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Silicon Valley’s foray into streaming continues with Xcinex’s Venue, a new platform that enables viewers to stream movies, live concerts, comedy shows, sporting events, and theatrical productions. According to Deadline, Xcinex believes that its new system will be especially successful in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there’s a major catch: the Venue system will use scanning technology to count the number of viewers in the room and charges accordingly.

Xcinex’s business model is built on a revenue-share agreement with local theaters, concert venues, sports leagues, and the like. As the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the U.S., live event venues have come under immense financial pressure, but Venue gives them an opportunity to recover some of their lost profit. Deadline reports that the new technology is scheduled to be released by the end of the year, which could give these venues a much-needed boost during the holiday season.

CEO and Founder Cihan Fuat Atkin insists that the company’s focus on “ticketed entertainment” is the future for at-home viewing. Many video on demand releases cost as much as $20 for a single rental, a price point that tends to dissuade solo viewers. This is where Venue comes in: single viewers could pay less for a movie rental, while couples or families interested in streaming a theatrical show or new film release have the opportunity to support local theaters by paying per viewer. Xcinex’s technology also gives parents a financial (and literal) break, as they can queue up a kids’ movie and leave the room to ensure that only their children are “ticketed.”

As for Xcinex’s controversial scanning technology, Atkin told Deadline that it functions more like a tally counter than an AI face scan. “I wouldn’t say ‘monitored.’ I would say ‘head count,'” he said. “It doesn’t do facial recognition. It just makes sure that the number of people in the room matches the number of tickets.”

Atkin added that the data collected by the Venue system “never leaves our ecosystem” to ensure users’ privacy. “It’s encrypted end to end and we’re taking all of the precautions beyond industry standards to make sure that it’s not accessible by anybody,” he said. “It’s machine vision, so there’s no human being looking at a monitor.”

Like Roku or Amazon Fire Stick devices, Xcinex’s Venue will offer additional free and subscription streaming options on its main menu. However, due to its additional on demand and pay-per-view content, the Venue device will be priced at $49, slightly higher than its competitors. Atkin told Deadline that Xcinex customers will “have access to everything [competitors] provide, plus access to content that nobody provides.” Added the CEO, “The only other option besides us is to go to the physical venue, whether it’s a comedy show or a concert or a new movie.”

For more information about the Venue system (or to pre-order), head to Xcinex’s website.