Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
Cinema Ad Firm to roll out digital equipment
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
September 11, 2006 at 5:05 am
Maybe it’s a sign that we are only going to be seeing more advertising at our local theaters very soon or possibly a right step towards cleaner digital presentations. Nevertheless, Screenvision and National Amusements are getting together to bring you a more digital moviegoing experience.
Screenvision, one of the nation’s leading cinema advertising companies, signed an exclusive, multiyear deal with National Amusements Inc. to invest more than $10 million in high-definition digital equipment for more than 1,000 screens.
New York-based Screenvision said it would begin to roll out by year’s end its satellite, networking and projection systems designed to deliver advertising, cartoons and sports for viewing before a film starts.
Screenvision said the systems would be compatible with digital cinema projectors showing feature films.
You can read more in the LA Times.
Comments (7)
Oh great—-more of the television experience. :rolleyes:
Are these high-def systems just for advertisement? If so, what’s the point? It just means we get to see scratchy film prints at the lousy National Amusement plexes in northern VA. The Regal chain here has their pre-show ads and short subject making of presentations in digital, but they are low quality. Low enough to see the pixels!
In the DC area, I’ll take a decent digitally projected movie over a scratched up movie that is projected off the screen any day…which is the case in many of the DC area theaters. And of the digital movies I have seen, they don’t have the pre-show ads in DLP (yet).
Does this mean that if I sit through another one of John Basedow’s “Six Pack Abs” spots, as he graciously demonstrates how to achieve one of his oh so seamless, undoubtedly skilled, one of kind “money shot” poses, I’ll get to see S-M3 in DLP? That’s hot.
If people are foolish enough to sit through ad after ad, digital or otherwise, and still pay ridiculous amounts for the experience, then they deserve what they get!
Whats ridiculous about the ticket prices……..not sure what you mean….
After some thought, the ads and preshow shorts aren’t all that bad as long as they are played BEFORE the movie start time. Otherwise, its boring just sitting in a theater with nothing to do except stare at a curtain or blank screen. There isn’t even pre-show music or ovetures in films nowadays anyhow. From an economic standpoint, its increased revenue for the chains or independents (if they have ads). Citing my earlier Regal chain example, they sometimes have some interesting behind-the-scenes bits on upcoming movies and tv shows that make you appreciate them more or want to see them if its something completely new.
I was thinking about this very subject when I saw Hollywoodland at the AMC Loews in Ridgefield Park. Since AMC took over, all 12 theatres have digital intermission stuff on the screen before the film begins. At first it was kind of interesting since it was done as a sort of TV show. When the “host” says thanks for coming, here’s the feature presentation, etc., you expect to see the trailers. But guess what – you get another 5 minutes of commercials! And the lemmings in the theatre did'nt say one word! Not a peep from anyone! Seems like I was the only one there who became more annoyed as the commercials continued to pile up! I don’t mind sitting through 5 or 6 trailers, sometimes they are the best part of the show. But this poor looking digital crap has got to go! Some of the bits did'nt look too bad but a lot of it looked like badly defined pixelated junk!