Christie, Dolby, Lianzhong and Ace To Spur Digital Cinema in China

http://www.digitalcinemainfo.com/christiedigitalcinema_12_22_08.php

December 22, 2008

Source: Christie

Christie, Dolby Laboratories (Dolby), Lianzhong (LZ) and Advanced Communication Equipment (ACE) International Co., Ltd. have joined forces to contribute to the growth of China’s digital cinema industry. 100 Christie DLP Cinema® projectors will be installed in Wuhan-based theatres located in Hubei, Henan, Jiangsu, Shanghai and a number of other Chinese cities. The partnership marks another major milestone in the local cinema industry after the digital cinema roll-out by state-owned China Film Group Corp. and Shanghai Film Group Corp.

Installation will take 15 days, with all 4 companies aiming to complete the project within the shortest possible time frame. Twenty systems, including Christie DLP Cinema projectors, will be installed in cinemas by the end of this year.

The four party effort seeks to accomplish the following: first, the collaboration – will focus on using the most up-to-date technology. “With the rapid development of the Chinese digital cinema industry, we have to complete the task of digitalization in a fast but effective manner. This is the main reason why we decided to work with the world’s leading companies, comments Chen Dunliang, president, Lianzhong. “The quality and reliability of Christie’s digital projectors and Dolby’s server system are the reasons why they were selected for this project. Their experience and in-depth knowledge of the Chinese film market will definitely ensure excellent local technical support and services. By collaborating with Christie and Dolby, we’re sure we can help enhance the quality and the standard of the local films significantly,” said Dunliang.

The digital cinema deployment allows for the diversification of investments. Lianzhong is a consortium jointly managed by five cinema circuits and six corporations. Since its inception, the consortium has been concentrating on diversifying its own and foreign investments. To achieve the required return, it will adopt a unified management for all of its digital film distribution, advertising and technical and service support. They will also explore new ways of working with their counterparts to become a stronger consortium.

Finally, the collaboration addresses a need to work with leading companies in the industry. ACE is the main local supplier of imported film equipment and maintains good business standing with excellent service support. Shanghai Paradise Film and Television Technologies Corp. is a well-known professional cinema system integration company. With their joint efforts, integration safety levels and sales turnover for the film-to-digital conversion will have a profound impact on China’s cinema industry.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television recently announced that it will focus on digital cinema projection in the year 2009. The collaborative effort to install digital projection systems in China will help elevate the country’s cinema industry to a new level.