Eastgate: Odeon

The defining feature of the Cinema building is, of course, the Odeon cinema. With a £2.73million price tag, it lies in the mid-range of NBDA's portfolio, whose 60 cinema projects over the past 5 years ranged in cost from £100,000 to £5 million. Having constructed its outer shell, Britannia was awarded a £1.2 million contract to fit out the cinema's interior.

Odeon's main entrance faces the bus interchange, just a few paces from bay 2, and further access to the cinema lobby is possible via the annexed Costa Coffee. Also incorporated into the cinema entrance/snacks counter area is a Ben and Jerry's ice cream bar. Odeon and Travelodge have been described as the 'anchors' of Eastgate, the former providing the leisure core of the quarter. Opened to the public on 11th October 2012, the cinema's footfall has been projected at 300,000 admissions annually.

In promotional materials, the Eastgate Odeon has repeatedly been referred to as a 'multiplex' cinema that offers digital and 3D film projection in every screen room. What is so multiplex about it? There appears to be no solid definition, but in a 1994 report by the UK Monopolies and Mergers Commission (predecessor to today's Competition Commission) a multiplex cinema was defined as:

"a purpose-built cinema with at least five screens and usually offering extensive free parking."

While Eastgate does not offer free parking, its Odeon does meet the former criterion. In later official documentation (VOA 2010), the definition became:

"a purpose-built cinema with at least five screens constructed since January 1985”.

And most recently (in a document directly related to Odeon's activities in Llanelli):

"the exact definition of a multiplex cinema has pointed specifically to cinemas with at least three screens and around 700 seats."

Based on early reports on the cinema's development, there appears to be some discrepancy between what was originally planned and what was eventually constructed. Planning permission for a 'six screen' cinema was granted in April 2010, and Odeon ownership – again, of a six-screen cinema – was announced in late 2011. Yet by July 2012, the number of screens had dropped to five. The likely reason for this change was an acquisition of seven Reel Cinemas, including the Eastgate site, by Odeon in 2011. A takeover agreement was signed on 15th July 2011 and the subsequent development of Llanelli's new cinema saw all five screens fitted with digital technology.

As for the total number of seats: 612 with 13 wheelchair spaces – according to the Odeon website . Generally, this figure has been rounded down to 610, although there are some minor discrepancies between Odeon's own seats-per-screen count and those announced by the Council during construction. Subject to your interpretation of "around 700", Eastgate's use of the term 'multiplex' is fair (albeit vague and a little pointless). Of greater interest is the main auditorium, fitted with 235 seats (according to Odeon; 230 in descriptions by the Council and NBDA) and 3 wheelchair spaces; it also has a particular sound system.

When the Council granted Odeon £20,000 to subsidise the installation of a state-of-the-art 3D sound system in Screen One, the loudest critics in the County couldn't contain themselves. (Shame on those self-serving cinema enthusiast Councillors!)

Deemed the "most advanced sound system of any in the UK", the 24-channel immersive sound system from Catalan sound engineering company, IMM Sound, was at that time way ahead of its competitors. Until early 2012, the norm in cinema audio arrangements consisted of 7 speakers plus 1 subwoofer. The 'Immersive 3D Sound' system leapt into new territory with 24 separate channels for a much larger set-up, placing speakers behind the screen and around the entire room, and with 5 channels dedicated to speakers fixed to the ceiling. It really was a revolutionary installation.

Then, in May 2012, Dolby released its own immersive sound format, Atmos: 128 channels, 64 speakers.

And much like the fate of Reel in Llanelli the previous year, IMM Sound products were discontinued as Dolby acquired the company.

In harnessing the talents and technology of IMM Sound, Dolby hoped to refine its own immersive sound format, contributing to the wider goal of establishing Atmos as the global audio standard in 3D cinema. While it is tempting to suppose that, had the Council waited just a few months longer, Eastgate could have opted for an even greater sound system from the prevailing digital sound pioneers, this is unlikely to have been the case. Dolby have announced that, in their quest for world domination, the first to benefit from upgrades to Atmos will be those cinemas which charge the highest ticket prices.

Thanks to the acquisition, Eastgate Odeon is now one of around 40 European venues equipped with Imm Sound that, now under the Dolby umbrella, is well-positioned become Atmos-ready. And although the new cinema has no need at all to change its current immersive sound system, should its owners upgrade to Atmos in the far future, switching would be a relatively simple expansion to the existing range of speakers and amplification. The know-how of operating a 3D sound system is already in place. For many other cinemas, the costs of upgrading outweigh the benefits.

Of course, regardless of all the spec, the cinema's success rests on customer experience. Have you visited the Odeon in Eastgate recently? How would you rate the customer service, comfort and overall viewing experience?

Does '3D sound' really make any difference?...

People are already sharing plenty of interesting views over on tripadvisor.co.uk and on FourSquare.com – and so should you! But I also love hearing from you directly so please leave a comment below or contact me via: @draigdun / facebook / Google+ / email

Tickets for the Odeon can be purchased online (with a 50p booking fee) here.
A reduced rate scheme 'Bargain Tuesday' offers discount tickets at £4.50.
Check out vouchercodes.co.uk/odeon for other offers.
Official facebook page: facebook.com/ODEON