How to Open a "Movie Cafe"?

tunari asks: "Here in my neck of the woods (Cochabamba, Bolivia) there are hundreds of Internet cafes and Nintendo salons, where you can rent games by the hour. I would like to open a movie salon. I imagine a central CD/DVD jukebox and either dumb terminals or, if possible, TVs. Users would need basic control over playback, and, if possible, some automated way to request new titles. Cost is a big issue, as we will probably be charging less than a dollar per hour. What are some of the ways we could set this up?"

Comments

Biggest cost

[MattCohn.com]

The biggest cost you need to worry about is the movies themselves. Every time you turn on any movie you see a big 'FBI WARNING: ...movie is licenced for private home viewing only...'. Now, most of us have already gotten used to this but if you try and set this up you are going to need special licences. And they don't come cheap. Whenever you loose a blockbuster movie, know why they charge so much to replace?

Re:Biggest cost

[quintessent]

Then again, these will probably be the biggest costs:

1) Cost of fines after judge awards huge sum to the MPAA because you used technology to provide a new service to customers without their blessing.

2) Cost of attorneys.

MP3.com was fined exhorbitant amounts for letting people listen to their own music.

Re:Biggest cost

[Anonymous Coward]

(Cochabamba, Bolivia)

does the fbi have jursidiction?

Re:Biggest cost

[leviramsey]

What about going at it from the other angle? Have a free library of movies available. Movies can not be removed from the library, similar to how libraries do not allow certain books to be taken home. The cafe would charge for use of the movie viewing equipment.

That doesn't get around it. The law's position (at least as interpreted by the courts) has essentially been that any time money changes hands and a movie plays more than an incidental part in the transaction constitutes sale of a viewing of a movie with the accompanying requirement of a license. Video stores do have to receive licenses from the studios to play movies at the store (though such licenses are generally part of the license to rent the film, as the studios have found that having the video playing in the store helps the rental revenue).

MPAA

[Trusty Penfold]

This is answered in the MPAA FAQ :- How do I open a Movie Cafe?

Dear Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

I would like to have a lot of money, but I don't want to work for it. Would everyone who reads this please send me some money. Thank you.

Large Server + Fast Network

[Usquebaugh]

Copy the DVD to a hard disk and strip off that encryption guff. OK now you just have to decompress and play.

You can decompress on the server and stream a large quantity of data or stream a smaller quantity of data and uncompress on the client.

I would start doing some quick mental calcs. How many clients can I support with a given infrastructure?

This seems a very expensive way of providing said service. Why not just buy a bunch of TV+DVD players?

Wait a minute

[Samus]

Hey guys I don't think this guy has too bad of an idea. He is essentially opening up a video store where the movie is returned within hours instead of days. The turn around time is great. The biggest problem would be real estate and infrastructure. I think you would need at least 20 - 30 rooms to fill possible demand. Each room could seat say 8 people and there would be some kind of terminal to order food and what not. You would also have to install cameras to keep people from leaving nasty stains on the couches too. Still if the facilities were nice enough I think I would catch a flick or two at my own private theater/resturaunt.

Re:Wait a minute

[duffbeer703]

I saw one of these things the other day at a mall. The people called it a "movie theatre".

It's a novel concept. You give this guy $8 and you watch a movie. There are people selling popped corn and candy, although it is very expensive.

Re:Wait a minute

[karnal]

We had this in a little po-dunk city back home. Basically, they'd rent out a room with a tv, and vcr, and also sell snacks.

What they did finally get closed down for was that they'd copy all of the first run movies, to make more of a profit... This was back when the initial run VHS copies were 100$ or more, IIRC.... Renting a copy is a no-no, and I'm not sure where "servers" would stand, unless you had a copy (i.e. a license) for each movie used. Would probably have to keep a pretty good journal....

Re:Go Low Tech

[TheSHAD0W]

Yup. Considering what salaries are there, I think that'd be optimal.

I'd suggest a couple of changes, though... Instead of special constructions for housing the TVs, just put all the DVD decks in back of the counter. Have some shelving with the DVD boxes out front, much like a rental place; then when you bring a box to the counter, instead of handing you the DVD, the clerk sticks it in a player and directs you to the matching TV.

No-hassle refunds @ Joe's Movie Cafe

[realgone]

Just a thought, but would it be possible to get around this by "selling" the DVD to the cafe customer at full retail price (i.e., a deposit), then allow them to "return" it two hours later? You'd then give them a full refund -- minus a small restocking charge (i.e., your fee). For those two hours, that DVD was legally their property, and they were privately viewing it in youer kiosk. No harm, no foul. *whistle*

(This is all moot, of course. The MPAA would still sue you to Weehawken and back. But hey, it's fun to dream...)