By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
I wrote earlier about this when it was first announced, but now Regal Entertainment Group is rolling out their test. It’s great, because they have 6400 screens nationwide, but the downside is the test is only in 25 theatres.
Why are they doing this? Well, besides the obvious (which many of us have seen and some of us have committed) problem of cell phones ringing during a movie …
“We had gotten to the point … where we have had people getting into physical battles in theaters. One customer will say to another ‘Shut off your cell phone’ or ‘Shut up’ … We’ve had people assaulted with bats, knives, guns.” Source: MSNBC
There are more details available about the device now as well.
There are 4 buttons on the device, a) disruption, b) projector problem, c) climate problem, d) other.
As Regal Chief Executive Michael Campbell says in the article, “Back when I was a teenager there was still a reverence … for the movie going experience. You knew when you went in that you weren’t supposed to talk, you weren’t supposed to disturb anybody. They think they can do everything at the same time and everybody else is going to be OK with that and it’s just not.”
It kinds of boils down to politeness, in my book. People just aren’t as polite as they used to be. So Regal, I’m mature. Hand me one of those next time I’m in one of your theatres!
REgal at Sawgrass refuses to pay for hours worked– refuses to say when they will pay—
Parent don;t let your child work at Regal Sawgrass- it is a sweat shop!!
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to use this system for the premiere of the Simpsons Movie. This is one of the best ideas and this device greatly enhances the movie experience. It so happened that the picture was off (sideways letterbox) which would have otherwise ruined the movie, or at the very least, irritated the hell out of me as I stalked off to find the manager. I pressed the “picture” button, and in less than 2 minutes, the projectionist had corrected the problem. I had previously avoided this theater for these exact problems (and their lack of response) and I will now seriously reconsider patronizing this theater, so long as I can have one of these devices with me when I go to see a film!