Ridgecrest Cinemas, Ltd., a locally-owned and operated movie theater for 30 years, is upgrading all eight screens to Sony Digital Cinema 4K projection technology.
The transition to an all-digital projection completes a comprehensive theater renovation designed to provide an unparalleled movie-going and entertainment experience for the community and surrounding areas. The cinema will unveil its digital conversion on October 10, 2012.
The only movie theater in the area, Ridgecrest Cinema has been a community icon since its doors opened in 1983 as a two-screen location. The addition of six more screens followed over the years, along with other enhancements -- all part of the owners’ desire to continually give back to their hometown.
“As a community-based theater, providing our customers with the best possible projection solution on the market was very important to us,” said Michael McGee, Managing Partner of Ridgecrest Cinemas, Ltd. “This theater renovation – which will ultimately extend all the way down to new seats -- started with the necessity to convert to digital, and we realized that if we were going to commit to a technology, we wanted to make the best choice possible for our future operation, and that meant Sony 4K projection.”
The upgrades are also in response to the theater’s loyal community fan base, who had been expressing their desire for a projection upgrade, especially for 3D screenings.
McGee added that even with the new technology, “We are still a small theater and it’s important to us that we retain that local ‘community’ feeling. The Sony technology helps us improve what we present without changing who we are.”
To make their conversion as seamless as possible, Ridgecrest’s owners worked with Sony’s Digital Cinema Solutions group to leverage their innovative 4K digital technology and affordable Virtual Print Fee (VPF) financing options.
“Ridgecrest Cinema understands the value of offering local movie-goers the best cinema experience possible, and the rollout of Sony Digital Cinema 4K technology at Ridgecrest Cinemas fits perfectly with the company’s vision,” said Christopher Simpson, national account manager for Sony Electronics’ Digital Cinema Solutions Group. “4K content is the future of cinema, and independent theaters like Ridgecrest understand that adopting the technology and taking advantage of Sony’s VPF program allows them to better serve their customers.”
