Disney family believes in 3D

Given that they've christened digital stereoscopics after themselves (as in 'Presented in Disney Digital 3D') it should come as no surprise that Disney feel strongly about 3D. However, not just the company like it but so too does the investment company of Uncle Walt's nephew Roy. Shamrock Capital has invested $50m in Real D, which has been responsible for the majority of digital stereoscopic installations to date. From the LA Times article:

The investment will give Shamrock and its partners a minority stake in the Beverly Hills company. Real D's overall value is believed to be more than $200 million. Neither company would confirm the figure.

"We've been sniffing around the digital cinema space for a while," Shamrock Capital Growth's managing director, Stephen Royer, said. "It's really the only viable mass-market solution."

Based in Burbank, Shamrock Holdings is the investment vehicle for the family of Roy Disney, nephew of the late Walt Disney.

Shamrock's bet comes as Hollywood has become enamored again with 3-D movies, which some cinema owners believe could help smooth their volatile box-office returns.

Given that Real D's installation underpinned the digital 3D, sorry, Disney Digital 3D releases of 'Chicken Little', 'A Nightmare Before Christmas' and the upcoming 'Meet the Robinsons', it should perhaps be no surprise.

But I wonder if Roy has seen Dolby's new digital 3D solution. The technology is far from perfect - yet - but it has an attractive business model, which is buy the server box and never pay any licence fee. Real D has a good technical solution but a licensing fee that few exhibitors are happy with. More about this in my upcoming ShoWest 2007 summary.