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Author Topic: Here's a shocker about D-Cinema! John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-20-2003 10:34 PM                     From SHOWBIZDATA.com DIGITAL PROJECTORS LYING IDLE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite George Lucas's energetic efforts to persuade movie theater owners to convert to digital projection to show last year's Star Wars: Episode II --Attack of the Clones, few theaters have bothered to convert since the film was released and those that previously did have been offered few other films to run in digital format since then, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported today (Thursday). The newspaper quoted Katharine Wright, an analyst for the U.K.-based Dodona, which monitors international exhibitors, as saying: "In America, a lot of cinemas got digital projectors for Attack of the Clones. Since then, not very much has happened because [the projection equipment] is expensive and there aren't enough digital films to make it worthwhile."  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 03-21-2003 07:27 AM                        Link to the Guardian story...  |  IP: Logged Bernie Anderson Jr Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: Woodbridge, New Jersey Registered: Apr 2000 posted 03-21-2003 08:19 AM                        The news I heard from ShowWest was that no digital projection company has sold any digital projection to any theatre chain except for a couple in Europe. All the ones that are out there are on a loan basis. There's a theory that these companies will go belly-up before anyone does by them.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-21-2003 08:32 AM                     Doesn't surprise me a bit.....hardly shocking either. It is exactly what I've been saying all along. IN light of new projectors being introduced from at least three manufacturers at Showorst I also think they have awoken to that fact as well. Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged Patrick McDonough Expert Film Handler Posts: 118 From: Greenfield Ma. Registered: Jul 2002 posted 03-21-2003 08:37 AM                     I might be a bit slow but how can digital company's expect to make good sales with this new equipment, when it costs so much. Another question is how long have the digital projectors been out on the market?  |  IP: Logged Paul Konen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 981 From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-21-2003 10:14 AM                     I have had three titles already this year. DareDevil Jungle Book 2 Piglet's Big Movie Was supposed to have DreamCatcher but the studio reversed it's decision at the last minute.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 03-21-2003 10:25 AM                        At ShoWest, there was a gentleman from Microsoft who said during the digital cinema seminar that future digital screenings would run on Windows Media Player. This, for a change, is a completely serious post.  |  IP: Logged Patrick McDonough Expert Film Handler Posts: 118 From: Greenfield Ma. Registered: Jul 2002 posted 03-21-2003 10:52 AM                     Really, I cant imagine projecting a movie from that kind of program.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 03-21-2003 10:53 AM                        Just imagine it... the nailbiting conclusion to an edge-of-seat suspense thriller is approaching, and just as you're about to find out whodunnit, the picture freezes and the words 'This programme has performed an illegal operation and will now be closed down' appear in front of 500 customers. Will Big Bad Bill be paying for all those refunds?  |  IP: Logged Patrick McDonough Expert Film Handler Posts: 118 From: Greenfield Ma. Registered: Jul 2002 posted 03-21-2003 11:00 AM                     Thats the kind of problems im talking about.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-21-2003 12:04 PM                        Michael - The Microsoft system, in partnership with Digital Cinema Systems, is using the Windows Media 9 codec. The feature is compressed to approximately 5GB and as you'd expect, the picture quality apparently isn't all that great. A few people on the forum have used the system and have had some input on software revisions. Leo - at least the audience would know why the show stopped. Personally I believe that the current digital release schedule can only really support one full time digital auditorium per theatre (which doesn't have any nearby 'digital competition').  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-21-2003 02:57 PM                     I have used and worked with the Microsoft/Windows contraption. I was not impressed. This system would be fine for "slide shows" during intermission, but should never be used for features. The compression looks like an internet MPEG download.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-21-2003 02:59 PM                        You know, DCS should have partnered with Apple instead -- all the trailers are already encoded.  |  IP: Logged Mike Olpin Chop Chop! Posts: 1852 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Jan 2002 posted 03-21-2003 03:33 PM                     QuickTime all the way! That would make it easy for a ill-intentioned projectionist. Simply plug an ipod into your DCinema projector and download the movie for later internet posting!  |  IP: Logged Bernie Anderson Jr Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: Woodbridge, New Jersey Registered: Apr 2000 posted 03-21-2003 04:52 PM                        From what I see the basic problem for Digital Projector Manuf. is...that there is really no economical reason to change over to a different format. This isn't like going from an 8-track to an MP3. We're not getting better here. Film is by far the best quality and most reliable form of media for the motion picture industry. It's been around for 100 + years and has been standardize Worldwide for 75 years. The biggest problem that they will encounter is the "Theatre Owner" ,be it a chain or indep. It doesn't make any business sense that you change to a different format when the current format will produce better results. And the bootm line is, no customer will pay more to see it or do they even care about it. So unless these companies are willing to give up the projectors for free, NO One will buy them. And this leaves only one group of people in the industry that will make the money from it: the distributors. Now I ask you. In a business where you're forking over 85% of the grosses to the distributor in the first place, why would you make it even easier for them to make more money off of you and you are gonna pay to do the change? [ 03-22-2003, 08:02 AM: Message edited by: Bernie Anderson Jr ]  |  IP: Logged

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