posted 07-12-2007 01:09 PM                    

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Warren goes to digital projection
Bill Warren hopes to have the nearly $5 million project done by the end of the year.
BY BILL WILSON
The Wichita Eagle

Bill Warren's Wichita theaters are going digital.

Warren plans to award a multimillion-dollar contract in 60 days to install digital projection in all of his local theaters that show first-run films.

At $100,000 per screen and 47 screens, the project cost will approach $5 million, Warren said.

Warren is on the leading edge of a nationwide conversion to digital projection, said Patrick Corcoran, director of media and research for the National Association of Theater Owners.

The changeover isn't a response to growing competition, Warren said, despite a new IMAX complex coming in Maize.

"We have a commitment to put on the best movies possible in an old-style theater setting," he said. "This is just an upgrade to be part of that."

Currently, five digital projection providers are demonstrating products at the Warren East location, 11611 E. 13th St.

"We're taking a look at all of them, trying to determine what's the best," Warren said. "I hope to have a contract in a couple of months and have this in place around the end of the year."

There are 3,300 digital projectors in American theaters, which total 38,600 screens, Corcoran said.

That number should rise to about 4,000 by the end of 2007 and will double in 2008 as large chains like Regal and AMC roll the projectors out system-wide.

"For the operator, the advantage is presentation," Corcoran said. "The first showing is going to look as good as the last showing, unlike film, which degrades."

Uploading films from a server also allows multiple screen presentations with one copy, unlike today, when each screen requires its own film copy.

Despite the advantages, there are still significant issues, Corcoran said.

"We don't know a lot about how long these projectors will last," he said.

"At $100,000, the cost is four to five times a new film projector, and we know how long film projectors last -- 30 to 40 years."

Plus, the film distribution industry is in flux, with both film prints and digital film copies being produced. Eventually, the end of film will save the distribution industry $1 billion a year, Corcoran said.

The bottom line is good news for the consumer: more vivid films at no extra ticket cost.

"You're going to get a degree of clarity equivalent to the film experience and a product that's beyond what you get on high-definition television," Corcoran said.

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posted 07-12-2007 02:02 PM                    

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"For the operator, the advantage is presentation," Corcoran said. "The first showing is going to look as good as the last showing, unlike film, which degrades."

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posted 07-12-2007 02:05 PM                   

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The bottom line is good news for the consumer: more vivid films at no extra ticket cost.

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"You're going to get a degree of clarity equivalent to the film experience and a product that's beyond what you get on high-definition television," Corcoran said.

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posted 07-12-2007 02:35 PM                    

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...in place around the end of the year.

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posted 07-13-2007 04:55 PM                    

quote: Louis Bornwasser

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Too bad these savings are more than offset by THE BULB and THE MAINTENANCE expense. (I won't even mention the carrying charges on the initial purchase.) The "punishment" seems fitting, however. Frugality "rewarded." Louis

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posted 07-13-2007 10:15 PM                    

quote: David Zylstra

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So far my company's lamp costs are minimally higher than our 35mm costs were

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posted 07-14-2007 06:40 AM                    

quote: Brad Allen

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Also saw lots of pixelation during action scenes.

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