Entertainment Formats on the RIse

A movie that you’ve been looking forward to all year is coming out in a couple of weeks. You are making a big deal about it and want to experience it in the most ultimate manner, so you go Imax.

A television you really like is coming out on a blue ray collectors set, so you start bragging about a 1080p led LCD television you just purchased.

Sorry to break it to you, but that Imax theater and that HD TV, in the words of our favorite television teens “they are so yesterday!”

Imax has the huge screens and great sound blasting from behind the screen, showing the latest and greatest digital or 3d films; how could you beat that?

A European cinema technology company  “RealD” in attempt to meet demands for premium cinemas, is launching a new large format luxury brand called “LUXE”. LUXE: a RealD experience, is aiming to become the standard for high-end cinemas across the continent before expanding to other territories. Offering high-end technological standards for screen size, brightness, sound and seating under a single logo. The screens standard will be wall to wall and floor to ceiling at least 16 meters, sound and screen brightness for 3d projections are about twice the norm. Many of the American studios are fully supporting the LUXE format, which means Imax better step their game up or LUXE may be replacing them in the states.

You may think that Imax can adapt to the times, but it’s not that simple; it’s easier to build an advance theater than to upgrade one. The funds are prepared to construct a building, but the funds to remodel are not that easy to obtain. There are permits, demolition, and construction to worry about, and if the location where the Imax is does not allow for expansion, what they to do?

If you’re thinking to yourself “who will pay for a LUXE theater in the states, we can hardly afford theaters now?” Ask the customers who pay for Imax tickets, averaging about $17 a pop, trust me there’s a market.

Now let me tell you about the 1080p 3d TV your so proud of. You went out the other day after saving up for a couple of months, or using the money you won from your bogus car accident, and you bought that High Def TV you’ve been waiting for; Iron Man 2 and Game of thrones never looked better eh? Aint that cute, BUT YOUR WRONG! There was a reason why you got such a great deal on the TV, its obsolete buddy.

Bow your heads and open the doors for Ultra High Definition, television sets with aspect ratios of at least 16:9, and two options for digital video formats. 4K that has a minimum 3840x 2160 resolution, 4 times HD TV’s now, and 8K which has a minimum resolution of 7680x4320.

Cable is not able to transmit in 4K or 8K yet, but it’s coming.

Now about that 1080p 3d TV you got for $999, don’t feel to bad, because even if you wanted to buy a 4K TV set you’re going to pay around $40,000 for one. A lot? Well I’m pretty sure the TV you got for $999 was $4999 when it 1080p first came out, so you gotta pay to play buddy.

But here’s a secret, (not really a secret) Sharp made a THX certified 70 inch 4K TV for $8000, that’s like a fraction of what you’ll be paying, and available late fall. I doubt it will be of the grandest quality, but at least you’re in the ball game.

The technology is always progressing, so don’t hesitate when you want something; like in life “its better to have tried then to worry about little things that you’ll find out don’t matter anyway”.

Dish Network can't catch a break

When you think of Sprint/ Nextel you see landlines, smart phones, and Internet service for tablets and PC’s. When you think of Dish network you see television on demand at home via satellite or away from home with use of the dish network sling and mobile app (in an area with high speed wifi of course). 

Now you may be thinking of that old Captain Planet saying “with their powers combined!” they could be something even greater. The number three Satellite/ Cable TV provider in the nation joining up with the number three mobile service provider; that idea was on its way of becoming reality, but Sprint Nextel ended conversation with Dish Network over the sale of the wireless company June 10. Sprint Nextel now supports a second bid by Softbank, a telecommunications and internet corporation in Japan.

Softbank first bid was $20.1 billion and now is $21.6 billion including $16.6 billion of it being cash (money talks). The deal with Sprint/ Nextel would give Softbank a 78% stake in the company.

The $25.5 billion dollar buyout by Dish Network was going to create the only U.S. company having a convenient and “fully integrated nationwide bundle of in and out of home video, broadband and voice service”.

Charlie Ergen Co-founder of what is now Dish Network had and still has the option to counteroffer till June 18, but Ergen stated Dish would analyze the Softbank bid and consider their strategic options(a big not likely).

With a chance to revamp the two companies into number one status, Ergen should’ve done everything he could to get the sale. Mobile technology is the wave of the future, and if Dish is the main provider of convenient usage, the masses will eventually flock to them. The problem with sprint is that their network is lacking causing bad and limited connectivity; the problem with Dish is too many technical difficulties and horrible customer service. (Dish has the satellite if you got the towers and toys). If Dish doesn’t pick up the ball before its too late, then what a waste.

Hopefully Softbank will at least bring sprint back to their previous status. The only thing sprint has going for them now is their “simply everything plan”, which isn’t as appealing as when first launched.

Dish Network has been having nothing but bad luck, losing 166,000 subscribers. Dish was not going to lose in the industry wars, so they played a trump card that should not of been played, they introduced the “Hopper”, which allowed customers to watch their television programming without commercial interruption. The device brought back all their lost subscribers plus 86,000. Good idea? NO! The film and television industry took this as an attack and all the major networks filed lawsuits against Ergen, because advertisement is they livelihood. One way or another, ads are shown which produce the revenue for networks.

So Ergen dealt his hand at the hopper and now he’s supposedly passing up on Sprint. They should just call him “bad luck chuck” because it seems like every decision never works out the way intended or maybe it is…