Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Chris Garrett (B) on March 27, 2004 at 14:40:39

In Reply to: Cry, clark, cry! posted by Victor Khomenko on March 27, 2004 at 10:01:33:

Generally, the savings are on film companies' side, who don't have to make all of the prints and ship them out. There's not a lot of incentive to go Digital on the exhibitor's side of the coin. A good booth tech can build or break down a print in 45 minutes, so at $6/hr, that's $9 per movie. Trailer packs can take longer, but they can be recycled a few times, for the next movie or two. Plus, the projectors are used for many, many years with proper maintenance.

I guess if the resolution between the two becomes equal and it's getting there with Digital vs. 35mm cameras, you'd be able to save on scratched prints, which can be a problem after a few plays, but who knows what artifacts we might get on HD based presentations that are operating at less than 100%?

Anyway, the exhibitors would take the new systems I'd imagine, but they're not going to drop the coin from their change purse. Whether the film companies retrofit the higer profile theatres in major cities, or not, remains to be seen.

But film will be around for many, many years, commercially.

Chris