Originally built in the 1940s, The Rio Theatre is the only movie theater in the rural town of Sweet Home, Oregon. In 2019, they added an additional, smaller auditorium and selected the NEC NC1000C for the screen projector. Beyond being easy to operate, extremely user-friendly and requiring minimal maintenance, the NEC projectors make the owner’s life much easier in other ways as well. From the installation of the first NEC projector in 2019 to 2023, the number of customers coming into The Rio Theatre has doubled.
Background
Originally built in the 1940s, The Rio Theatre is the only movie theater in the rural town of Sweet Home, Oregon – population 9,000. As a destination town north of Eugene, outdoor activities are dominant throughout all the seasons and indoor venues rarely sell-out. That was until Thomas Baham and his wife established The Rio Theatre. In 2015, Thomas Baham purchased and renovated The Rio Theatre, located on Main Street. Today, The Rio has two auditoriums, which can seat a total of 225 people between them. The Rio shows at least one film a day and often rents out the smaller auditorium for VIP and dinner theater events. The Rio’s key attractions include comfy, recliner seating and food service customers can order directly from their seats, all at competitive pricing compared to big-name theater chains in larger cities nearby.
Upgrading to Stay Current
To maintain quality customer experience and satisfaction, The Rio Theatre strives to remodel one area each year. In 2019, they added an additional, smaller auditorium and selected the NEC NC1000C for the screen projector. When selecting a projector, price was the biggest factor that led Baham to purchase the NEC NC1000C. Not only was the list price right, but the NEC NC1000C runs with much less heat and energy than other models due to automatic lamp brightness control. Baham also says the projector quality exceeded expectations upon installation – “It looks like a 4K projector despite being 2K,” he said. And with lightbulbs 90% cheaper than the previous projector, Baham reports the NEC NC1000C only needs to use 23% of its brightness capacity, meaning it will last longer and remain brighter than other solutions. In 2022, they upgraded the main/bigger auditorium from an outmoded projector to an NEC NC2041L 4K Laser. Baham’s decision to upgrade the projector rested largely on the incomparable quality of the product. “My first reaction was, wow! It’s absolutely gorgeous!” The NEC NC2041L 4K Laser also has 3D capabilities, which Baham plans to explore in the future.
Beyond being easy to operate, extremely user-friendly and requiring minimal maintenance, the NEC projectors make the owner’s life much easier in other ways as well. Baham is able to pre-set the commercials, movies and credits to run on the projectors all from his phone.
Quality Raises the Bar, Not Prices
From the installation of the first NEC projector in 2019 to 2023, the number of customers coming into The Rio Theatre has doubled. The owner says, “Despite our town being a destination for outdoor activities, we are finding people are not disappearing – we are gaining customers. A lot of people come from out of town to watch our films.”
Baham also remains insistent that prices will not increase – current ticket prices range from $5 for matinees to $12 for the dual-recliner seating. Great prices, online seat selections, and unbeatable viewing quality means that The Rio is often sold-out.
What’s next for Thomas Baham and The Rio Theatre? Upcoming plans for 2023 and beyond include projecting from wall-to-wall in his theaters, which he says will be easily achievable using his NEC projectors. Also, in the planning stages, upgrading the current sound system from Dolby 7.1 Audio to Dolby’s newest technology, “Atmos”, sound system in the bigger auditorium.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
