Ever since I was a kid I've wished that I would grow up to have a movie theater in my house (that, trap doors, and secret passages, of course). As awesome as some modern home theater entertainment set ups can be, I've always wanted to be able to set up a projector, sit in a large, red recliner and watch movies in the comfort of my own home. No sticky floors, nobody's cell phone going off - just a perfect movie-going experience every time. The idea is undoubtedly an expensive one, as that kind of equipment doesn't come cheap, but it turns out that it's equally expensive, if not more so, just to get the movies.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a company Prima Cinema has started a system that would allow you to stream new movies on your television on the first day that they hit theaters. Sound's great, right? Well, it isn't cheap. The digital delivery system alone - a one-time payment - will set you back $20,000 and each movie will cost $500 (or roughly the cost of 25 DVDs). Based in Los Angeles, the company actually has some pretty powerful backers, including Best Buy and Universal Pictures. The company hopes to start setting up systems within the next year and expects to install 250,000 units in the next five.
The real question is whether there are enough rich people out there who love movies enough to invest. I've had some absolutely miserable theater-going experiences and film plays an integral part of my life, but I'm not even sure that I'd be willing to shell out the bucks for the system (not that I even could). For the price of the digital delivery system alone you could go to the movies more than 2,500 times. Relegate this to the "nobody in the world needs this" pile.
