Barco and Cine Colombia S.A. expand digital cinema's reach in Latin America

http://www.barco.com/digitalcinema/pressrelease/2417/

Cine Colombia S.A., Colombia's largest exhibitor, and Barco, Latin America's largest digital cinema distributor, expand their solid partnership with an agreement that includes Barco DP-1500 projectors and ACS-2048 multi-format switchers.

Sacramento, CA — 23 October 2009 — Barco, a global leader in digital cinema technology, today announced an agreement with Cine Colombia S.A. to supply 20 Barco DP-1500 digital projection systems to multiple theatre sites throughout Colombia. Each projector will be 2D/3D capable, and each will be configured with Barco's ACS-2048 “alternate content” switcher.

As a progressive exhibitor with over 200 screens in operation across Colombia, Cine Colombia is not new to the digital cinema domain — nor are they new to Barco. Throughout the remainder of 2009, the first new Barco deployments will be placed in Cine Colombia sites in the major population centers of Bogota, Cali and Medellin. Starting in 2010, Cine Colombia will deploy additional Barco projection systems in the country's secondary markets of Cartagena, Barranquilla, Pereira, Armenia and Manizales.

The digital cinema package selected by Cine Colombia is ideal for the market. The DP-1500 is purpose-built for screens up to 15m (49') wide, and offers Barco quality and reliability in an affordable and compact package. The ACS-2048 is the perfect peripheral for all Barco digital cinema installations. This eight input “universal” switcher enables exhibitors to scale both analog and digital inputs up to the full digital cinema format. In this way, Cine Colombia can expand each theatre's revenue stream, as a versatile presentation facility for events, businesses, meetings and more.

“Our mandate is quality and excellence, and Barco provides exactly what we are looking for,” said Munir Falah, President and CEO of Cine Colombia. “Because of their product performance, reliability and value, we're advancing our partnership with Barco. We have worked with other manufacturers, and we choose carefully. Barco's reputation of excellence is well-earned.”

Cine Colombia's notable expansion comes just as ShowEast commences in Orlando, Florida. Because ShowEast draws a large contingent of exhibitors from all across Latin America, a significant portion of the exhibition's programming is specifically modeled for the attendees from South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

“We're honored to again be working closely with Colombia's largest exhibitor, and helping them expand the magic of digital cinema throughout the world's third largest Spanish-speaking country,” said Scott Freidberg, Barco's Vice President of Sales for Digital Cinema, NA. “Cine Colombia has truly recognized both the success and the investments that Barco has created in Latin America, and by their actions, it's evident that they choose only the finest partners. Their theatres are in the best locations, the equipment is superb, their staff is excellent, and each theatre provides customers with an unsurpassed environment in which to watch a movie.”

About Cine Colombia S.A.

CINE COLOMBIA was founded in 1927 in Colombia. Since then, it has evolved into one of the largest and most important motion picture exhibition and distribution companies in Latin America. With over 31 theaters and 200 movie screens, the company today stands as the largest movie circuit in Colombia and serves over 10 million guests annually in over 10 cities around the country. Next year, Cine Colombia will be inaugurating three more theaters with 27 new screens, for a total of 34 theaters by the end of 2010.
Cine Colombia´s high standards of service and innovation have been part of the reason for its undisputed place as the number one market share leader in Colombia, despite the presence of numerous players and foreign movie chains in the Colombian market over the past 20 years.
The company's commitment to technological development was evident when it became the first movie company in Colombia to implement a digital projector in 2007. In 2008, seven new digital projection systems were installed. Its recent acquisition of 20 projectors from Barco attests to Cine Colombia's pledge to be a forerunner in technological developments. By 2010, nearly every one of Cine Colombia's theaters will have a digital projector, demonstrating, once more, why it is the best choice for those seeking a variety of movies and entertainment content in Colombia.

About Barco

Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3300 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 725 million euro in 2008.