Recession helping Kodak on motion pictures
- Thread starter bmattock
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dfoo
Well-known
Did you see the rise in EK on Friday? Their stock looks very underpriced to me at this point, especially with the 11% dividend!
bmattock
Veteran
I have been watching their stock very carefully, with an eye towards investing. Full disclosure, I do not at the present time own any shares of EK.
I suspect an investment in EK would be a contrarian play, but at the price, little downside. If the company were broken up at this point or sold, the valuation of their assets would be more than their market cap, so it's nearly a no-lose.
I want very much for Kodak to survive and do well, so I have an unfortunate emotional state as well, doesn't help me to stay objective.
Tuolumne
Veteran
Buy gold.
/T
/T
dfoo
Well-known
Their cash - debt alone is higher than their market cap. The street basically values the company, their products, their staff and their assets at less than zero!
I don't directly own any of their stock (yet).
dfoo
Well-known
Already done that before the big rise of last year. It rose, I sold some off, then it fell, then I was at a loss. Now its risen again, and I'm in the green again, for now. Its very volatile.
bmattock
Veteran
Remember that old advice about buying low and selling high? Gold is trading at stupid high prices right now. Why on earth would I buy it?
Tuolumne
Veteran
bmattock
Veteran
Inflation is currently well-controlled. I know, I have some inflation-indexed bonds, and at the moment, they're in negative territory.
http://in.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idINNYS00479920090206
Demand may spike gold prices higher, but not inflation. I doubt gold hits anything much over $1,000 an ounce in the next year or so, but I am no expert on gold - it very well may. If it does, I'll have missed an opportunity.
However, my beliefs have always centered around traditional investing in companies that make goods and services I understand. I don't sell short or engage in derivatives trading, I stay out of markets I don't understand, and I think that the floor is currently littered with great buys waiting to be picked up by astute investors.
And as strange as it may seem, buying US company stocks is helping the economy get back on its feet. Betting against it doing so is essentially pessimistic on America.
aad
Not so new now.
I expect/fear inflation will become the big issue soon enough. I don't think gold is necessarily the wise choice, though.
Back on topic, most of our screens are digital now, and they really are awful. Much more dim than the film screens were, to the point that I may end up watching movies at home exclusively.
Back on topic, most of our screens are digital now, and they really are awful. Much more dim than the film screens were, to the point that I may end up watching movies at home exclusively.
bmattock
Veteran
Interesting. I haven't been to a movie since, I think, "Spiderman 2." What was that, 2004? And it was the first one I had been to in years prior to that. I just don't go to movies anymore - the no longer offer any advantage to me over staying home.
We've got the big screen, we've got the surround sound, neither my wife nor I are all that worried about waiting a year or so for a hit movie to come to DVD (and usually the show up much sooner anyway), and we don't get hit with the high price of a bag of popcorn or some ill-mannered children and their social-criminal parents running around acting the fool. Hey, we can even hit 'pause' and make a bio break when called upon by nature.
At the Spiderman 2 movie I mentioned, the air conditioning went out - it got beastly hot in there, and that was July in North Carolina. I finally got up to tell the management about it, and their response was that the theater was slated to be torn down in a year or so anyway, so they were not planning to pay to have it fixed. Fair enough - I never returned.
So I really don't know how good or bad movie screens are these days. I have abandoned them to the hooligans.
sjw617
Panoramist
I don't see how this is good for Kodak. There are 4,000 theaters who have already decided to convert to digital and will as soon as they can afford to do so. With more 3D and HD movies coming there will be a bigger push to have state of the art equptment in theaters (and that is not film).
Because of the tough times some theaters will close and people are staying home more watching DVD's. And the high prices theaters charge for a ticket and snacks are hurting them very much. Buying a DVD is the almost the same as a ticket price these days. DVD's and downloads are available very soon after a pictures release and that will hurt theaters more as the economy stagnates for the next year or so.
Because of the tough times some theaters will close and people are staying home more watching DVD's. And the high prices theaters charge for a ticket and snacks are hurting them very much. Buying a DVD is the almost the same as a ticket price these days. DVD's and downloads are available very soon after a pictures release and that will hurt theaters more as the economy stagnates for the next year or so.
Tuolumne
Veteran
Trillions of dollars in bailouts world-wide says inflation will not be well controlled. The presses are already running to pay for it. Not worth saying much more about. I have my position; you have yours. Let's meet back here on Feb. 8, 2011 and see who was right.
/T
Tuolumne
Veteran
But back on topic, I don't go to first run movie houses very often (what a terrible experience they have become, at least here in Bergen County), but I have never seen a theater with digital projection. Does anyone know of any in this neck of the woods?
/T
/T
dfoo
Well-known
I was noticing the last time I saw a movie that the picture seemed quite dim. I wonder if that was because it was projected digitally? That never occurred to me...
lic4
Well-known
most of film "industry" is geared to people 15-30 in age. think about a first date - not so many invite the date over to watch a DVD. I think theaters will be fine , there was a similar worry when the rising popularity of TV threatened cinema a few decades ago. What will suffer is the availability of the film image based on simple economics. I've seen 2k/4k films on the most state of the art projections, and it looks crisp and clean but isn't the image we remember as kids. The problem with digital projection I have is that the quality of projection can vary amongst projectors greater than that of film projectors. It's easier to screw up an HD projection, and I have a feeling that the megatheaters don't really give a damn about the optimal image.
Care can still be found in local small theaters that invest in foreign and independent films, with a care of projection (be it film or digital) that is much greater than what you'll find at the mega theater. Not to mention, they will provide a selection of titles that emphasize and explore the beauty of the craft in a way that photographers would understand. Please check them out!
Care can still be found in local small theaters that invest in foreign and independent films, with a care of projection (be it film or digital) that is much greater than what you'll find at the mega theater. Not to mention, they will provide a selection of titles that emphasize and explore the beauty of the craft in a way that photographers would understand. Please check them out!
bmattock
Veteran
I would if I liked independent and foreign films, but in general, I don't. In fact, I'm not really that big on TV or movies at all, unless it is an old copy of The Thing Man movies or that TV show, 'House', which I've come to enjoy.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
So ... the the inevitable relentless march of digital into the motion picture industry has been slowed by the recession. A mere bump in the road realistically! 🙂
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