Digital Solution for Issues and Challenges in Print Technology - Case Study Example

Case study on the digital technology-utility and viability analysis Issues and challenges in print technology- digital solution Introduction Any organized human activity, which is done in-group, will be most times constituted into an organization. So, Organization or companies is a structure with a ‘collage’ of humans doing their allocated work under the management of a leader, for the benefit of the organization as well as them. These employees will normally be apportioned or “structurized” into different departments for better arrangement and streamlining of work. Normally employees will be assigned different roles by the management, according to their educational qualifications, experience, skill, knowledge, etc. And when the management team and the employees work together for their companies, they will be aided by various tools, including technological tools Role of Technology Through out the 20th century, many technological products including Information Technology products were developed around the world, which had and is still having applications in all spheres of human lives. Out of the many technological products developed, a good number are being used in organizations, particularly Information Technology products. That is, organizations of today including ones in the entertainment industry like the movie theatres have used or integrated technology in every aspect of their functioning. From opening a simple door to carrying out advanced operations, technology has become an omnipresent entity in organizations, with their entire operations hinging on the support provided by technology, particularly Information Technology. So, this paper will identify the problems raised in the case study, explaining how digital technology may solve these problems. Also, the paper will consider the costs and benefits and decide whether or not the movie theatre should invest in this technology, providing recommendations to the movie theatre manager. Finally, the paper will also formulate a draft invitation to tender to be sent to the three main suppliers of this technology. Digital technology Digital cinema is the latest inflexion technology to transform the movie watching experience. The technology facilitates in effective distribution and projection of content. a digital movie can be distributed via hard drives, optical disks or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional film projector many problems. in the traditional format screening relates to duplication and distribution. Making the many thousands of copies of films needed for world wide releases leads to a depletion in the quality of the copies, with each generation of copy being worse than the previous generation. As each copy is shown, mechanical damage does takes place and the copy is further degraded. The existence of so many copies also poses a security hazard. The current physical distribution of prints is inflicted with many disadvantages. In this model the print has to get the geographical reach to realize the end mile purpose. Taking the prints across the geographies is cost and time intensive, hence substantial investments are called for but with uncertain results. Because of the staggered releases, the pirated version of the film content becomes easily available in the marketplace. This seriously affects the business prospects of the original version of the movie when it is screened in the multiplexes. The time to the market is very important in the entertainment business, as any time lag will give the leeway for the illicit copier to abuse the technology to their own interest and advantage, distorting all the genuinely creative and artistic outputs into oblivion. Many thousand copies can be made in the digital format with the quality intact and it can be retrieved and used as the need arises, something which is not possible in the conventional prints. The other major problem that has beset studios is piracy. The film industry loses substantially to the malaise of piracy. Projects are not able to realize the worth of their investments owing to this illicit and thriving business of pirated versions of popular flicks. The decreasing size and increasing quality of handheld cameras allows pirates to smuggle in a recording device and make illicit copies of the film. The standard provides for the date and location of the movies showing to be displayed on the screen in a format that is invisible to humans but will be visible to recording devices. If piracy cannot be prevented entirely, it can at least be detectable and provable in a court of law. The digital technologies will its advanced features over the conventional print technology provide the right answer to all the problems draining the industry of all its merits. The laborious and capital investment of the industry can be brought to fruition to all the stakeholders with the adoption of the revolutionary technology. The digital technology secures the producers or the studio companies of the with its anti- piracy feature. Its compact size makes for easier handling and efficient use of the storage capacity of the drives or disc. To deliver an exciting movie viewing experience to the audiences, the system needs to provide high resolution clarity and sound effect. The theatre manager need server to better control the content and distribution of the movies within their multiplexes. Besides the mentioned benefits the distributors also stand to take advantage of the system. The digital technology ensures the distributors properties of content are securely encrypted in drives with information delivery on play times to the distribution so that it can charge the exhibitors accordingly without any undercutting to the revenue. The digital movie with its all technical superiority over the conventional print, assures a delightful experience to all the stakeholders with its uniqueness rewarding all significantly in the movie delivery process Cost- benefit analysis of the digital technology Economics-Savings The digital distribution has a huge savings potential to the distributors and exhibitors alike. As the typical digital movies can be stored in 300 GB hard drive, the savings realized will be excess of several times over the cost of print individually. Collectively the industry can realize a savings in excess of over $1 billion in a year. The digital technology is quite an disruptive concept delivery significant to all the value chain. The producers, distributors, exhibitors and audience can take their share of the saving pie proffered by this technology. (DCI specification) Cost Thought is offers advanced features and benefits; it does come with a price tag. The costs of installation of the system in the theatres are high. To overcome the huge expenditure of the equipment, costing share arrangement can be envisaged with the distributors and even studios. The digital system does encrypt certain risk elements. Its technology can become obsolete, the components becoming an issue and the high maintenance cost over the traditional print format is ridden with escalatory cost structure and risk ratio. Archiving digital is also prone quality issues. Thought relatively safe over the print format. It is several times more expensive than the master print is not foolproof and time proof device. No hard drives or optical disc can delivery quality storage for over an hundred years. Physical mishandling can also distort the devices leading to the loss of content and quality. Hence the cost of the system is quite prohibitive. But over the long term, investments can all be well recovered by the savings and top line growth it can deliver attributed to its superior standards over the conventional print. Alternative content Another exciting feature of the digital technology is the bandwidth to show alternative content such as live special, pre-show advertising and other digital or video content. The small budget movies which can’t afford the large theatrical release can be screened in smaller screens by its cost effective advantage. Since the marginal cost of duplicating a digital “print “is significantly lower, any scaling up can be faster and help garner good box office collections to the small budgeted movies, hitherto languishing for the dearth of takers The digital technology provides greater protection against piracy. The Until recent practice of staggered release of films across geographies, lead to rampant piracy of the content. It serious affected the business prospects of the original content. With digital technology simultaneous world wide release is a possibility now. Piracy can be checked. This has been a serious drain on the film industry. In spite of policing and laws to enforce anti-piracy, the measures were found much wanting in its effectiveness. The theatre owners can confidently invest in the digital platform, as it is the future technology with safe and secure features to plug the loop holes seen in the print format. Its case is very convincing as it gives a competitive advantage through many of the breakthrough features. Its hassle free distribution , safe and efficient storage relative anti- pirate advantage and high resolution image and sound provides for an far reaching solutions to the many of the problems encountered by the industry. It can also bring in new revenue stream through the live telecast of games, programmes, hitherto unseen in the previous model. Hence it is in their own business interest that exhibitors invest in this revolutionary technology platform. Supplier selection – tendering and basis of assessment Three major manufacturer of digital technology are the Christie Digital systems, Barco, and NEC. Christie is the long established player of the three, is the maker of CP 2000 line of projectors, which significant market share in the digital space globally. Barco specializes in design and development of visual products for a variety of professional markets. NCE is the smallest of the three, but it has products of different version to suit demands of all the market. (NATO) On consideration of the suppliers list the dice favors, Christie Digital Systems. The well entrenched company enjoying the largest market share in the largest entertainment industry of the world, US, speaks a lot on their competence. But again with exhibitors with varying scale and financial limitations can choose supplier aligning to their needs and requirements. The final decision should weigh all cost and service factors offered by all the three suppliers The draft invitation tender for the major supplier Dear Sir, Fun Cinemas (fictitious) is seriously considering deploying the digital technology in our multiplexes. Considering the various advantages pertaining to the technology we believe it is the future technology platform to invest in. In pursuance of this interest we seek your company to give us a tender detailing your cost of equipments, implementation charges and all associated cost if any. If the package is good and worth investing, the execution will be in right earnest. Seeking your all facilitation and support in this technology initiative. With regards, Fun Cinemas. Conclusion The supplier should be short listed on the basis of their technical competence, after-sale services, price quotes and the track record of the company. Since it will capital intensive, considerably though and serious planning calls for before the final call is made. The preferred company should have the established technical competence in the technical field. Ideally it shouldnt be a start up, as its operational performances will not have adequate references. The selection of the preferred supplier should be evaluated on the cost of equipments, implementation, maintenance, and all associated costing should be competitively fair and reasonable to the advantage to the buyer. A comparatively good deal for the buyer should be assured. The track record of the company is very important it should enjoy good reputation for conduct of operations and business practices. It insures any sense of insecurity towards the promises of the company. After sale services is very essential in this technology initiative. It should be ensured that the supplier provides a reliable after sale service and maintenances. It is an imperative in the seamless transition to the digital platform. The digital technology is here to stay and revolutionize the entertainment market. The adoption of this technology calls for long term perspective, as its rewards will be long in the coming but definite. With advancing technological changes in the movie making process, the technology will be compatible to these and will deliver a transforming movie viewing experience to the audiences. Read More