posted 10-03-2005 09:55 AM                   

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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Jobless rate approaching 25% nation wide because of china landing the DLP production contract from cheap studio executives. Millions in electronics and film industry now out of work....

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posted 10-03-2005 10:14 AM                    

quote: David Stambaugh

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if film were a new technology being rolled out to thousands of public venues around the world today, you guys would be mocking it.

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posted 10-03-2005 10:29 AM                       

quote:

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It's lonely sometimes trying to separate the good from the B.S. in the projection TV debate.

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Not really Lou....just remember, anytime you hear someone say that the "rollout" is going to happen in a "big way" or that digital will replace film in the next 2 to 5 years, just stamp ASSHOLE on their foreheads and walk away. OK, if you find that socially unacceptable, then just ask them "And that statement is based on WHAT, fool? What FACTS that you know that no one else is privy to?" I am so sick of hearing this crap being thrown around as if it has come from some industry study that takes into account ALL the variables, of which there are many, some that have not even surfaced as yet.

These same people were saying that the "big rollout" was just around the corner almost a decade ago. Well, if less that 100 screens in 8 years is a "big rollout," then yea, maybe they were right. But given the nearly 25 years it took for that "rollout" of the $700 red readers, I think you can bet that exhibitors will not swallow hype when they take a look at the bill for the change to digital -- the REAL bill, not just the cost of installation, but of maintenance and energy consumption. They will be looking at the hype with the skepticism of a guy having to actually open his wallet for this change. Even if some sort of a co-op deal is arranged, it still all comes down to a change that is, at its heart, so studios can save print costs. Then to rub salt in the wound, it passes the extra, substantial energy costs on to the exhibitor who gets NOTHING in return for it on a day in and day out operation. I think it is safe to say that if anything is certain, it is that the exhibitor is not wanton with his money. He is savvy enough to want to completely understand the long-term financial impact of running digital as opposed to film before he plunks down one red cent. He's not going to increase his operation overhead just so patrons see a steadier picture (you think he would ever give a refund because a patron came out and said, "I want my money back because that image in Cinema 3 has an unsteady picture" or "I saw some scratches in the image, I couldn't enjoy it?" If he gave a damn about that, he would be spending more money in the booth NOW.

Past a certain point, and it isn't much past -- is there a picture on the screen? is there sound in the theatre? -- he isn't too terribly concerned about more nuances than that. So what makes any rational person think all of a sudden he's going to say, "Oh sure, I will gladly take on the on-going, substantial economic burden of running digital, just so the studio can save the cost of prints and I can get a rock steady image on the screen? I just don't see exhibitors gleefully switching to ANY technology without first making sure it is going to benefit their bottom line. Studios may have power to dictate lots of things, but they can't make an exhibitor incur an expenditure that gives him no return on his dollar. Picture steadiness, pristine even after the 1000th screening, environmental issues -- they all can be damned if it's going to cost him more money to operate. It changes nothing for him -- he gets the same number of seats sold -- with everything for the studio. Yah, he just can't WAIT to buy into that!

And if he somehow comes down with dementia and DOES replace all his 35mm equipment for video projectors, woe is the movie goer. How many screens will have dull, underlite images because he has always looked for ways to scrip on anything booth related; he'll be hot to offset the additional electrical cost by "saving" on electricity when he finds bills 30% higher in an economy where energy prices continue to rise. How many screens will have blemishes all over them because of the thousands of little nano-mirrors that have died, yet Mr. Exhibitor sees no reason to replace the DLP module, mostly because it COSTS GOBS OF MONEY.

Some tell me how this is good for the exhibitor. As for the studios trying to force this down the exhibitor's throat....it won't be the first time an exhibitor will shut a theatre down rather than run it at a loss. Studios are not going to make that coveted 50 million in opening weekend if all they've got are a few hundred digital screens to play it on.

Then again, the way around this for the studios would be to just buy their own theatres and install whatever the hell they want in them. When they see the price tag for digital that THEY have to pay for, their bean counters may be screaming at them to look for nice, refurbished 35mm projectors instead!

posted 10-03-2005 06:52 PM                    

quote: Daryl C. W. O'Shea

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Mark, I can't wait for the 13th year of your story. I heard there was an untimely death.

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posted 10-05-2005 08:19 AM                       

quote:

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quote:

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