Arts Alliance Media push digital rollout in Spain

http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=43573

Chris Evans in Madrid

09 Mar 2009 19:00

 Arts Alliance Media (AAM) has signed a deal with Yelmo Cines, one of Spain's leading exhibitors to extend their digital offerings adding a further 18 digital screens across Spain with 3D and satellite capabilities.

Yelmo Cines already has five digital screens at its Isla Azol multiplex in Madrid thanks to an agreement signed last summer with AAM and equipment installer Suministros Kelonik.

One impetus for the expansion is the expected roster of 3D films in 2009.

"We plan to convert all the new screens to digital and 3D within the next two to three months," Rafael Urio, Yelmo Cines COO, confirmed to ScreenDaily. "We want to get them ready for the major 3D films coming out this year."

There are 15 3D releases scheduled so far for Spain in 2009, including James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular Avatar and Robert Zemeckis' fantasy A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey, both to be released in November.

However, the 23 digitised Yelmo Cine screens would still only constitute 6% of the total number of their screens in Spain (370). This reflects the overall picture in Spain where pick up of digital screens has been very slow.

The only other chains to install the digital projectors are Cinesa and Kinepolis, bringing the total number of digital screens across the country so far to only 39, out of nearly 5,000 in total.

"We are waiting for the right economic model before we push ahead with digitizing all our screens," insists Urio. Yelmo Cines has funded the digitization through private funding, rather than the virtual print fee (VPF) model which AAM is pushing across Europe.

The smaller and more independent nature of European cinema has meant that it has proved more difficult for many European exhibitors to adopt the VPF as a funding model than for their American counterparts.

That said Arts Alliance Media have confirmed that they are in discussions with Yelmo and other exhibitors in Spain about using the VPF model in the future.

Gwendal Auffret, senior vice president, digital cinema, Arts Alliance Media, commented on the partnership: "We are very proud to be moving forward in our collaboration with a major cinema chain like Yelmo Cines. Digital cinema, 3D and alternative content will certainly be huge assets to exhibitors, in particular in Spain where the market has been tough in the past few ears. We believe Yelmo is right in being forward thinking and taking the lead with this technology as they have always done before."

Fernando Evole, CEO of Yelmo Cines added: "The digital cinema trial that we have been carrying out at Isla Azul has been a great success and now we are very excited about our partnership with AAM to deploy digital systems for 3D at 18 of our sites. At the same time we will keep working together with our partner AAM to expand digital cinema in Spain."

The additional Yelmo digital screens will be situated across Spain, including Madrid, Tenerife, Oviedo, Las Palmas, Gijon, Peurta de Alicante, Malaga, Barcelona, La Coruna and Albacete.

 

Spain's Yelmo and Arts Alliance plan 18 new digital screens

http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/news-and-features/news/digital-cinema/e3idb7a65553a4b13f66313d700e61f2ea1

March 10, 2009

Arts Alliance Media (AAM), Europe’s leading digital-cinema provider, and Yelmo Cines, one of Spain’s largest exhibition chains, announced an agreement to equip 18 new screens in 18 different sites throughout their chain with digital cinema, 3D and satellite capabilities. The deal follows AAM’s installation of digital projection equipment in five screens at Yelmo’s Isla Azul complex in Madrid last summer.

AAM will procure, install, service and maintain all equipment in conjunction with its local integrator partner, Suministros Kelonik, Spain’s leading equipment installer. Yelmo and AAM have jointly selected Christie projectors and Doremi servers for the deployment.

Gwendal Auffret, AAM’s senior VP, digital cinema, said, “We are very proud to be moving forward in our collaboration with a major cinema chain like Yelmo Cines. Digital cinema, 3D and alternative content will certainly be huge assets to exhibitors, in particular in Spain, where the market has been tough in the past few years. We believe Yelmo is right in being forward-thinking and taking the lead with this technology as they have always done before.”

Fernando Evole, CEO of Yelmo Cines added, “The digital-cinema trial that we have been carrying out at Isla Azul has been a great success and now we are very excited about our partnership with AAM to deploy digital systems for 3D at 18 of our sites. At the same time, we will keep working together with our partner AAM to expand digital cinema in Spain.” The ultimate goal is to digitize all of Yelmo’s screens.

Arts Alliance Media has installed and is operating over 500 digital screens across Europe—in the U.K., France, The Netherlands and Norway, as well as in Spain.
AAM was the first European digital-cinema provider in Europe to sign virtual print fee deals with studios and exhibitors, and is currently engaged in discussions with distributors and exhibitors to further the rollout of digital screens across Europe.

 

XDC digital rollout receives 50 million euro backing

http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/news-and-features/news/digital-cinema/e3idb7a65553a4b13f6399e002af9d2f82a

March 10, 2009

Fortis Bank committed to funding the first bond series of 50 million euros for the financing of XDC’s rollout of digital-cinema equipment across Europe, as part of a mandate to arrange 100 million euros in financing. The credit facility will be available for drawdown upon fulfillment of certain conditions, including satisfactory documentation. Closing is expected by mid-April for the first major financing deal in the European digital-cinema industry.

Last year, XDC executed Digital Cinema Deployment Agreements with six major Hollywood studios, after which the company started the first deployment with European exhibitors and the support of European distributors.

The commitment by Fortis Bank will now enable XDC to complete the first phase of its virtual print fee-based rollout. With the total 100 million euros, XDC will be able to finance more than 2,000 digital screens across different European countries.

Last December, XDC raised an additional six million euros, half from its existing shareholders and half from the Société Régionale d’Investissement de Wallonie.

 

Vue Entertainment adding 200 RealD screens

http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/news-and-features/news/digital-cinema/e3idb7a65553a4b13f63ea246205b0ee8a3

March 10, 2009

U.K. theatre circuit Vue Entertainment is adding 200 RealD 3D screens. The rollout has already begun with an installation at Vue’s flagship location in Leicester Square, London. Additional RealD systems are ready for installation immediately as new screens are added monthly at Vue cinemas.

“Vue prides itself on providing the most compelling cinema experience available and RealD 3D will give our audience a new and exciting way to experience movies,” said Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Entertainment.

“This alliance with the U.K.’s leading exhibitor furthers RealD as the market leader in the U.K. and is a reflection of our continued expansion across Europe,” declared Michael V. Lewis, chairman and CEO of RealD.

RealD’s technology is deployed across the world’s largest 3D platform in 34 countries with over 1,700 screens today and nearly 6,000 additional screens under contract.

Vue has 62 cinemas with 607 screens and attracts more than 32 million customers a year. It is the market leader in the London market and has the second largest box-office market share in the U.K.

 

ISDCF To Hold Demo Of 3D Luminance Levels

Posted by J. Sperling Reich | March 9, 2009 10:17 pm

Ever wonder what digital 3D would look like at 14 foot-lamberts (ftL) rather than the dim 4 ftL at which it is usually projected?  If so then you’ll want to sign up for a 3D demo being held by  the Inter-Society Digital Cinema Forum (ISDCF).  On March 24th at the AMC Burbank 16 in Burbank, CA, the ISDCF will be screening a clip reel of 3D material at multiple luminance levels including 4.5, 6, 10, and 14 ftL luminance.  The same material will be screened at two separate demos, one at 10:00 am and one at 12:00 pm.  If these screenings times fill up there is talk that an 8:00 am session will be added.

ISDCF is being careful to let attendees know their demo is for educational purposes only.  It is not a test and no recommendations will be made upon its completion.  The purpose of the demonstration is to show industry professionals how different luminance levels impact the projection of digital 3D images and to help initiate discussion.

Clips being shown represent the usual round up of 3D titles including “Polar Express”, “Beowulf”, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” and “U2:3D” among others.  The content will be projected across a 62’ throw onto a 35’ silver screen using a Christie projector outfitted with RealD’s 3D system.  The address of the demo is as follows:

AMC Burbank 16
125 E. Palm Avenue
Burbank, CA 91502

More information about the demo and a link to RSVP can be found here.

***************

Agreement for Attending Inter-Society Digital Cinema Forum (ISDCF)-3D Luminance Demonstration 

The ISDCF has arranged for a demonstration of various 3D luminance levels to allow industry professionals to view and understand the trade-offs with different luminance levels. This is not a test and ISDCF will not be making any recommendations at the conclusion of these demonstrations. The single goal is for presentation and open discussion during these presentations as we evaluate the impact -good and bad- of the various luminance levels. 

With that understanding, we wish to encourage open and honest discussion during the sessions.  While open participation is welcome, unless the commenter states otherwise, all comments heard in the course of this demonstration are private and off-the-record, and the sources of the comments are confidential. You may not publish or present such comments and their sources in a public manner, including press and other open means of communication.  By participating in this demonstration, you agree to these restrictions.  

 

 

 

Sensio Obtains a First Key Patent in the United States for its Sensio 3D Technology

http://www.digitalcinemainfo.com/sensiotechnologies_03_02_09.php

March 2, 2009

Source: Sensio Technologies

SENSIO Technologies, inventor of the SENSIO 3D technology, announces that it has been granted its first main patent for its distribution and formatting technology of stereoscopic contents on different 2D or 3D screens. This patent covers the method that has been developed and marketed by SENSIO for many years and which allows the distribution of 3D content over conventional 2D distribution channels.

“The acquisition of this first patent is a major event in our company’s history, because it confirms the legitimacy and solidity of our intellectual property towards studios and manufacturers and supports our licensed business sales model. Going forward, our customers and partners wishing to use the SENSIO® 3D technology will be able to move ahead by knowing that they can rely on a solid basis and on a clearly defined intellectual property, which puts us in a favorable position vis-à-vis our competitors. With this patent in hand and the recently announced developments, we believe that we have significantly increased our chances to become the 3D distribution standard for the consumer market”, said Nicholas Routhier, SENSIO’s President and CEO.

This patent, delivered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), gives SENSIO the exclusive operating rights for its compression and decompression method on the U.S. territory. As delivered, this patent extends beyond the home theatre market and notably to the professional, personal computer and mobile telephony markets. It takes effect as of the date of the filing of the application in 2003, and remains in force for a period of twenty years. The same patent was also filed in China, Europe, Japan, India and Canada. The acceptance of our patent by the USPTO will help us with our current steps and we remain confident that we will obtain the certification in these countries”, explained Nicholas Routhier.

Several other patents to come

Following the patent application filing which has just been approved, a patent of addition was filed in 2004 covering namely different applications of the technology. As the main patent gives a certain degree of latitude, several patents of addition may be added over time so as to protect the technology’s evolutionary aspects and thus ensure its competitiveness. As well, three other patent applications were filed during the last six months, and they are currently following the normal certification procedure. ‘‘As a technological company, our intellectual property is our greatest asset and we have adopted an approach aimed at increasing our intellectual property portfolio in order to stay at the forefront and increase the value of our company. The acquisition of our first patent is perceived as an important approval of our approach and we have every confidence in our future patents’’, added Mr. Étienne Fortin, Chief Technological Officer at SENSIO.

 

Proof That All-Digital Cinema Uses Less Electricity (Now and Later)

http://greenscreenblog.com/?p=175

 

Scott McCollum on February 26th, 2009

Look, I understand why you believe that digital cameras are mechanical and soulless. I know all the reasons you can give about how 35mm film with all of it’s warm, grainy goodness is the only medium that can truly capture your artistic vision.  I went to film school, too.

However, it’s an emotional reaction to pick film stock over digital HD and justify your emotional choice with a “digital is just as bad for the environment” missive. The facts are on the side of going all digital.

The bulky cameras full of electric motors used to turn film reels that after a solid century of use still only record a few minutes at a time before needing to be changed. The gallons of toxic chemicals that cannot be recycled that are required to expose those film reels. While the industry has progressed to a point where editing a film with a blade and tape is as rare as a Republican with a diary on Daily Kos, the practice of editing 35mm film digitally requires scanning and encoding every frame into a computer-friendly format–which has an associated electric cost (both financial and ecological).

Contrast this to all-digital productions: professional HD cameras have image capture tech specs that are almost indistinguishable from 35mm film cameras while requiring fewer lumens (lowering the electricity cost for lighting) and almost no stopping for storage media changes (increasing overall production efficiency). Because the raw footage (if you can call it that) does not require scanning and encoding, there’s no additional cost for post production.

Here’s where the film maven will pull a “gotcha” by saying that the cost for electricity to run all of the computers during post is astronomical. The argument is that if you count up all of the computers in the editing bays, the VFX render farms, and the terrabytes of hard drives required for storage on servers that run 24/7, then it’s basically a wash… and if there’s no real cost savings then we ought to just shoot on 35mm film!

That’s completely wrong. Any computer from a major manufacturer in the last eight years adheres to the Energy Star standard. Even the quad-core powered monsters following the latest Energy Star requirements only use a maximum of 95W while idle. That’s not bad considering the coffee maker in your house right now uses eight times that amount.

Another criticism from the “film only” camp is that if cinema goes all-digital we’ll be trading a harsh toxic photochemical process for an electricity-sucking nightmare of production houses with rooms full of server-class computers required to render each digital frame of a movie in 4K  HD. The argument from the film only crowd is that because those servers use so much power and create so much heat, the overall carbon footprint created by an all-digital production isn’t that much different than filming on 35mm and then converting to digital later. That’s not true because not only are servers now more powerful and energy efficient than ever before, their computing power can be multiplied through virtualization–a process that helps reduce the number of physical machines by consolidating the workloads of multiple computers onto a single physical server.

There have been studies done proving the energy savings by “virtualizing” servers. One study published at Software Enabled Earth shows an interesting chart of the lessened electricity usage when combining the work of ten servers onto a single server:

That nets out to decreased overall energy usage and no toxic chemicals for those of us in the all-digital camp. I guess that blows holes in the “you might as well just shoot on film” theory.

There are even more reasons to be optimistic about all-digital cinema because the energy savings for digital cinema will only get better on increasingly powerful and lower cost equipment. That’s the benefit of Moore’s Law. The upcoming eight-core Intel processor will use 1/7000th the power of the processors they manufactured in 1971. That means if the fuel efficiency of automobiles had improved at the same rate a car would get 200,000 miles per gallon. The typical driver could put one gallon in their gas tank at the dealer and never have to stop at a gas station again for the life of the car (and still have plenty of fuel left over).

So there are clear and measurable benefits for every studio/producer/director to go all-digital. C’mon, if digital media was so awful for artistic content then Apple wouldn’t be selling millions of iPods every year.

The Next Format War: 3D TVs Coming 2010 - Will Avatar Be The Killer App? | /Film

http://today3d.blogspot.com/2009/03/next-format-war-3d-tvs-coming-2010-will.html

 

"No sooner has Blu-Ray seen off HD-DVD with it’s knobbly knocking stick than another format war starts brewing in, quite literally, the R&D labs. According to a report in Video Business, Panasonic are looking to launch their first 3D-ready HD sets in what they hope will be an industry-wide standard, and will do so as soon as next year.

It’s probably pertinent to tell you right away that while Panasonic aren’t the only manufacturers working on a 3D standard, they are the ones in league with James Cameron. That alone has very possibly won them any upcoming format war before it even reaches the shop floor. Their system does indeed sound really brilliant, but so do the others, in their ways…

Ye olde 3D system used red and blue anaglyph glasses and is obviously already possible on home TVs of all kinds. When the most recent cinema hits have been repackaged for home consumers the 3D has been downgraded to work in this format. Or, rather, not quite work in this format because, frankly, the system is a bit of a dog. It doesn’t work consistently and a very significant percentage of users report that they don’t feel it works at all for them. I can’t believe that Dreamworks dare pollute the public idea"

 

FW: Consolidated and Updated Rollout Plan: UPDATED

FYI

 

From: Mark Waldman [mailto:markwaldman@palacecinemas.net]
Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 10:23 AM
To: 'Andrea Baisová'; 'David Horacek'; 'Lovász Andrea'
Cc: 'V.J. Maury'; 'David Jelinek'; 'Radek Hron'; 'robertrybar@palacecinemas.sk'; 'igormarks@palacecinemas.sk'; 'Nagy István'; 'Jan Prochazka'; 'Szabó Szabolcs'; 'Matej PALKOVIC'
Subject: RE: Consolidated and Updated Rollout Plan: UPDATED
Importance: High

 

Andrea,

With help from Zoltan, I believe the schedule should be ok now. Sorry for the confusion.

 

 

Everyone,

Please, review everything again and let me know if it’s ok.

 

 

Thanks,

Mark

 

Implementation Date Order

 

#             Sites                      First Digital 2D Show      First Digital 3D Show

1              Novy                     -                                              March 12

2              Olympia               -                                              March 12

3              Letnany                -                                              March 13

4              Velky                     -                                              March 13

5              Aupark                 -                                              March 19

6              Slovansky            -                                              March 20

7              Polus SK               -                                              March 20

8              Mammut             -                                              March 26

9              MOM                    -                                              March 27

10           West End             -                                              March 28

11           Campona             March 12                             March 31

12           Lurdy                     March 13                             April 1

 

 

 

From: Andrea Baisová [mailto:andreabaisova@palacecinemas.sk]
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 9:37 PM
To: 'Mark Waldman'; 'David Horacek'; 'Lovász Andrea'
Cc: 'V.J. Maury'; 'David Jelinek'; 'Radek Hron'; robertrybar@palacecinemas.sk; igormarks@palacecinemas.sk; 'Nagy István'; 'Jan Prochazka'; 'Szabó Szabolcs'; 'Matej PALKOVIC'
Subject: RE: Consolidated and Updated Rollout Plan

 

Thanks very much. I appreciate.

 

Andrea

 

---

From: Mark Waldman [mailto:markwaldman@palacecinemas.net]
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 8:08 PM
To: 'Andrea Baisová'; 'David Horacek'; 'Lovász Andrea'
Cc: 'V.J. Maury'; 'David Jelinek'; 'Radek Hron'; robertrybar@palacecinemas.sk; igormarks@palacecinemas.sk; 'Nagy István'; 'Jan Prochazka'; 'Szabó Szabolcs'; 'Matej PALKOVIC'
Subject: RE: Consolidated and Updated Rollout Plan

 

I spoke with Andrea, who worked with Zoltan from Cinemaxx/FTT to create the schedule.

 

Zoltan will call you to sort out a schedule that works better for you.

 

 

From: Andrea Baisová [mailto:andreabaisova@palacecinemas.sk]
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 6:01 PM
To: 'Mark Waldman'; 'David Horacek'; 'Lovász Andrea'
Cc: 'V.J. Maury'; 'David Jelinek'; 'Radek Hron'; robertrybar@palacecinemas.sk; igormarks@palacecinemas.sk; 'Nagy István'; 'Jan Prochazka'; 'Szabó Szabolcs'; 'Matej PALKOVIC'
Subject: RE: Consolidated and Updated Rollout Plan

 

Hello Mark

 

I see here that the dates for Bratislava have changed significantly. Is there any way we can keep the date as originally scheduled for March 23?

The new proposed date in next Monday already and  in the sence of your previous schedule I have contracted prints for our cinema, confirmed French film festival and various screen rentals.

The new proposed date would mean a significan influence on our scheduled obligations.

 

Andrea

 

---

From: Mark Waldman [mailto:markwaldman@palacecinemas.net]
Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 5:46 PM
To: 'David Horacek'; 'Lovász Andrea'; 'Andrea Baisová'
Cc: 'V.J. Maury'; 'David Jelinek'; 'Radek Hron'; robertrybar@palacecinemas.sk; igormarks@palacecinemas.sk; 'Nagy István'; 'Jan Prochazka'; 'Szabó Szabolcs'; 'Matej PALKOVIC'
Subject: Consolidated and Updated Rollout Plan
Importance: High

 

Hi All,

 

I have consolidated the rollout plans that you have reviewed and updated them with FTT – see attached.

 

Also included in the spreadsheet are the contact details for all cinema managers and the project manager you selected for the country. I will send the contact details for FTT as soon as I receive them, which should be over the next day or so.

 

Please review the plan, one last time, just to be sure, and let me know if any changes are needed.

 

Thanks,

Mark

 

#             Sites                      First Digital 2D Show      First Digital 3D Show

1              Slovansky            -                                              March 13

2              Novy                     -                                              March 12

3              Letnany                -                                              March 13

4              Olympia               -                                              March 12

5              Velky                     -                                              March 13

6              Aupark                 -                                              March 12

7              Polus SK               -                                              March 13

8              MOM                    -                                              March 27

9              West End             -                                              March 28

10           Campona             March 12                             March 31

11           Mammut             -                                              March 26

12           Lurdy                     March 13                             April 1

Swiss-based Kitag Cinema Group receives films via the MEDIA BROADCAST satellite network.

Bonn, 2 March 2009

 

MEDIA BROADCAST is set to use a digital network to transmit films to cinemas of the Kitag Cinema Group in the German-speaking region of Switzerland. The

contract recently signed with the cinema operator covers the installation and services for the necessary receiver systems at 28 cinema sites in Zurich, Berne, Basel, St. Gallen, Lucerne

and Abtwil. Installation and connection to MEDIA BROADCAST's digital cinema distribution network will be carried out in several phases. This means customers will receive an

integrated access and management system based on internationally recognized DCI specifications (Digital Cinema Initiative). This simplifies the delivery of the films and running

of cinema operations.  

 

“As No. 1 in the Swiss cinema industry, we've always placed special emphasis on quality and innovation. With the connection of our cinemas to MEDIA BROADCAST's digital cinema

distribution network we continue this practice. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology we will not only soon be in a position to receive the 3D blockbusters of major films via satellite; we

will also be able to receive 2D and 3D live events from the alternative content segment. Our flexibility in terms of performances in our cinemas as well as the quality is thus improved.

This benefits our customers,” explains Philippe Täschler, CEO of Kitag Cinema Group. 

 

MEDIA BROADCAST provides end-to-end services developed in accordance with DCI for playing and transferring films, monitoring technology as well as transmission reliability. 

This enables cinemas to receive access to the pan-European satellite distribution network  of MEDIA BROADCAST, which is able to quickly provide appropriately equipped cinemas

with digital film material from distributors. Cinema operation is optimised by the automatic importing of digital films by the receiver system on the central cinema server and the

elimination of any need to return film copies or hard disk. 

 

MEDIA BROADCAST also integrates the Admiral Filmpalast in Nuremberg into its distribution network at practically the same time. The cinema owned by CINEPLEX Group has been presenting films in digital quality for over two years. MEDIA BROADCAST recently integrated the Hollywood Megaplex Cinema Group in Austria into the network. 

 

 

MEDIA BROADCAST is Germany's largest full-service provider in the media and broadcast industry. The company's core business revolves around the planning, installation and operation of multimedia

transmission platforms, inside and outside of Germany, for television and radio companies based on modern transmitter, cable and satellite networks. 

 

MEDIA BROADCAST provides comprehensive service to some 850 national and 110 international customers, including public and private broadcasters, TV- and radio production companies,

international broadcasters and network operators, media groups and the cinema industry.  MEDIA BROADCAST is a member of the TDF Group, the main operator of shared facilities and

terrestrial networks in Europe. 

 

The TDF Group provides the world's cinema industry with numerous solutions tailored to the needs of digital cinemas. These include a pan-European distribution platform as well as an international

contribution network. Through the close cooperation with the U.S., the first digital cinema projects have been realized in France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

 

You can find more information under www.media-broadcast.com, for information about 

TDF-Group please visit www.tdf.fr.

 

Contact:

MEDIA BROADCAST GmbH

Wolfgang Speer 

Press- and Public Relations

Phone: +49 761 59014 160

E-Mail: press@media-broadcast.com

 

Muvico Theatres Opens its Newest Movie Palace the Thousand Oaks 14

http://www.digitalcinemareport.com/node/757

 

March 2, 2009

Muvico Theatres, banking on the idea that exhibitors have to offer more to patrons than the competition, has opened its latest complex, the new Muvico Thousand Oaks 14 theatre in Thousand Oaks, California. The facility indulges its guests with turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau style as the inspiration for the theatre’s design.  The building’s main architectural feature is the lobby rotunda space, which is capped by a copper-like dome that resembles that of the Paris Opera House.  Inside the dome is a spatially rich two- story lobby that provides for ticketing and concierge services. An upscale gaming area can also be accessed from this grand space along with two alleys to the auditorium concourses.  The auditoriums themselves feature ceiling-to-floor flat screens and the latest in Sony 4K ultra digital projection and JBL sound.

Last fall Sony Electronics’ Digital Cinema Solutions and Services group signed an agreement with Muvico Entertainment to outfit its existing and new complexes with Sony’s 4K-projection technology.    
Muvico’s Rosemont, Illinois theatre was the first theatre in the United States to be fully equipped with Sony’s 4K digital projectors and, following the success of that theatre, Muvico made the decision to enter into this agreement with Sony. The opening of Muvico’s Thousand Oaks, California facility is the next phase of that agreement.

The agreement covers existing Muvico theatres, which will be upgraded to the digital technology, as well as new locations that Muvico builds in the future.

In addition to committing to Sony’s 4K projectors for its full conversion to digital, the exhibitor plans to use a range of Sony products in its facilities. These include LCD displays in lobby and concession areas for digital signage, menu boards and full-motion video trailers; as well as VAIO computers, PlayStation gaming systems, security cameras and more.

Muvico, a leader in the theatrical exhibition industry and one of the premier circuits in the U.S., has 13 locations with a total of 248 screens.

“4K technology gives us a solid foundation for converting our chain to digital,” says Mike Whalen, president of Muvico. “It provides our guests with resolution and picture quality never before seen on the big screen. It also opens up so many new business opportunities for displaying alternative content in our theatres such as live concerts and sporting events,” he added. “Having access to Sony’s full product line will further improve the overall customer experience and our operations by delivering a more attractive and interactive presentation of products that are vital to the revenue stream of any theatre. The fact that Sony can deliver all this for us as part of one fully integrated solution was very attractive to us.”

Sony’s DCSS group will work with Muvico on the integration, installation, maintenance and service support for this roll-out, providing the exhibitor with a complete turn-key solution for converting to digital technology.

“Muvico’s vision is that exhibitors need to offer more complete services, and they have been a pioneer in re-defining the movie-going experience,” says Mike Fidler, senior vice president of Sony’s Digital Cinema Solutions and Services group. “They’ve extended their focus far beyond the auditorium and into the lobbies, restaurants, and more, truly turning the movie theatre into a digital destination. Working with them to further the use of 4K technology, as well as maximize Sony’s product and technology expertise, will simply elevate this experience to an entirely new level.”

The new Thousand Oaks location features Muvico’s Premier Concept theme, similar to their Boca Raton, Florida and Rosemont facilities, offering such services as complimentary valet parking, reserved seating, a digital arcade and access to a full-service restaurant and bar for guests 21 years and older.

Latest Digital Releases - Major Hollywood Feature Films are scheduled to be Released Digitally

March 2, 2009

 

Here is our current list of major Hollywood feature films that are scheduled for digital release. This list is compiled with the help of DLP Cinema.

Release Period	Movie	Distributor	Distribution
February 13-19	Confessions of a Shopaholic	Disney	Wide
February 13-19	Friday the 13th	Paramount	Wide
February 13-19	The International	Sony Pictures	Wide
February 13-19	Two Lovers	Magnolia	Limited
February 13-19	Under the Sea 3D	Warner Bros.	Limited
February 20-26	Fired Up	Sony Pictures	Wide
February 20-26	Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail	Lionsgate	Wide
February 20-26	Echelon Conspiracy	After Dark Films	Limited
February 20-26	Fall Down Dead	41 Inc.	Limited
February 20-26	Youth in Revolt	TWC	Limited
February 27 - March 5	Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience	Disney	Wide
February 27 - March 5	Street Fighter	20th Century Fox	Wide
February 27 - March 5	Crossing Over	TWC	Limited
March 6-12	12	Sony Classics	NY/LA
March 6-12	All About Steve	20th Century Fox	Wide
March 6-12	Venus & Vegas	41 Inc.	Wide
March 6-12	Watchmen	Warner Bros.	Wide
March 6-12	A Beautiful Life	41 Inc.	Limited
March 6-12	American Violet	IDP	Limited

 

Friends in High Places - IDA, Arqiva Join Forces on Pan-European Digital Cinema Satellite Network

March 2, 2009

 

http://www.digitalcinemareport.com/node/775

International Datacasting Corporation has received an initial order from Arqiva Satellite & Media for infrastructure to support its development of a new pan-European digital cinema satellite network.

This IDC enabled platform can be expanded to incorporate IDC's 3D technology for the delivery of 3D live events.

The award to IDC follows the recent announcement that Arqiva had formed a long term strategic partnership agreement with Arts Alliance Media for the satellite distribution of films and alternative content live events into European cinemas.

Arqiva selected IDC as one of their technology partners after an extensive evaluation process. IDC, through its wholly owned Netherlands subsidiary ProfLine, will provide key elements of infrastructure for the delivery of file encoded movies as well as live events and alternative content. 

"Arqiva was looking for the best combination of technology for both live and file based movie delivery to digital cinemas. We wanted a professional grade solution that is future proof, highly modular and scalable," says Barrie Woolston, commercial director, media & enterprise at Arqiva. "It is also crucial for us to work with a company with a proven track record and the reliability to provide on-going support as we build out the network."

"We are very pleased that our SuperFlex and Datacast XD systems solution has been chosen by Arqiva for their next generation digital cinema network in Europe. They are one of the largest satellite service providers in Europe, with years of practical experience in digital cinema delivery and a reputation for having the highest quality and performance standards in the industry," says Ron Clifton president and CEO of International Datacasting.

The contract value is not being disclosed for confidentiality reasons. This initial order was received and substantially shipped at the end of IDC's fiscal year.



International Datacasting Corporation www.datacast.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Consumers Think of 3D

http://www.digitalcinemareport.com/node/771

 

2008 March 02

 

Two new studies strongly suggest that most consumers are embracing 3D enthusiastically and that the need to wear glasses to enjoy 3D content is not a big obstacle for most people. The studies also show that the more people know about 3D the more they like it, something that holds true for 3D in movie theatres, video games and in home theatre.

The first study, released jointly by the Consumer Electronics Association and the Entertainment and Technology Center at USC, offers a comprehensive history of 3D technology, a look at where that technology is going both in movie theatres and in the home and offers the results of a survey that wanted to find out what average consumers think about 3D. 

That study was supervised by Shawn DuBravac, economist for the CEA and an adjunct professor at the George Mason University School of Business and by David Wertheimer, executive director of the ETC.

The second study comes from the group Meant to be Seen, which bills itself as “the foremost authority group on stereoscopic 3D gaming and home entertainment.” Their report, which tilts heavily to the gaming community, nevertheless dovetails in some ways with the findings from the CEA and ETC.

The CEA-ETC study “set out to gain a baseline understanding of consumer interest in and attitudes towards 3D,” with a particular emphasis on how soon people might be introducing 3D technology into home theatres. A national sampling of just over a thousand adults was surveyed by telephone last December. Here are some of the highlights.

Overall awareness of 3D is still low; just 40 percent of people in the top 20 media markets reported that they’d seen or heard information about 3D content. But nearly a third of the people who were aware of 3D had already seen a 3D movie in a theatre and of that group more than have say they’ll watch another 3D movie in the next 24 months. While these numbers might b discouraging to some, the CEA-ETC study notes that they compare favorably with numbers that were gathered in a 1998 about digital TV; today more than 60 percent of households have digital TV and adoption is proceeding steadily.

Of the people who have already seen a 3D movie in a theatre almost 40 percent say they would prefer a movie in 3D compared to the same movie in 2D. And more than half of US adults said wearing glasses is not a problem.

In a result that is encouraging for the home theatre market but needs to be fully understood by exhibitors is the fact that of the people who saw a 3D movie in the past year 60 percent said they would pay more to have a 3D television at home and 19 percent said they would spend up to 25 percent more for that television. 

Finally and not so surprising is that the study found that 18-29 year olds appear to be the prime audience for 3D. The survey concluded, “Overall, 3D content could be on the cusp of becoming mainstream. Interest grows with each 3D release in theatres.”

The complete study is available free to CEA member companies. Non-members may purchase the study for $999 at http://ce.org.

The Meant to be Seen study concluded that the majority of misconceptions about 3D are not as rampant as some people have suggested. 

In the MTBS study customer opinions were captured in two separate online surveys.  One was for traditional gamers who don’t yet own 3D display equipment, and the other was for experienced stereoscopic 3D gamers and consumers.  Each respondent was required to answer 26 multipart questions, and there were well over seven hundred surveys collected (60 percent 2D, 40 percent 3D gamers), with each taking as long as ten minutes to complete.

MTBS chose to promote survey participation to gamers because recent studies demonstrate that over 50 percent of adults play video games.  Gamers are also technically savvy enough to understand both cinema and gaming markets equally well and are most likely to be able to answer questions in an informed manner.

The MTSB study found that almost 70 percent of the people they surveyed said they would not mind wearing glasses to watch 3D on television.  The numbers were even better if 3D games were the activity.

 

Survey Says: 3-D Video Changes Consumer Content Experience

http://2-pop.com/DigitalCinematography/articlenews/79342

February 23, 2009

3-D makes for a better movie experience for many consumers.

Arlington, VA – The more experience people have with 3-D technology, the more interested they are in having more 3-D options, according to a new joint study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Entertainment and Technology Center at the University of Southern California. The study, 3-D TV: Where Are We Now and Where Are Consumers, also showed that 3-D technology is positioned to become a major force in future in-home entertainment.
As with many successful technologies, such as HDTV, interest in 3-D increases as consumers experience it first-hand. In the past 12 months, nearly 41 million U.S. adults report having seen a 3-D movie in theaters. Of those, nearly forty percent say they would prefer to watch a movie in 3-D than that same movie in 2-D. That’s compared to just 23 percent who have not seen a 3-D movie in the past 12 months.

“When it comes to current 3-D technology, seeing truly is believing,” said Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s economist and director of research. “Today’s 3-D offerings are changing the way consumers view video content, not unlike the early days of high-definition television, which redefined TV as we know it today.”

The study also found that today’s 3-D technology is positioned to move into the home and is becoming a major purchasing factor of TV sets. Sixteen percent of consumers are interested in watching 3-D movies or television shows in their home, while 14 percent are interested in playing 3-D video games. All told, more than 26 million households are interested in having a 3-D content experience in their own home. More than half of U.S. adults said having to wear special glasses or hold their heads still while watching a 3-D TV would have no impact on them purchasing a 3-D set for their home.  New 3-D display technology that would require no special glasses was unveiled at the 2009 International CES, produced by CEA.

Another driver for purchasing a 3-D capable set is content. Nearly 30 percent of U.S. adults said having access to 3-D content though cable, satellite, fiber-optics or over-the-air broadcasts would positively impact their decision to buy a 3-D capable TV.    

“Movie studios and broadcasters are experimenting with 3-D and continue to search for ways to bring the technology into consumers’ living rooms,” said David Wertheimer, CEO and executive director of the Entertainment and Technology Center at USC. “In the past few weeks alone, we’ve seen college football’s national championship game, multiple Super Bowl commercials and an hour-long TV show, all broadcast in 3-D. Interest in 3-D is growing, and consumers and content providers are both interested in seeing 3-D migrate into the home.”

 

Moving iMage Technologies to assist smaller exhibitors in d-cinema rollout

http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/news-and-features/news/digital-cinema/e3i67264dea25a495e0f6ced6e6b25dfcf4

 

Jan 28, 2009

Moving iMage Technologies has partnered with All Media Capital to assist theatre owners in participating in the 3D and digital-cinema rollout, while at the same time providing the means for an exhibitor to maintain control of his own projection equipment. The announcement follows Paramount Pictures’ decision to provide direct reimbursement to exhibitors through virtual print fees to prepare for the upcoming slate of 3D releases. Other studios are expected to follow Paramount’s lead to offer the same type of reimbursements that they have extended to the large circuits.

“3D is a real value-add to the exhibition community and the announcement by Paramount Pictures is a wonderful way to continue forward with the 3D/digital-cinema rollout,” said Joe Delgado, Moving iMage Technologies executive VP, sales and marketing. “Couple Paramount’s announcement with our relationship with All Media Capital and small to medium-size exhibitors now have a viable path for implementing digital cinema today, rather than waiting for some large integrator to get financing. Everyone knows that access to money is tough in this economic climate, but All Media has continually been able to fund our clients at very competitive rates, even when more traditional financing has dried up.”

MiT has extensive experience in integrating and installing digital and 3D systems, interfacing to existing audio and projection equipment. The company manufactures a full line of integration components for digital cinema including MPL projector bases, ICM automations and interfaces, iMAGE Mover track systems and custom cable and wiring harnesses.

All Media Capital specializes in financing technology equipment for the professional audio/video market and entertainment industry. In cooperation with MiT, All Media Capital has already financed many digital-cinema installations including systems for commercial cinema as well as post-production.

“In the current economic climate, where we have seen many banks tailor away from debt-related financing, we have seen a substantial increase in credit applications from exhibitors. We have several different options to get exhibitors exceptional rates and industry-specific programs which are not available to the bank or broker community,” said Ryan Wilson of All Media Capital.