Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Digital cinema leasing

my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

»	Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE » Operations » Film Handlers' Forum » Digital cinema leasing

Author

Topic: Digital cinema leasing

Thomas Jonsson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 216
From: Bromolla, Sweden
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 11-14-2004 02:21 PM

Some days ago Swedish theater owners received the following "great offer" from a company called XDC.
This is roughly what it said:

"Digital cinema - the offer you´ve all been waiting for!
Many thinks the price has been too high. Depending of
the size of the theater, you can now rent all the necessary
digital equipment, at a price between $685,00 and
$2.055,00 a month"

What could you do but jump for joy and throw up your hat?
$2.055,00 a month! For that price I can buy a brand new
35mm projector a year! Great offer indeed.

Thomas

| IP: Logged

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-15-2004 09:13 AM

A few years ago at ShoWest, Kodak noted that on average, it costs a distributor about $350 USD per week (about $10 per show with five shows a day) to supply a first-run theatre with a new 35mm print. The cost of any Digital Cinema system (projector, server, networking, maintenance, data delivery) probably needs to be in that neighborhood to be competitive. Of course, how the cost is shared between exhibition and distribution also needs to be defined.

http://www.kodak.com/go/dcinema

quote:
ORLANDO, FLORIDA, (October 22, 2004) - Eastman Kodak Company announced today at the annual ShowEast Conference that the company is taking a major step forward in its goal of making high-quality digital cinema available for motion picture exhibitors around the world. The company is demonstrating the Kodak Digital Cinema Solution for Feature Presentations, a bundled package of hardware, software, and support services.

| IP: Logged

Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 11-15-2004 10:33 AM

Allowing say $25/week to distribute the digital media (or transmit the film) to theatres that leaves $325. If we put the life of the digital system at 5 years before it's obsolete or becomes uneconomic to maintain then at 7% interest $325 a week would amortize a digital setup costing about $71,000 for projector & server etc. (leaving out those components that would be the same with film). Any 2K D-Cinema setups out there for $71K?

| IP: Logged

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-15-2004 10:49 AM

On average, isn't your 7% interest assumption a bit low for a 5-year business loan for capital equipment with a short depreciation? [Confused]

| IP: Logged

Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-15-2004 11:10 AM

Out of curiousity, what would it cost a distributor to provide a 70mm print per week? I wouldn't include the cost of the blowup negative here, but the cost would need to include the cost of striping/sounding or the DTS license fee and cost of disk manufacturing.

| IP: Logged

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-15-2004 12:33 PM

quote: Scott Norwood
Out of curiousity, what would it cost a distributor to provide a 70mm print per week? I wouldn't include the cost of the blowup negative here, but the cost would need to include the cost of striping/sounding or the DTS license fee and cost of disk manufacturing.

The cost of making the required 65mm duplicate negative does need to be included, and prorated over the number of 70mm release prints made. DTS is the likely sound format today.

Although Kodak sells the 70mm print film raw stock for about 2X the price of 35mm print film raw stock, 70mm printing is usually done on a slower printer, and is more labor intensive. I believe printing the DTS timecode still requires a second pass through the printer. So the cost of 5-perf 70mm prints is more than just a (2 x 5/4) = 2.5X factor. Much would depend on the number of prints ordered.

| IP: Logged

Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 11-15-2004 02:16 PM

That probably why he's asking. [Big Grin]

I don't recall if the discussion took place here or on rec.arts.movies.tech but there's no reason DTS timecode can't be exposed directly onto a 70mm print by a simple attachment to the printer.

| IP: Logged

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-15-2004 03:41 PM

AFAIK, the DTS time code is still printed from a 35mm B&W sound negative, even for 70mm prints. One pass printing would require the printer to have both a picture head and a soundhead, and transport for both picture and sound negatives.

| IP: Logged

Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-15-2004 06:50 PM

quote: John Pytlak
I believe printing the DTS timecode still requires a second pass through the printer.

John,

According to information I got from Walter Browski earlier this year is that DTS has made available the equipment to all labs involved to do 70mm DTS prints in one pass. Weather the labs have installed the equipment remains to be seen... but it definitely DOES exist.

Mark @ CLACO

| IP: Logged

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 11-16-2004 07:48 AM

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
According to information I got from Walter Browski earlier this year is that DTS has made available the equipment to all labs involved to do 70mm DTS prints in one pass.

If so, that's good news and should help reduce costs.

| IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

Printer-friendly view of this topic

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.