The customer need was for Starplex Cinemas to transform its new Ridgefield Park, NJ location into a flagship luxury cinema to stand out from competition. Starplex partnered with Barco and Samsung to create an immersive lobby experience using over 50 Samsung digital displays for interactive posters, video walls, and menus. This resulted in increased ticket and concession sales, with the concession per-person average being one of the highest in Starplex's history.
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Samsung Digital Signage Helps Create the Cinema Lobby of the Future
1. Case Study: Starplex Cinemas
Samsung Digital Signage Helps Create
the Cinema Lobby of the Future
Customer Need
Starplex Cinemas, which operates
31 movie theaters with 326 screens
across the United States, sought
to transform its newest location in
Ridgefield Park, NJ into a flagship
luxury cinema destination. The $5
million renovation would provide
a state-of-theart film-watching
experience, including 100 percent
digital projection and spacious luxury
reclining chairs. However, Starplex
also wanted to introduce new
technology within the lobby to engage
movie-goers from the moment they
entered the theater to drive greater
ticket and concession sales.
Samsung Solution
Starplex aligned itself with leading
visualization solution provider Barco
and Samsung to create the cinema
lobby of the future. Barco’s design
utilized Samsung digital signage
throughout the customer experience,
from the entranceway to the box office
and concession stands. The futuristic
lobby has interactive posters, large
video walls, dynamic menu boards
and other cutting-edge digital
touches that make the theater stand
out from the competition.
Results
The innovative use of commercial
display technology has helped make
Starplex’s Ridgefield Park location
a true destination theater while also
driving new revenue. The dynamic
menu boards at the concession
stands have resulted in one of the
highest per-person sales averages
in the theater chain’s history. Eye-
catching box office displays allow
moviegoers to purchase tickets
for future movies, letting Starplex
“lock in” those customers. Finally,
replacing cardboard movie displays
with interactive posters has not
only enhanced the moviegoers’
experience, it has also reduced costs.
Overview
2. 2
Starplex Cinemas operates 31
movie theaters with 326 screens
across the United States. The
Dallas headquartered chain has
theaters in Texas, California,
Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey,
Ohio, Oklahoma, and Washington.
The 18-year-old private company
has enjoyed success with its
luxurious but affordable film-going
experience, offering guests leather,
automated recliner seats, café-style
concessions, party packages and
competitive pricing. Throughout its
history, Starplex has been known
for innovation in the use of
technology, such as allowing
patrons to print their tickets
at home; “Sensory Friendly
Screenings,” which offer adjusted
lighting and sound; and flourishes
like D-BOX seating, which uses
motion effects synchronized with
on-screen action to create a realistic
experience for movie watchers.
“Movie theater operators have to
continually improve the theater
experience and offer guests
something they can’t get at home or
from other entertainment options,”
says Tod Hanna, the chain’s chief
operating officer.
As part of its expansion strategy,
Starplex Cinemas acquired an
85,000-square-foot location
in Ridgefield Park, NJ with the
intention of transforming it into a
flagship, luxury theater. Located
in a corporate building zone near
the New Jersey Turnpike, the
new theater presented a unique
challenge due to the lack of near-
by retail attractions that might
draw movie-goers and intense
competition among theaters in the
surrounding areas.
“Just 20 minutes from New York
City, the area has outstanding
demographics, with a lot of people
who love to go to movies, but
that also means there are a lot of
competing theaters that are very
close,” says Robert Tuttle, IT director
for Starplex. “We knew we had to do
something unique to stand out from
the competition.”
As it planned the redesign,
Starplex wanted to create an
immersive viewing experience
that elicited a “wow” reaction from
viewers from the very moment they
stepped into the lobby.
The $5 million renovation sought
to provide a state-of-the-art film-
watching experience, including 100
percent digital projection, Real-D 3D
and spacious luxury reclining seats.
One of the auditoriums has the
immersive sound of Barco’s Auro
11.1, giving patrons the most realistic
cinema experience with three
layers of sound.
Starplex uses digital signage in its
other locations, such as employing
Samsung commercial displays
for digital menu boards at its
concession stands. But it wanted
to go far beyond this at the new
location to provide movie-goers
with a distinctive, one-of-a-kind
experience even before they
sat down to watch their picture.
Starplex’s goal was to create a
futuristic lobby with interactive
posters, large video walls, and
other touches that would help
the theater stand out — and
generate additional revenue.
Create a “Flagship Luxury Location” to Draw Movie-Goers
The Customer Need:
The Customer
Starplex Cinemas
“We knew we had to
do something unique
to stand out from the
competition.”
- Robert Tuttle,
Starplex Cinemas
3. 3
Starplex partnered with Barco, a
leading provider of visualization
solutions, and Samsung to create
the cinema “lobby of the future,”
integrating digital displays to create a
more dynamic and connected movie-
going experience.
More than 50 Samsung large-format
displays and a 16-foot movie screen
were incorporated into the lobby at
strategic locations, from video walls
at the main entry points, to displays at
the ticket booths, concession stands
and digital movie posters. This cutting-
edge design comes directly from
Barco’s newly launched CinemaBarco,
which represents a new paradigm in
cinema entertainment.
The lobby is striking, with marble
floors and walls designed in rich earth
tones. Large video walls are located
directly in front of the entry doors at
both ends of the lobby, constructed
from three 75” Samsung ME-C Series
Edge-Lit LED commercial displays,
that provide sharp, detail-rich images.
Barco had the vision to replace the
traditional cardboard displays that
promote upcoming movies with digital
posters showing dynamic images
or video. Eight Samsung displays –
oriented in portrait format with custom
black enclosures – line the walls of
the lobby, acting as digital billboards
promoting the latest movies.
“When a coming attraction or other
image is splashed across the screen
it really makes an impact and can
change the look of the theater,” says
Jim Molony, Director of Business
Operations, Digital Cinema at Barco.
“Digital movie posters also have
the potential to improve operational
efficiencies for both the film
distributors and the theater operator,
allowing more streamlined, targeted
and compelling cinema advertising.”
The concession stands feature
Samsung UD-C Series 55” Direct-Lit
LED displays, which deliver sharp,
effective messages and offer easy
content presentation across multiple
screens. The displays have narrow
bezels, allowing five displays to be
placed bezel-to-bezel to create a
seamless menu board directly
above the counter.
At the box office, a series of 55”
Samsung displays are also used
to grab patrons’ attention. The
two displays at each end provide
show-times, while the center display
presents promotions for gift cards,
concession items or tickets for
upcoming movies.
As well as reducing perceived wait
times, the displays also entice guests
to use their smartphones to download
coupons or purchase tickets online
for future showings. Starplex plans
to integrate QR codes into the
promotions, so patrons will need to
only point their smartphones at a code
to be taken to the website and make
a purchase. Patrons can be notified
by text when tickets are available for a
particular movie.
“In the past, the use of digital signage
has really been limited at theaters,”
Molony says. “Starplex is an example
of the next wave of video displays in
movie theaters, where the displays
will be tied to the Point-of-Sale
units, so the theater can change the
concession items they are displaying
depending on the time of day or the
inventory on hand.”
Quick Profile:
As used by Starplex Cinemas
The Samsung Solution
Lobby of the Future: Designed by Barco, Powered
by Samsung Displays
SAMSUNG UD-C SERIES
COMMERCIAL DISPLAYS
Sizes Available (Diagonal): 46
and 55 inches
Panel Technology: LED Direct-Lit
LCD S-PVA 60Hz
Resolution: Full HD 1920x1080
Brightness: 700nits
Responce Time: 8ms
Screen Depth: 3.8 inches
Sizes Available (Diagonal):
32, 40, 46, 55, 75 & 95 inches
Panel Technology: LED Edge-Lit
LCD
Resolution: Full HD 1920x1080
Brightness: 450nits for 32-55 inch
models; 550nits for 75 inch model;
600nits for 90 inch model
Responce Time: 8ms
Screen Depth: 1.2 inches for all
models, except ME75C (1.9 inches)
and ME95C (1.8 inches)
Internal Media Player:
Cortex-A9 1Ghz Dual Core, 1GB
DDR3, 4GB FDM
Features: Smart Signage Platform,
Magicinfo Premium S
Environmental: ENERGY STAR®
compliant
Standard Warranty: 3 years
(parts and labor)
SAMSUNG ME-C SERIES
COMMERCIAL DISPLAYS