Re: Kodak shrinks with changing times
Ross wrote: Some theaters here do "pay-per-view"-style events, usually prize fights and other sporting events (although they also market themselves as fancy for-rent videoconference facilities). The programming for these services is delivered by satellite or fiber optics. Most theaters these days seem to be running filler material from digital projectors (in this case, the projectors are not yet up to feature-film standards -- too dim, and you can see the pixels). There is no reason the same channels couldn't be used to distribute encrypted movies. Theaters that paid the license fee would receive the decryption key and could put the release on their in-house hard drives.How far are we from a central "release print" distribution point without even the hard drive transportation requirement? One can envision the day when the large theater chains rationalize the viewing schedules for all of their theaters and do central distribution by satellite in real time, eliminating the need for projectionists entirely. (The trend is long underway -- union projectionists are long gone and these days, the average multiplex with platter feed projectors only has one or two projectionists running the whole thing.) Best regards, etienne
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