NEC announces advanced features for The STARUS Digital Cinema Screen Server

http://blog.manice.org/2007/03/nec-announces-advanced-features-for.html

March 13, 2007

NEC Corporation of America has announced enhancements to its STARUS screen server at ShoWest 2007, allowing theatre operators to easily build and manage playlists that support both JPEG2000 and MPEG2 files.

In addition to providing simple scheduling and playlist administration, the new screen server also incorporates an improved user interface to minimize training and accelerate adoption.

"As the digital cinema industry continues to grow, it is essential for exhibitors to be able to use and operate the technology with ease and ensure a pleasurable cinema experience," said Kurt Schwenk, general manager, Digital Cinema Division of NEC Corporation of America. "Our newly available screen server technologies simplify the process of presenting digital movies on multiple screens, while ensuring seamless integration of systems in a multiplex without compromising content security."

NEC's STARUS screen server supports 3D films and enables 2K and 4K playback. It also meets cinema industry standards providing enhanced security features, including CineLink II encryption and both Thomson's NexGuard and Philips' CineFence forensic watermarking technologies.

The new STARUS screen server offers selected multiplex functionality, allowing multiplex control at the screen server level so that the theatre operators can remotely monitor all servers within the multiplex from any one server. It also enables screen servers to continue running scheduled playlists, even in the case of a network outage.

With enhanced software components, the STARUS screen server complements the family of STARUS digital cinema projectors with DLP Cinema technology from Texas Instruments. NEC is the only supplier that delivers a complete digital cinema solution. This new screen server offering enhances the company's integration services for system-wide delivery and management of digital content, and supports its world-class expertise in visual display products and infrastructure.

Many world famous premier theatres have installed NEC's Digital Cinema Solution to deliver state-of-the-art presentations, including the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Clearview Cinemas' Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, Mann's Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Mann's Village Theatre in Westwood, Mann's Criterion Theatre in Santa Monica, Mann's Bruin Theatre in Westwood, and ArcLight Cinema's Cinerama Dome in Hollywood.

STARUS screen servers are available now.