Film fans who prefer independent artistic features over high-decibel blockbusters have flocked for decades to the Montgomery Cinema in Rocky Hill. But the future of the theater, where movies like Certified Copy and A Separation are standard fare, is currently in question.

Blame it on digital projection, the technology to which movie theaters across the nation are converting as the movie industry phases out film in favor of digital distribution. Making the switch is expensive. And for small theaters like the Montgomery, which is still showing features shot on 35 millimeter film, the cost of converting might be too overwhelming to undertake.

“It’s under consideration,” says Bob Piechota, owner of the Montgomery Cinema since 1972. “We’ll make a decision between September and Christmas. We’re just not sure. The cost of staying in business is extremely expensive. We haven’t upped our prices. We need to do the whole place over, and to convert to digital would be $500,000. The place is small. We don’t play a lot of commercial releases, and we have very little sales from concessions.”

The National Association of Theatre Owners, or NATO, recently estimated that anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of theaters probably won’t survive the age of digital conversion. NATO’s CEO John Fithian has been quoted repeatedly with this blunt proclamation: “Convert or die.”

While there is no danger of closing Princeton’s Garden Theater on Nassau Street, whether to go digital is an ongoing topic of conversation. “We haven’t come to a decision,” says Larry Haber, an owner since 1993. The Garden runs a mix of art and regular commercial films in a building that is owned by Princeton University. “We’re talking with the University, and no definitive decision has been made there,” he says.

To help offset the expense of digital conversions, the major studios have offered a subsidy that contributes toward the cost of new equipment. But some theaters don’t qualify for the deal, because they don’t play enough first-run films. The Garden, which does, has until September 30 to decide. “The studios are paying for a big chunk of the conversion if you order and put in at least half of their projectors by then,” says Mr. Haber. “If you don’t, then you have to [eventually] pay 100 percent.”

Digital technology is programmed by computer, which eliminates the need for a projectionist. While going digital is a cost burden for small theaters, it represents huge savings for movie studios, which stand to save millions on each release because the cost of making 35 millimeter prints is eliminated.

Proponents see digital projection as a way to add alternative content like concerts, sporting events, even video games. They also view the technology as an enhancement. “Digital cinema brings consistent quality to the movie-going experience — moviegoers will see the same crispness and clarity in the movie throughout the life of its exhibition,” reads a fact sheet issued by NATO. But local proprietors aren’t so sure.

“Digital doesn’t make the experience for the theatergoer any better. Everything — the sound, the picture — is the same,” says Mr. Haber. “So it’s kind of a conundrum. What do you do? A lot of the independents have already gone digital, and a lot haven’t.”

About two thirds of theaters in the United States have converted from film to digital projection. But many are still biding their time while they decide whether they can afford the expensive conversion and stay alive.

“We’re unique,” says Mr. Piechota. “A lot of our films are not on digital, and we’re taking it as it goes. “NATO is predicting that about 10,000 screens — not theaters — will close in the next few years. Most of those really in danger are in small towns, and that would be a shame.”

The Montgomery opened in 1972 as a single-screen theater, and moved to its current location in 1995. “We switched to art about 1974, around the time that the Garden was sold to Sameric,” Mr. Piechota says. “We saw an opening to go for some of those films and we developed a clientele.”

Time will tell whether theaters like the Montgomery will be able to stay in business. While the conversion has been slowly underway for a decade, it has seen a surge in recent years. “The shakedown years will be 2012 and 2013,” says Mr. Piechota. “It’s just part of a transition that is going to happen. For us, the future is under consideration.”