Entertainment

I tried home-streaming new movies with the $150,000 setup the super-rich swear by

Jason Guerrasio and Courtney Verrill

2016-05-04T14:35:52Z

The debate over Sean Parker's Screening Room startup, which would let people stream movies still playing in theaters from home, rages on. But the rich and famous have been doing exactly that for years now.

Prima Cinema provides its customers — including top CEOs and celebrities — with first-run movies to stream in their living rooms and private screening rooms, and it has the full support of the movie studios. Though it comes at a much higher cost for customers than what Parker is proposing.

So how much would you have to spend to watch first-run movies from home like the super-rich? And what does it involve?

I got a glimpse of the luxury Prima experience (and learned how much it costs once you set up everything) while visiting the showroom of electronic manufacturer Crestron.

Let's imagine this is your living room. (It's actually the showroom of Crestron, where I tried the Prima setup.)

And you have a top-of-the-line flatscreen TV. Prima requires that you have a screen that's at least 100 inches on the diagonal.

If you're famous and money is not a problem — if you're, say, Leonardo DiCaprio — Prima is the best way to watch movies currently in theaters while avoiding the headache of being spotted in public.

With Prima, you can watch the upcoming "Jason Bourne" movie as soon as it's out in theaters, but from your comfy couch. You'll need a few things first, though...

This summer, Prima is releasing its higher-resolution 4k version. It has multiplex-quality picture, and the company has teamed with Dolby to provide top-notch sound. The main device will cost you around $50,000.

If you own a screening room, you'll need a projector. A 4k projector will run you around $90,000.

If you'd rather watch on your TV, your Prima can be hooked up to that.

This is where your experience begins. Prima has fingerprint ID security as part of its anti-piracy security. Potential customers also get background checks to make sure they have good intentions.

That means you have to swipe your finger on the device to start the movie. Every time. Each viewing of a movie costs $500.

You can then sit back and enjoy movies from the studios Prima has signed deals with, including Universal and Paramount.

The footage I watched looked noticeably better than the picture you get from a Blu-ray disc.

But if you've already spent this much, why not go all out? No one likes turning off lights and closing blinds by hand. Crestron can provide the ultimate movie-watching experience by powering the Prima, lights, and automatic blinds with one remote. Price: $10,000-$15,000 for programming and hardware.

#Crestron #PrimaCinema

A video posted by Jason Guerrasio (@jasonguerrasio) on May 3, 2016 at 10:33am PDTMay 3, 2016 at 10:33am PDT

The grand total for this kind of experience: $155,000 if you're using a projector; $65,000 to hook up to a flatscreen TV (plus $500 every time you watch a movie).

Learn more about Prima Cinema and Crestron.

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