackson says the negative reaction this week over new technology he’s using to shoot The Hobbit won’t hold him back, and he hopes moviegoers will give it a try and judge for themselves.

“Nobody is going to stop,” he said. “This technology is going to keep evolving.”

He hopes critics of the format will change their minds when they see the finished film.

“At first it’s unusual because you’ve never seen a movie like this before. It’s literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn’t last the entire experience of the film; not by any stretch, after 10 minutes or so,” Jackson tells EW. “That’s a different experience than if you see a fast-cutting montage at a technical presentation.”

So what does he say to people who just decide they don’t like the glossy new look of the format he’s using?

“I can’t say anything,” Jackson acknowledges. “Just like I can’t say anything to someone who doesn’t like fish. You can’t explain why fish tastes great and why they should enjoy it.”

In every second of a motion picture is made up of 24 images, or “frames,” but Jackson is shooting his two Hobbit films at 48 frames per second, which he says creates a more lifelike picture and will make 3-D less of a strain on the eyes.

But when Warner Bros. showed off 10 minutes of footage this week at CinemaCon, the annual convention for theater owners, many attendees complained that this version of Middle Earth looked more like a movie set than the atmospheric, textured world seen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

When it debuts Dec. 14., The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be the first major performance for projection at 48 frames per second. This week’s showcase was just an audition, but Jackson says: “There can only ever be a real reaction, a truthful reaction when people actually have a chance to see a complete narrative on a particular film.”

Critics in the press who disliked the look vastly outnumbered supporters, with some comparing the footage to the brightly lit, plastic look of TV news or soap operas.

Many representatives from smaller theater chains, unwilling to speak on the record, grumbled privately about the cost of upgrading their projection equipment (which could be thousands of dollars per screen) to accommodate something they fear could attract a backlash from customers.

Jackson, however, says he noticed one thing in the criticism: People seemed to like it more as the show went on.

“A couple of the more negative commenters from CinemaCon said that in the Gollum and Bilbo scene [which took place later in the presentation] they didn’t mind it and got used to that,” Jackson says. “That was the same 48 frames the rest of the reel was. I just wonder if it they were getting into the dialogue, the characters and the story. That’s what happens in the movie. You settle into it.”

The Hobbit has become the touchstone in a larger conversation happening within the film industry about how to make movies more immersive and appealing.

While Jackson and Avatar‘s James Camera are advocates, not all directors are sold on the 48 frames format. Ang Lee – who was at CinemaCon to show footage from his upcoming 3-D epic Life of Pi – told EW he hadn’t seen The Hobbit presentation but worries that 48-frames’ ability to make 3-D more palatable may not be enough to justify it. “I have mixed feelings. I don’t think 48-frames solves everything. Each time you solve a problem you can bring in others — because you make the problem look more clear, maybe, ” he said with a laugh. “It takes time. It sounds like a good idea, but I’m a little skeptical.”

Despite the criticism at CinemaCon, Jackson and Warner Bros. managed to avoid losing any major support from exhibitors they need to get this format in front of audiences. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, debuts Dec. 14, and the follow-up, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, comes out a year later.

Large exhibitors remained committed to at least giving 48-frames a try, based on Jackson’s track record as an innovator. Amy Miles, CEO of Regal Entertainment Group, said she hoped to upgrade between 2,500-2,700 of the company’s 3-D projectors to show films at 48 frames per second.

“At end of the day, we have to do everything we can to widen that experience gap between what you see in the theater and what you see in the home,” Miles told EW. “Bringing the option to our customer is what we’re doing. Ultimately, let’s be clear, that’s who decides what’s going to be successful going forward.”

Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., said the studio remains undaunted by the criticism, and suggested audiences may just need time to get used to the new presentation. “It might not initially be accepted by all, but eventually [Jackson] feels it will be and eventually it can only improve,” he said.

Fellman also pointed out that some of the Hobbit footage was unfinished. In a pre-taped intro, Jackson warned the audience that many visual effects were not yet in place. Fellman said the rawness of the material may have been at least partly responsible for the negative response. “I think by the time he presents this film finished, the majority of moviegoers will accept it and be pleased,” Fellman said.

The studio won’t have to bet its entire box office earnings on the foundation of 48 frames per second. The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey will be available in six different ways: 3-D, 2-D, and IMAX 3-D, each one in both the traditional 24-frames style and the new 48-frames version.

“There will be plenty of options out there,” Fellman said.