In an effort to enhance the movie-going experience, 4D technology is making its way into theaters.
“That extra ‘D’ won’t let you warp spacetime, but instead will bring your other senses into play with seats that move and thump, smells from things like flowers or gunpowder, and artificial wind, rain and lightning,” explains Engadget.
“CJ Group of South Korea hopes to furnish nearly 200 U.S. movie theaters with equipment that will move seats, emit scents and perform other special effects,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “The 4D experience is wowing fans in South Korea, Thailand and Mexico, where CJ Group has 29 specialty theaters.”
“CJ Group insists it isn’t building theme park rides, and says theaters with its equipment offer a much richer movie experience,” adds the LA Times. “In addition to the moving seats, it installs tiny nozzles that spray water, mist, bubbles, air and odors from a collection of 1,000 scents, such as rose garden, coffee, women’s perfume, burning rubber and gunpowder.”
The enhanced experience could increase ticket prices by around eight dollars to help offset the expected $2 million cost to retrofit each theater (with exhibitors covering half the costs).
However, CJ Group claims its technology’s success in Asian and Mexican markets has led to a relatively quick return on investment for participating theaters.
This could put more pressure on theater owners and theme parks to upgrade to keep up with consumer expectations. Of course, CJ has been trying to break into this market for a number of years, so we’ll see if now is their moment.
Philip LelyveldJuly 13, 2012 at 04:35am
This could put more pressure on theater owners and theme parks to upgrade to keep up with consumer expectations. Of course, CJ has been trying to break into this market for a number of years, so we’ll see if now is their moment.
In an effort to enhance the movie-going experience, 4D technology is making its way into theaters.
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This could put more pressure on theater owners and theme parks to upgrade to keep up with consumer expectations. Of course, CJ has been trying to break into this market for a number of years, so we’ll see if now is their moment.
This could put more pressure on theater owners and theme parks to upgrade to keep up with consumer expectations. Of course, CJ has been trying to break into this market for a number of years, so we’ll see if now is their moment.
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