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Author Topic: Real D and 3D glasses & AccessIT financial trouble
Julio Roberto
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 938
From: Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2008


 - posted 05-15-2009 11:17 PM      Profile for Julio Roberto     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
From celluloid junkie

quote:
Digital Cinema integrator Cinedigm (formerly AccessIT) has been thrown a financial life line by its largest creditor GE Commercial Finance. From the press release, “The amendment significantly relaxes the financial covenant ratios that C/AIX is required to meet every quarter through the maturity of the loan in 2013. In addition, the new arrangement allows C/AIX to pay approximately $5 million in cash to its parent company, Cinedigm, as well as increase its ability to pay annual fees to Cinedigm. Reflecting the current market conditions, the amendment increases the interest rate on the credit facility from 4.5% to 6% above LIBOR and sets a LIBOR floor of 2.5%. C/AIX will pay a 0.5% amendment fee on the outstanding balance of $183.9 million.” The deal is a vote of confidence and saves Cinedigm and Christie/AIX, but staying afloat and surviving is not the same as expanding and thriving;
More money "thrown" at middle-men, less money for the actual people that are actually in the movie business.

quote:
With an installed base of fewer than 1,400 domestic 3-D screens, distribution of 3D glasses has been sufficiently limited to keep costs of outfitting customers in the low- to mid-single-digits -- so far. The glasses expense is expected quickly to swell to $10 million or more per release, once 3-D movies start playing in 2,000 or more theaters.

Such outlays come on top of about $15 million per pic in extra production costs tied to 3-D, as well as multimillion-dollar VPF payments. Fox execs quietly spread the word a couple months ago they intended to rein in their payments on glasses, but details of a new arrangement have yet to emerge.

"There is no way any studio can continue to pick up the entire cost of glasses," said a top distribution exec at another studio. "There has to be some equitable way of figuring out how to work things out. One thing we might want to look at is using re-useable glasses."

Dolby is the chief proponent of re-useable glasses among 3-D operators, with the more prolific vendor RealD testing re-useables but for now sticking with disposable eyewear. At upward of $25 a pair, upfront costs are vastly greater with re-useables -- and generally fall to the exhibitor -- so there is no consensus on the matter.

"If you could get the cost of disposables down to, say, 35 cents or even 45 cents a pair, then it wouldn't be a big deal," another top distribution exec suggested.

First shock: RealD is charging distributors more than 45 cents a pair of glasses. WTF? Do you know what's the cost to them? I recently got quoted less than amount for a small number (10.000 pairs) of plastic circular polarized 3D glasses from an Asian manufacturer.

Imagine how much RealD can get them made for.

You can buy them "retail" in quantities of one for $1.

Geezzz.

And Dolby is not much better. Their glasses waaaaayyy overpriced as well.

Greed is going to cost both of them in the long run. So it's their choice to try to nail the market for all they can or help the industry and themselves with a modest, sustainanble profit and help early adoption and smooth digital transition.

They way it is, it may all just explode in their faces. I'm planning on equiping a single 3D screen for year's end and unless I get a good deal from Master Image, I'm doing a dual projection setup and ordering the glasses manufactured myself.

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James B Gardiner
Film Handler

Posts: 91
From: North Altona, Victoria, Ausrtalia
Registered: Feb 2009


 - posted 05-24-2009 08:55 AM      Profile for James B Gardiner   Email James B Gardiner   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I agree with you.
Charge what the market will bare, not what the technology is worth. This idea is not a healthy one for the future of cinema exhibition. (Tho the religion of the past monopolistic tendencies of film technology of past).

I would love to hear of more duel screen 3D systems. RealD does a great job of making these go away. Some how I feel there is other forces at work here.

Tho at the same time, looking at the efforts and money RealD has put into investing in the production side of getting 3D going again is substantial. And maybe they should get some payola for it.

Duel projector system will eventually float to the top and the RealD tax disappear. Especially as projector and DCI technology matures and the kit is more prolific.

Maybe even MasterImage type solutions (But done better) that have no licensing of monolplistic strangle holds on it.

I personally think, for now let it be. 3D has a long way to go in the production world. Going to the ISDCF 3D brightness shoot out and discussion after was a good indication that 3D post and distribution still has a long way to go before it is mature.

James

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005


 - posted 05-24-2009 09:07 AM      Profile for Louis Bornwasser   Author's Homepage   Email Louis Bornwasser   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
We keep coming back to GREED. . . . Louis

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 05-24-2009 03:22 PM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Julio Roberto
And Dolby is not much better. Their glasses waaaaayyy overpriced as well.

Julio,

And I thought you were penny wise... somehow this slipped past you. The Dolby glasses are actually the least expensive per cycle of use... about 7 cents U.S. including the dishwasher AND labor! They do however represent the largest cash outlay to equip a theater with. That cash outlay is well returned in a not very long period of time.

quote: Louis Bornwasser
We keep coming back to GREED. . . . Louis


I'm glad you fessd up Louis! It must have something to do with selling Ashley Amplifiers [Wink] .

Mark

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004


 - posted 05-24-2009 10:38 PM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
about 7 cents U.S. including the dishwasher AND labor
So, how does one tell some of these bean counting theatre owners that this is the actual way to go outside of maybe the real reason of doing all of this "Real D" stuff is of the leases of both equipment and the usage of "Real D"?

They whine on the the concept that everything has a price attached to it (and even the people that work for them..), yet, it seems that they are stuck in this mode and not seeing past the end of their noses.

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