BORDER cinema patrons will be treated to 3D digital films later this year when Regent Cinemas Albury-Wodonga installs one of the first 3D projectors of its kind in regional Australia.
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General manager, Doug Henderson said the expansion into 3D digital technology is part of a $250,000 investment in the cinema, which began this month with a refurbishment of the Gold Class cinema.
Food and alcohol from Cafe Regent will be introduced to the Showcase cinema on Friday and Saturday nights.
“We have an extremely positive outlook for the Albury-Wodonga region and are very excited about being able to invest in these new technologies,” Mr Henderson said.
“This is real, and welcome progress in providing the latest in entertainment to not just the people of Albury-Wodonga but also regional Victoria and NSW.”
Mr Henderson said patrons would be swapping the old cardboard 3D glasses for plastic glasses they can keep and use every time they go to see a 3D film.
He said the Real D 3D projection system would be installed in cinema 2 during the September school holidays, featuring a ground-breaking single lens system which provides a clearer and sharper 3D experience than previous technologies.
“These images really jump out of the screen,” he said.
“The digital system projects them at 114 times per second, while the normal 2D is half that. It is so quick that it tricks the brain into perceiving greater depth in the images.”
Mr Henderson said eight or nine Hollywood studio releases per year were now filmed in 3D, giving cinema operators greater reason to offer the option.
Among them is the next Disney Pixar release Up; acclaimed director James Cameron’s Avatar in December and Toy Story 3 in June next year.
Mr Henderson said the refurbishment of the Gold Class cinema finished last week with new amenities and seating in the foyer bar.
He said Gold Class patronage including ticket price and the associated food and beverage expenditure, now accounted for between 10 and 15 per cent of the complex’s business.
“It’s going well. I would have thought audiences might have waned but they haven’t,” he said.
Similar improvements will be made with the extensions of the Cafe Regent and Showcase cinema foyer on the ground floor of the cinema.
