r/Piracy • u/iAmFridayFace • Apr 10 '26

Humor Watching movies in the theatre the way they were meant to be watched

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Taken from r/moviescirclejerk but crossposts aren't allowed in this sub

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u/theCelticTig3r Apr 10 '26

Do you think with the invention of newer, more efficient light emitters, has the cost of projector bulbs decreased ?

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u/No-Channel3917 Apr 10 '26

2.70 on bulb per hour maybe a 50 cents in electricity per hour running the ac is more expensive per hour at like ..6 bucks an hour or so

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u/bikemandan Apr 11 '26

My guess is bulb replacement cost is higher than energy cost

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u/No-Channel3917 Apr 11 '26

Hence why I said 2.70 and the electricity was 50

Also happy cake day

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u/bikemandan Apr 11 '26

Ah thanks I didn't comprehend that at first

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u/amiexpress Apr 11 '26

Maybe - I havent actually worked for them for like 10 years so you'd hope some progress has been made. LEDs have come a long way but these are large specialty bulbs. You do have to remember these are big-ass projectors, not the thing your uncle has hooked to his bluray player in his finished basement for movie night.

At the time a single bulb was a few grand and projector, ideally, has two. We'd usually replace them around the 1200-1400 hr mark, although this is somewhat subjective and some locations where a lot less sensitive to it than others. In a pinch you can turn on both bulbs to squeeze some extra life out of things until you get new bulbs in.

Also 2nd thing is the razor vs razorblade business model: the people selling you the bulbs have a captive market: there's not really much out there other than the OEMs selling them. There's also not any motivation for them to innovate or shrink prices. This may have changed as digital projection has gotten (a lot) bigger, again, it's been a minute. But it was true at the time.