Christie sets 4K upgrade for next year

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/technology/news/e3i6c3a49109c5609b6cb824f847c518680

 

Barco, NEC expected to follow suit

 

By Carl DiOrio

June 18, 2009, 07:30 PM ET

A day after DLP Cinema said it would make 4K chips available to digital-cinema vendors in 2010, Christie Digital confirmed Thursday that it will have 4K projectors on the market by the end of next year.

Barco and NEC are expected to follow suit, with all three hardware vendors also planning to introduce upgrades to their respective 2K offerings using DLP's next-generation of 2K chips and electronics.

Christie's 2K upgrades will be available for theater installations in first-half 2010; the 4K hardware is expected to begin shipping sometime in the second half of that year.

"The successful implementation of more than 7,000 installations around the world has provided us with a unique wealth of knowledge and experience," Christie Digital USA president Jack Kline said. "As we move into the second decade of digital-cinema projection, we recognize the need for our exhibitor partners to have an even wider choice of projectors."

About 80% of the industry's movie screens will continue to use 2K digital systems indefinitely, Kline estimated, while the balance will be 4K and largely involve the biggest screen sizes.