EUROPEAN 3D EXHIBITION SYSTEMS


Africa. “Our digital 3D system is still markedly superior to any other one.” Imax has two business models:


either it will sell the Imax system to the exhibitor or it will set up a joint venture. The exhibitor will pay for the retro-fi t- ting of the cinema, Imax will pay for the system and the partners will split the revenues. Imax believes its presentations,


whether in 2D or 3D, offer a fully immersive experience which its rivals cannot match. As Stanford points out, this is due to more than just having a very large screen. “It’s the quality of the visual presentation and the sound pres- entation. We remaster the digital fi lm and we remaster the sound,” he notes. “Increasingly, the version of a major fi lm the directors or producers want the public to see is the Imax version.”


MASTERIMAGE 3D MasterImage 3D offers an ownership model, under which customers pur- chase systems rather than lease them, with no seat taxes or long-term agree- ments. “In a very short space of time, Mas-


terImage 3D has come from last in the market to holding a signifi cant market share based on quality and the business investment case,” says Brian Kercher, managing director of 3D cin- ema, MasterImage 3D Europe. He argues that while MasterImage 3D’s equipment requires “an upfront investment”, this compares favourably over time with the cost of other systems. Prices vary but typically


MasterImage 3D’s system will sell at $30,000-$35,000 plus shipping costs and import duties from the MasterImage 3D fac- tory in Korea. Once the initial


outlay is made, the exhibitor ful ly owns the system and there are no further costs other than the warranty cost. Around 2,500 MasterImage dig- ital 3D cinema sys- tems are installed in 42 count r ies worldwide.


■ 24 Screen International European 3D special 2010


PANAVISION Best-known for its camera technology, Panavision announced its entry to the 3D market in June this year with a 3D system designed to be compatible with all installed screens and projectors, whether fi lm or digital. The system ena- bles exhibitors to show 2D or 3D con- tent on the same screens, and, says Panavision, allows them “to convert back and forth easily, without making major new investments in new screens or projection equipment.” Using spectral fi ltration technology to


‘comb’ the spectrum, this system gives audiences the sensation of seeing the full colour spectrum in each eye. Polari- sation is not required, so images can be shown on a white screen.


Other players such as XPAND, MasterImage and Dolby are very active in the market, with each offering different propositions


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500 screens and in France around 700 screens. “If you look at Europe in gen- eral, in continental Europe without the UK, we have something like 55%, maybe 60% market share,” says Ami Dror, XPAND’s chief strategy offi cer. The emphasis is heavily on quality. Exhibitors who buy XPAND’s system pay a minimum price of $18,000 for a


one-time purchase (with a lifetime guarantee). The glasses are released at $50 per unit. It is a hefty upfront pur- chase but in the long-run, XPAND argues the system is cost-effective, with the glasses expected to be used up to 5,000 times. Theatrical exhibition is a relatively


REALD Dominant in the US market, RealD went public with an IPO in July, raising $200m. The company generated $189m in revenue in the 12 months to March 26, 2010. Some analysts pre- dicted its share price would fall as demand for 3D began to wane. However, its stock price has remained robust. RealD licenses its system to


exhibitors, who will generally pay an upfront fee as well as a licensing fee on each ticket sold. The RealD system


projects an image at 48 frames per second (144 frames per sec- ond, each frame is projected three times), twice the rate of normal cinema projection. A sil- ver screen is required for the effect to work properly.


XPAND XPAND has around 3,200 screens world- wide. Its biggest mar- kets are China, Japan and France. In China,


the company has a 90% market share (and mor e than 1 ,000 screens). In Japan, the company has more than


Above left: RealD 3D glasses Above right: XPAND Universal 3D glasses Below left: the MasterImage 3D system


small part of the overall XPAND busi- ness plan, which sees home-viewing becoming increasingly important: the XPAND Universal glasses are designed to work seamlessly with an XPAND cin- ema, as well as with almost all the new 3D-ready televisions of all brands. The system does not require a silver screen. 


s THE 3D FILM ALTERNATIVE


Conventional wisdom says 35mm is in its death throes, as exhibition heads towards an all-digital future. However, fi lm is not going to disappear overnight, which explains the positive response to Technicolor’s lower cost 3D system which works with 35mm. “We launched this in North America at the end of March 2010 and


we have now sold 338 lenses in North America. We then began the international roll-out in UK, Spain and Italy — we have added another 108 screens in western Europe,” says Technicolor spokesperson Tom Bracken. The idea behind the 3D system is to provide an alternative for


exhibitors to bridge the gap during the period of the transition to digital. Exhibitors who cannot afford digital projectors and the cost of then adding 3D can use their existing 35mm projectors and still offer 3D. The system works with newly designed lenses from Schneider Optics


and with the updated Technicolor over/under fi lm format. Exhibitors will need to install a silver screen, otherwise the system appears inexpensive next to digital systems. “The only upfront cost is the cost of a silver screen they [the exhibitors]


would need to pay for anyway for RealD,” explains Bracken. Technicolor does not charge for the lens. The system operates on a pay-as-you-go basis, which Technicolor says is a cost-effective solution. Bracken predicts the transition to digital will take between seven and 10 years. “I think fi lm will be around for longer than people imagine.”


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