Disney devotees and other film buffs in owners’ and charter cruising parties love watching movies onboard. While a few services offer newly released movies to superyachts, they’re actually not all following the letter of the law. Mr. Cinema solves the problem, with the backing of the major film studios and a plug-and-play solution.
A few AV companies offer packages to private yachts wherein the owners receive a private license to enjoy movies onboard. This includes some first-run movies, too, still in theaters. The problem, however, is that a private license is strictly for personal viewing and therefore doesn’t extend to charter usage. Charter activity is technically commercial activity, since guests pay to be aboard the yacht. Additionally, a private license does not extend to anyone other than the owners. This therefore means the crew can’t legally enjoy a movie from the subscription service during their downtime. Muddying matters more, the major film studios didn’t widely enforce the licensing requirements. Newly tightened restrictions by the studios, though, means even mainstream streaming services like Netflix are limiting accounts to households.
The superyacht entertainment and IT system specialist Mr. Smith identified this murky situation in its work with owners’ teams. Last fall, it launched a way to watch brand-new movies on your megayacht with the cooperation of studios like Warner Brothers. This service allowed other AV providers to do the same, but since Mr. Smith is a competitor, the team behind it decided to create an agnostic, stand-alone company. Therefore, Mr. Cinema was formed.
Mr. Cinema has a contract with Filmbankmedia, a UK-based distributor working with several Hollywood studios. Five studios are attached so far, according to John Baqar, the “director” of Mr. Cinema. Any superyacht-AV integrator or owners’ team can work with the company to obtain the proper licensing. This provides access to the latest releases initially, though Baqar adds that older films eventually will become available. Furthermore, Baqar says, each of the studios has independently verified the company’s licensing terms and website details.
Those details include how to subscribe. Mr. Cinema has two plans. One, for instance, offers 12 months, under which you receive a maximum of 15 titles per month. For yachts where planned yard periods are coming up, meanwhile, the premium seasonal plan may make more sense. It provides the same benefits as the premium season plan though with an additional a six-month pause. A one-time setup fee applies to either subscription plan, incorporating the plug-and-play hardware.
Mr. Cinema anticipates shipping the first hardware in April.
Mr. Cinema mrcinema.nl
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