HIGH LITES OF THIS WEEK'S REPORT
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WB BATTLES PIRATES ON AMAZON
- GOOGLE WALLET Goes BIG For CINEMAS
- EEC AND NOISE STUDIOS FORM AFFILIATION
- HOBBIT To Use SPECIAL EDITION 3D GLASSES
WB Targets Pirates Using AMAZON
Last week
Warner Bros. filed suit in U.S. District Court in California alleging that third-party sellers are retailing counterfeit and unauthorized copies of
WB movies through
Amazon on-line.
In its suit,
WB states that it "
has suffered and continues to suffer irreparable harm and damage through these illegal sales." The suits were filed against
Amazon seller Todd Beckman and 10 other co-defendants with an additional 19 lawsuits filed against other sellers.
WB claims there are more than 2 million independent sellers using
Amazon.com as there sales vehicle.
WB claims the defendants sell the counterfeit and pirated copies of movies in several formats, including: video cassettes, laser discs, DVDs, compact discs, and BluRay discs.
Amazon declined to comment on
WB's allegations.
CMG will keep you informed.
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| Google Wallet System |
GOOGLE WALLET Now Good With All Credit Cards
Last year CMG reported on the value of equipping cinemas with the ability to accept payment for admissions and concession sales via smartphones - and saying that the
Google Wallet was one of the best payment systems for this. Since that time, the use of smartphones for retail payments by consumers has soared.
The
Wallet is now one of the largest apps used for phone payments and it just expanded - as it can now be used with
all credit cards. Originally, only
Citibank customers with a
MasterCard could use the
Wallet service, but last week
Google enhanced
Wallet so it can now be used with any credit card and allows users to access credit card data and the capability to disable
Wallet on-line should your phone be lost or stolen.
Google Wallet competes against
Square, LevelUp, and
Pay Pal but with its new enhancements
Wallet is the most user-friendly system.
For there part, to take advantage of a phone payment system, cinemas need to install point-of-sale systems that include near-field-communications (NFC). NFC allows cash registers to communicate wirelessly with smartphones. About 200,000 retail outlets in the U.S. currently use
Google Wallet - including
McDonald's, WalMart, Whole Foods, and
Macys - which also use
Wallet to provide users with store coupons and rewards.
EEC Forms ALLIANCE With NOISE STUDIOS
Entertainment Equipment Corp. and
NOISE Studios have formed a representative agreement, whereby
NOISE will sell, install, and service cinema audio products throughout the
Middle East and North Africa. with the assistance of EEC.
Located in Cairo,
NOISE Studios currently markets, installs, and services audio systems to commercial and entertainment venues.
"Given it's international business experience, the addition of the cinema market - through its affiliation with Entertainment Equipment - will further strengthen NOISE's market depth, reputation, and brand" says, Mohamed Omar, President,
NOISE Studios.
" As in the Far East, the cinema is expanding rapidly in the Middle East and there is great opportunity for good companies to grow and prosper. Our venture with NOISE will expand our market reach and provides a real growth opportunity for us", states Jim Lavorato, President,
Entertainment Equipment Corp.
Contact: Mohamed Omar,
NOISE Studios
16 26 of July Street, Suite 3
Modandessin-Giza 12411
Cario, Egypt
2-02-3346-9023 or
mail@noisestudios.net
"The Hobbit" To Use SPECIAL EDITION 3D Glasses
The Hobbit franchise will consist of three films which are scheduled to be released in a high-frame rate format of 48 frames per second and in 3D. For this event, special edition 3D glasses are being producted (see insert).
Inspired by Middle Earth the first of the 3 films -
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is due to be released on December 4th. It is rumored that The Hobbit trilogy will have the impact and imagery of Avatar. Lets hope it does and matches Avatar's grosses as well,
