Prima Cinema: The High End is Not Dead Yet
Submitted by Rich Green on Wed, 12/08/2010 - 5:13pm
It's all over this morning's news. Prima Cinema, a Hollywood startup, has been incubating a first-run private home movie screening service this past year and announced themselves via the Wall Street Journal.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870425070457600580136611629...
I first heard about Prima Cinema in April of this year when I met with one of the founders, Shawn Yeager. Those discussions were assumed to be confidential, but I guess the cat's out of the bag now. It's an intriguing product.
First, the sticker shock of $20,000 for the box, or not. This will probably be a strongly encrypted box connected to the Internet. Security is everything to Prima Cinema for obvious reasons. In our space, $20k is not too much of a stretch. Certain wealthy clients (we know who they are) will drop that kind of cash to one-up their friends in a heartbeat. Running current feature films in a CEDIA designed, installed and calibrated home theater would fulfill a long-held dream for many film enthusiasts. I say, Yipee!
Each film would cost $500 for a screening. The idea is to invite your friends over for a special event in your private, custom home theater. Prima Cinema breathes new life into these amazing rooms.
I have no idea what part a CEDIA designer can play in the Prima Cinema ecosystem. Who makes money? What does it take to install a Prima Cinema system? Who is qualified? Does it actually work? Will the Hollywood studios get nervous and pull the plug? What happens to that $20,000 investment if they do?
I say speak up and let Prima Cinema know you are interested in learning more about this product. The retrofit opportunity would be huge. What a wonderful phone call that would be. "Dear Customer, I have access to a technology that will allow you to enjoy first-run movies in the privacy of your home theater. Interested?"
Here's how to reach them:
I've contacted them and will report back when I learn more.
=Rich=
WOW, a year later... and as
by Anonymous - 12/03/2011 - 11:41pm
WOW, a year later... and as an industry guy i can honestly say I still have not heard any thing of this..till stumbling on it today by chance... ha, another failed product that was doomed and overpriced to begin with.
Its funny how this works, and it never fails, only one year later and i can waithc first run IN-Theater movies via Cable, Sat, or Streaming via a Bluray Player for about $20.00 a pop. Or even better, the next day for free via pirated download.
OR EVEN BETTER - At the theater in 4K for $12, shit i could rent the theater for a day for less money!
You guys keep tryin to sell all that "high-end" over priced junk and services - I stick with selling my customers $150 bluray/media players that do the same thing and a whole lot more.
They should just take down the website and close the doors, if they havent already. Given the fact that this article gave more information about the product than the actual website did, they have prolly already folded.
Dear Anonymous, Go ahead and
by Rich Green - 12/07/2011 - 7:37pm
Dear Anonymous,
Go ahead and keep selling your $150 Blu-ray players. You'll make more than enough profit to buy a big bag of popcorn.
Prima Cinema is on pace for a significant launch. They've already sold out their initial production with advance orders. Someone other than you sees value in this. Have you even seen a demo?
Rich
Who cares a handful of
by Rob Gerhardt - 12/13/2010 - 11:27am
Who cares a handful of dealers cling to the past and a concept that reinforces the cherished "AV Valet" position with no future? Doesn't seem like useful information to me.
Hi Rob. Who cares? I do,
by Rich Green - 12/13/2010 - 1:16pm
Hi Rob. Who cares? I do, and I think others do too. The high end is not dead, and neither are human beings. People love high performance audio and video, they always will. It's delightful and enriching to live with modern technology that energizes your emotions and raises goose bumps. The cherished "AV Valet" makes that happen.
Is it the growing, thriving business is was in the 80's and 90's? No way. Is it valid? Absolutely! I recently visited a CEDIA member company called Audio High in Mountain View, California. Audio High, owned and operated by a very smart and passionate guy named Michael Silver, is one of the best looking, well stocked and enterprising high end audio/video stores I have ever seen. They demonstrate best-of-class audio, video, home theater and integrated systems. A complete mix of what our industry does best. And they have lots of business.
There are other high end success stories too, but admittedly fewer of them. Those left standing are still raising goose bumps for a passionate clientele. I applaud their efforts and wish them well. We need them.
Products like Prima Cinema point to upmarket opportunities that a few smart and diligent souls will capitalize on. There is a halo affect caused by headlines like Prima Cinema achieved in the Wall Street Journal last week. A halo that can benefit all of us struggling to sell integrated systems that include goose bump generating high performance audio and video.
I completely and wholeheartedly disagree with you, Rob. The AV Valet position does have a future. Yes, it may be a dying art, but it is our responsibility to keep that art alive and spread the word. Lord knows we have the products to make it happen. What we're missing is the spark of ingenuity, dedication to the science, and love of the art that the founders of CEDIA once had. Michael Silver gets it and his business is thriving.
I work hard for my fellow members at CEDIA to develop curriculum that supports the high end audio video industry, and so do an army of dedicated volunteers who have the credentials and who care about the health of their industry. Take a look at CEDIA University's offerings in acoustics, video calibration, system design, etc. It's deep and it's relevant.
I'm not clinging to the past at all, Rob. Quite the contrary. The future of CEDIA is all about expert managed services, there is no doubt about that. But just as the famous German camera manufacturer, Leica, has shot up more than 100% in sales over the past few years and expands their retail presence throughout the world, and as Apple sells emotional products at very high prices (compared to their banal competitors), customers continue to seek a finer experience. To touch real luxury, sometimes at more affordable prices.
I am proud to be an evangelist for the future of our industry. New markets are opening up in retrofit technology, digital home health, energy monitoring and management, telepresence and there's more coming. I am also proud to be an AV Valet, as you call it. I've dedicated my career to the more refined, luxurious side of our industry and have dozens, if not hundreds of clients who appreciate those efforts. Long live the AV Valet!
=Rich=
This is vaguely reminiscent
by PLazarus333 - 12/09/2010 - 3:27pm
This is vaguely reminiscent of the Entertainment Experiance / Video Giants initiative that was demonstrated at CEDIA some years ago. It never went anywhere, but it got a lot of buzz at the time. The Prima Cinema scheme is decidedly more costly -- especially when you add in a D-Cinema projector to the equation...one capable of 2086 resolution. The question that arises: Is there enough business to be gained for Hollywood to put their jewals at risk? If there were a 100 potential customers for this -- and I tend to believe there would be fewer -- is an extra $50K per release going to move the needle for the studios? I think not. Add two more zeros to the number and it might get someone's attention, but then you'd have to have an installed base of 10,000. Imagine the risk assessment that would spaun. The bootleggers wouldn't have to discretely hide a shaky miniature camera at an opening night venue. They could set up a tripod with some really good optics and shoot away.
I'm sure Pirma Cinema has
by Rich Green - 12/09/2010 - 7:35pm
I'm sure Pirma Cinema has considered those problems yet they seem to be marching forward. At the start, I suspect their customers will be Hollywood movie moguls and that's a safe group to release same-day features to. They're a perfectly scrupulous bunch, aren't they? ;-)
It will be fascinating to see how Prima Cinema comes to market with piracy breathing down their necks. One false move and I'm sure the doors will slam shut. Seems like high stakes.
I sure like the price point. And I think they are expecting a much larger market than 100. At launch, though, my guess is there will be just a few, selected and highly qualified installations with reputable dealers doing the work. Hmmm, maybe the deal includes a courtesy security guard at the door.
Rich
So, more news on Prima
by Rich Green - 12/09/2010 - 1:38pm
So, more news on Prima Cinema. The cat was let out of the bag a bit prematurely yesterday and there was some misinformation. Prima Cinema says they are on track to launch in 2011 and have a very select few dealers in mind. The product is still in development and they intend for it to be luxury only, very nichey and high end. It is definitely not for everyone.
It would be wonderful to see a resurgence in high end, high performance audio video. Prima Cinema represents the high end in content, which is what most clients care about anymore. Content is king.
In a similar vein, I believe that Blu-ray will be with us for a very long time, primarily to support delivery of high performance content. Over the next few years we'll see spinning discs that deliver 4k 3D movies and games, which can only be delivered on Blu-ray or its next generation. UV-ray? Gamma-ray? Ha, just made that up. So embrace Blu-ray for the excellent performance it brings to content. And don't forget about high bit rate audio. There's gold to mine there too.
Happy selling,
=Rich=
Rich, I just wanted to take a
by Greg Peterson - 02/07/2012 - 3:03pm
Rich,
I just wanted to take a moment and chime in. I, for one, could not agree with you more. I am saddened by this "race to the bottom" from both the manufacturing and dealer communities. We as an industry must take responsibility for showing people the upper limits of what is possible and let them decide where they see themselves fitting into the overall picture. I see far too many from our industry who think with their own wallets and present based upon that. They are doing both their clients and themselves a disservice in doing so. Were I to have the financial capability and desire to own an exotic car and go shopping for one to have some salesman tell me I am waisting my money and should instead opt for a Prius I think I may very well pop him in the mouth. These people rely on us to provide them the very best that we can within the limitations of their financial means. For those with little to no limitations we need to be prepared to show them the absolute best regardless of what we ourselves can afford/justify.
This is not an endorsement of Prima necessarily as I have not had enough exposure to the product/service to voice a strong opinion but I certainly applaud this from the standpoint of both pushing the upper limitations of what people can enjoy in their cinema as well as seeming to be opening the door to expanding this market segment. These things tend to trickle down to the masses and instead of being jaded about it I think they may instead wanrt to be thankful.
Greg
Hi Rich, Seems like the
by Chuck_5555 - 12/09/2010 - 1:25pm
Hi Rich,
Seems like the special decoding box would have to be incorporated into the projector. Any output to a standard projector input could be easily interceped by pirates. Any idea how Prima Cinema gets around this issue?
Chuck
Hi Chuck, No clue. These
by Rich Green - 12/09/2010 - 1:41pm
Hi Chuck,
No clue. These are very sophisticated software people who know their stuff when it comes to DRM and authentication. I suspect the system will not be hackable or Hollywood would not endorse them. Ultimately the keys to the kingdom are held by Hollywood studios, and these folks are connected there.
Rich