Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Digital Cinema shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Digital Cinema offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Digital Cinema at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Digital Cinema? Wrong! If the Digital Cinema is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Digital Cinema then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Digital Cinema? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Digital Cinema and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Digital Cinema wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Digital Cinema then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Digital Cinema site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Digital Cinema, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Digital Cinema, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.



Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribution (film) and projector motion pictures. The final movie can be distributed via hard drives, DVDs or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional movie projector. Digital cinema is distinct from high-definition television and in particular, is not dependent on using television or HDTV standards, aspect ratios, or frame rates. Digital projectors capable of 2K resolution began deploying in 2005, and in 2006, the pace has accelerated. HDTV and pre-recorded HD disks could put pressure on movie theaters to offer something to compete with the home HD experience.

In this article, 2K and 4K refer to images with 2048 and 4096 horizontal pixel resolution, respectively.

Technology To match or improve the theater experience of movie audiences, a digital cinema system must provide high quality image, sound, subtitles, and captions. Theater managers require server controls for managing and displaying content in multiple theaters, and Production company want their content encryption with secure delivery, playback, and reporting of play times to the distribution company.

The Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), working in conjunction with members of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers standards committee, has published a system specification for digital cinema that was agreed upon by the major film studios. Briefly, the specification calls for picture encoding using the ISO/IEC 15444-1 "JPEG2000" (.jp2) standard and use of the CIE_1931_color_space color space at 12 bits per component encoded with a 2.6 gamma applied at projection, and audio using the "Broadcast Wave" (.wav) format at 24 bits and 48 kHz or 96 kHz sampling, controlled by an XML-format Composition Playlist, into an MXF-compliant file at a maximum data rate of 250 Mbit/s. Details about encryption, key management, and logging are all discussed in the specification as are the minimum specifications for the projectors employed including the color gamut, the contrast ratio and the brightness of the image.

Digital cinema conforming to the DCI Standard is referred to within the film industry as D-Cinema while all other forms of digital cinema are referred to as E-Cinema. Thus, while D-Cinema is a defined standard, though one that is still partly being framed by SMPTE as of 2007, E-Cinema may be anything, ranging from a DVD player connected to a consumer projector to something that approaches the quality of D-Cinema without conforming to some of the standards. Even D-Cinema itself has evolved over time before the DCI standards were framed. However, the current DCI standards were made with the intention of standing the test of time, much like 35mm film which has evolved but still retained compatibility over a substantial part of a century.

Digital capture As of 2007 the most common acquisition medium for digitally projected features is still 35 mm film scanned and processed at 2K or 4K via digital intermediate. The technical capabilities of new cameras for digital cinematography is rapidly improving and digital capture is eventually expected to replace film. Most major digital features to date have been shot at 1920x1080 HD resolution using cameras such as the Sony CineAlta or Thomson Viper. New cameras such as the Arriflex D-20 and Silicon Imaging's SI-2K can capture 2K resolution images. Currently in development are cameras capable of recording 4K RAW, such as the RED Digital Camera Company and Dalsa Origin.

Digital post-production Film is scanned from camera-original film negatives into a digital format on a scanner or high-resolution telecine. Data from digital motion picture cameras may be converted to a convenient image file format for work in a facility. All of the files are 'conformed' to match an edit list created by the film editor, and are then color corrected under the direction of the film's staff. The end result of post-production is a digital intermediate used to record the motion picture to film and/or for the digital cinema release.

Digital mastering When all of the sound, picture, and data elements of a production have been completed, they may be assembled into a Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) which contains all of the digital material needed for a show. The images and sound are then compressed, encrypted, and packaged to form the Digital Cinema Package (DCP).

Digital Cinema Distribution Digital Cinema Distribution (DCD) is the process of transmitting the DCP to theater servers via different methods that may include: hard drives, Linear Tape-Open data tapes, DVD-ROMs, or Communications satellite.

Each method of distribution faces its own unique challenges and there is currently much debate regarding preferred methods. The issue can become hotly debated by advocates for the various methods and media. Currently, there is no industry or de-facto standard for distribution. This issue will likely be decided by market forces and business models. There is some testing of the various methods going on that may provide empirical data and objective analysis in the future.

Physical media delivery Digital content is currently distributed on hard drive for feature film content and DVD for trailer (film) content. Other potential physical media include LTO3 tape or HD DVDs, BluRay Discs and other similarly emerging high density media.

Network delivery Digital files can be delivered to theater servers via shared or dedicated network connections.

Satellite delivery Content can be sent in a multicast transmission to theatres via Communications satellite. The received files have to be verified and missing or corrupted portions would have to be rebroadcast and appropriate forward error correction would need to be used.

Digital cinema distributors Technicolor, Deluxe, XDC and Access Integrated Technologies are the leading companies in digital distribution. Other companies currently distributing digital cinema include Kodak, Dolby, and Arts Alliance Media.

===Digital projection===There are currently two types of projectors for digital cinema. Early DLP, used primarily in the United States, used limited 1280 x 1024 resolution which are still widely used for pre-show advertising but not usually for feature presentations. The DCI specification for digital projectors calls for three levels of playback to be supported: 2K (2048x1080) at 24 Frame rate, 4K (4096x2160) at 24 frames per second, and 2K at 48 frames per second.

Three manufacturers have licensed the TI-developed DLP Cinema technology. Christie (company) Digital Systems, Barco and NEC. Christie (company) is the maker of the CP2000 line of 2K DCI-compliant Digital Cinema Projectors, and long established in traditional film projector technology throughout the U.S. Barco is the market leader in terms of units sold and deployed internationally. NEC manufactures the Starus NC2500S, NC1500C and NC800C 2K projectors for large, medium and small screen respectively and the Starus Digital Cinema Server system, as well as other equipment to connect PCs, analog/digital tape decks and satellite receivers, DVD, and off-air broadcast, etc. for pre-show and special presentations. Where NEC is a relative newcomer to Digital Cinema, Christie is the main player in the U.S. and Barco takes the lead in Europe and Asia.

The other soon-to-be-deployed-technology is from Sony and is labeled "Liquid crystal on silicon" technology. Their projector provides 4096x2160 resolution.

Other manufacturers have been developing digital projector technology, but these have not yet been deployed into motion picture theaters and are not commercially available in versions that conform to the DCI specification.

As of July 2007, there are some cinemas in Singapore showing digital 4K films to public using Sony's CineAlta 4K digital projector. They are located at Golden Village Cinema in Vivocity (Hall 11), Eng Wah Cinema in Suntec (Hall 3), Shaw Cinema in Bugis (Hall 1 & 3) and at Cathay Cineplex (Hall 7).

Live broadcasting to movie theaters Sometimes digital cinema provides projection of a live Broadcasting of a performance or other event. For example, there are regular .

Current developments By October 2007, DG2L Technologies had supplied a record 1500 Digital Cinema Systems to UFO Moviez Ltd. in India and Eurpoe.{{cite news | author=Bollywood Trade News Network | url=http://in.movies.yahoo.com/071015/128/6lymg.html | title= DG2L and UFO digitalize cinemas in Europe! | publisher=Yahoo! India Movies |date=[2007-10-15 | accessdate=2007-10-15 -->

As of July, 2007, 1400 screens in the U.S. have been equipped with digital cinema projectors including a dozen theaters where the Sony 4K projector has been installed. In continental Europe, XDC is servicing over 300 screens in 10 countries, where Germany has the leading territory with over 100 installations.

The UK is home to Europe's first DCI compliant fully digital multiplex cinemas, Odeon Hatfield and Odeon Surrey Quays (London) have a total of 18 digital screens and were both launched on Friday 9 February 2007. ODEON Digital

In June 2007, Arts Alliance Media announced the first European commercial digital cinema VPF agreements (with Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures).

As of March 2007, with the release of Disney's Meet the Robinsons, about 600 screens have been equipped with 2K digital projectors that are equipped with Real D Cinema's stereoscopic 3D technology, marketed under the Disney Digital 3-D brand.

In mid 2006, about 400 theaters have been equipped with 2K digital projectors with the number increasing every month.

In February 2005, Arts Alliance Media was selected to roll out the UK Film Council’s Digital Screen Network (DSN), a $20M contract to install and operate Europe’s largest 2K digital cinema network. By March 2007, 230 of the 241 screens had been installed on schedule, with the remaining 11 to be installed later in 2007 when cinemas have completed building works or construction.

Chicken Little (2005 film) from Disney, with its experimental release of the film in digital 3D, increased the number of projectors using the 2K format. Several digital 3-D film#3-D formats (1984-Present) will surface in 2006 and several prominent filmmakers have committed to making their next productions in stereo 3D.

By early 2006, Access Integrated Technologies (AccessIT) had announced agreements with nearly all of the major film studios and several movie theater that enable the company to roll-out its end-to-end digital cinema systems.

In August 2006, the Malayalam language digital movie Moonnamathoral was distributed via satellite to cinemas; thus becoming the first Malayalam digital film to be so distributed. This was done using the end-to-end digital cinema system developed by Singapore based DG2L Technologies.{{cite news | author= | url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/19/stories/2006081901860200.htm | title= Digital movie in Malayalam released | publisher=The Hindu |date=[2006-08-19 | accessdate=2006-08-23 -->



Economics Savings in distribution Digital distribution of movies has the potential to save money for film distributors. A single film print can cost around United States dollar1200, so making 4000 prints for a wide-release movie might cost $5 million. In contrast, at the maximum 250 megabit-per-second maximum data rate defined by Digital Cinema Initiatives for digital cinema, a typical feature-length movie could fit comfortably on an off the shelf 300 Gigabyte hard drive—which cost as low as $70—which could even be returned to the distributor for reuse after a movie's run. With several hundred movies distributed every year, industry savings could potentially reach $1 billion or more.

Alternative content An added incentive for exhibitors is the ability to show alternative content such as live special events, sports, pre-show advertising and other digital or video content. Some low-budget films that would normally not have a theatrical release because of distribution costs might be shown in smaller engagements than the typical large release studio pictures. The cost of duplicating a digital "print" is very low, so adding more theaters to a release has a small additional cost to the distributor. Movies that start with a small release could scale to a much larger release quickly if they were sufficiently successful, opening up the possibility that smaller movies could achieve box office success previously out of their reach.

Greater protection for content A last incentive for digital distribution is the possibility of greater protection against Copyright infringement of audio-visual works. With traditional film prints, distributors typically stagger the film's release in various markets, shipping the film prints around the globe. In the subsequent markets, pirated copies of a film (i.e. a Cam (movie piracy)) may be available before the movie is released in that market. A simultaneous worldwide release would mitigate this problem to some degree. Simultaneous worldwide releases on film have been used on The Da Vinci Code (film), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film), Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Mission Impossible III amongst others. With digital distribution, a simultaneous worldwide release would not cost significantly more than a staggered release.

Costs On the downside, the initial costs for converting theaters to digital are high: up to $150,000 per screen or more. Theaters have been reluctant to switch without a cost-sharing arrangement with film distributors. Recent negotiations have involved the development of a Virtual Print License fee which the studios will pay for their products which allows financiers and system developers to pay for deployment of digital systems to the theaters, thus providing investors a certain payback.

While a theater can purchase a film projector for US$50,000 and expect an average life of 30–40 years, a digital cinema playback system including server/media block/and projector can cost 3–4 times as much, and is at higher risk for component failures and technological obsolescence. Experience with computer-based media systems show that average economic lifetimes are only on the order of 5 years with some units lasting until about 10 years before they are replaced.

History Digital media playback of hi-resolution 2K files has at least a twenty year history with early RAID arrays feeding custom frame buffer systems with large memories. Content was usually restricted to several minutes of material.

Transfer of content between remote locations was slow and had limited capacity. It wasn't until the late 1990s that feature length projects could be sent over the 'wire' (Internet or dedicated fiber links).

There were many prototype systems developed that claim a first in some form of digital presentation. However, few of these had a significant impact on the advance of the industry. Key highlights in the development of digital cinema would likely include: demonstrations by Texas Instruments of their Digital micromirror device technology, real-time playback of compressed hi-resolution files by various vendors, and early HD presentations from D5 HD tape to digital projectors.

Standards development The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers began work on standards for digital cinema in 2001. It was clear by that point in time that HDTV did not provide a sufficient technological basis for the foundation of digital cinema playback. (In Europe and Japan however, there is still a significant presence of HDTV for theatrical presentations. Agreements within the ISO standards body have led to these systems being referred to as Electronic Cinema Systems (E-Cinema).)

Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) was formed in March 2002 as a joint project of the motion picture studios (Disney, Fox, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios) to develop a system specification for digital cinema. In cooperation with the American Society of Cinematographers, DCI created standard evaluation material (the ASC/DCI StEM material) and developed tests of 2K and 4K playback and compression technologies. DCI published their specification in 2005.

Claims to significant events One claim for the first digital cinema demonstration comes from JVC. On March 19, 1998, they collaborated on a digital presentation at a cinema in London. Several clips from popular films were encoded onto a remote server, and sent via fibre optic for display to a collection of interested Industry parties.

The Last Broadcast (film) made cinematic history on October 23, 1998, when it became the first feature to be theatrically released digitally, via satellite download to theaters across the United States. An effort headed by Wavelength Releasing, Texas Instruments, Digital Projection Inc. and Loral Space, it successfully demonstrated what would become a template for future releases. In 1999, it was repeated utilizing QuVIS technology across Europe, including the Cannes Film Festival, making The Last Broadcast the first feature to be screened digitally at the Cannes Film Festival.

Several feature films were shown in 1999 using DLP prototype projectors and early wavelet based servers. For example, Walt Disney Pictures Bicentennial Man was presented using a Qubit server manufactured by QuVIS of Topeka, Kansas. DVD ROM was used to store the compressed data file. The DVD ROMs were loaded into the QuBit server hard drives for playout. The file size for Bicentennial Man was 42 GB with an average data rate of 43 Mbit/s.

In 2000, Walt Disney, Texas Instruments and Technicolor with the cooperation of several U.S. and international exhibitors, began to deploy prototype Digital Cinema systems in commercial theatres. The systems were assembled and installed by Technicolor using the TI mark V prototype projector, a special Christie (company) lamp housing, and the QuBit server with custom designed automation interfaces.

Technicolor manufactured the DVDs for uploading on these test systems and was responsible for sending technicians out to the locations for every new feature film that was played. The technicians would typically spend ten or so hours to load the files from the DVD to the QuBit, set up the server to play the files, and then set up the projector. A full rehearsal screening of the feature was mandatory as was the requirement to have back up DVDs and backup QuBits available should something fail.

The systems were eventually replaced or upgraded after TI made improvements to the projectors and Technicolor developed a purpose-built digital cinema server in a venture with Qualcomm, the engineering giant from San Diego best known for advanced mobile phone technology. The new systems were called AMS for Auditorium Management Systems and were the first digital cinema servers designed to be user friendly and operate reliably in a computer-hostile environment such as a projection booth. Most importantly, they provided a complete solution for content security.

The AMS used removable hard disk drives as the transport mechanism for the files. This eliminated the time required to upload the DVD-ROMs to the local hard drives and provided the ability to switch programs quickly. For security, the AMS used a media block type system that placed a sealed electronics package within the projector housing. The server output only 3DES encrypted data and the media block did the decryption at the point just before playout.

The first secure encrypted digital cinema feature was Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The system functioned well but was eventually replaced because of the need to create a standard data package for D-cinema distribution.

Universal Pictures used their film Serenity (film) as the first DCI-compliant DCP to be delivered shown to an audience at a remote theater, although it was not distributed this way to the public. Inside Man was their first DCP cinema release, and was transmitted to 20 theatres in the United States along with two trailer (film).

In April 2005, DG2L Technologies announced that it had been awarded the multi-million dollar contract for the world's largest satellite based MPEG4 digital cinema deployment to be done in India, which encompassed 2000 theaters for UFO (United Film Organizers), a subsidiary of the Valuable Media Group. In Mar 2006, United Film Organizers Moviez (UFO Moviez), had reached a significant milestone—surpassing 30,000 shows using the DG2L Cinema System platform. This figure increased to 100,000 shows in August 2006. In September 2006, UFO Moviez acquired 51% stake in DG2L Technologies in a deal estimated at around $50 million.

Stereo 3-D images In late 2005, interest in digital 3-D stereoscopy projection has led to a new willingness on the part of theaters to co-operate in installing a limited number of 2K stereo installations to show Disney's Chicken Little (2005 film) in 3-D film. Seven more digital 3-D movies are slated for 2006 or 2007 release (including Monster House (film) and Meet the Robinsons). The technology combines digital projectors with the use of polarized glasses and screens. DLP technology is well-suited for stereo 3-D as it can handle the higher frame rates required for flicker free presentations.

Digital Cinema Training Asian Academy Of Film & Television

List of digital cinema companies

See also

References and notes External links

Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribution (film) and projector motion pictures. The final movie can be distributed via hard drives, DVDs or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional movie projector. Digital cinema is distinct from high-definition television and in particular, is not dependent on using television or HDTV standards, aspect ratios, or frame rates. Digital projectors capable of 2K resolution began deploying in 2005, and in 2006, the pace has accelerated. HDTV and pre-recorded HD disks could put pressure on movie theaters to offer something to compete with the home HD experience.

In this article, 2K and 4K refer to images with 2048 and 4096 horizontal pixel resolution, respectively.

Technology To match or improve the theater experience of movie audiences, a digital cinema system must provide high quality image, sound, subtitles, and captions. Theater managers require server controls for managing and displaying content in multiple theaters, and Production company want their content encryption with secure delivery, playback, and reporting of play times to the distribution company.

The Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), working in conjunction with members of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers standards committee, has published a system specification for digital cinema that was agreed upon by the major film studios. Briefly, the specification calls for picture encoding using the ISO/IEC 15444-1 "JPEG2000" (.jp2) standard and use of the CIE_1931_color_space color space at 12 bits per component encoded with a 2.6 gamma applied at projection, and audio using the "Broadcast Wave" (.wav) format at 24 bits and 48 kHz or 96 kHz sampling, controlled by an XML-format Composition Playlist, into an MXF-compliant file at a maximum data rate of 250 Mbit/s. Details about encryption, key management, and logging are all discussed in the specification as are the minimum specifications for the projectors employed including the color gamut, the contrast ratio and the brightness of the image.

Digital cinema conforming to the DCI Standard is referred to within the film industry as D-Cinema while all other forms of digital cinema are referred to as E-Cinema. Thus, while D-Cinema is a defined standard, though one that is still partly being framed by SMPTE as of 2007, E-Cinema may be anything, ranging from a DVD player connected to a consumer projector to something that approaches the quality of D-Cinema without conforming to some of the standards. Even D-Cinema itself has evolved over time before the DCI standards were framed. However, the current DCI standards were made with the intention of standing the test of time, much like 35mm film which has evolved but still retained compatibility over a substantial part of a century.

Digital capture As of 2007 the most common acquisition medium for digitally projected features is still 35 mm film scanned and processed at 2K or 4K via digital intermediate. The technical capabilities of new cameras for digital cinematography is rapidly improving and digital capture is eventually expected to replace film. Most major digital features to date have been shot at 1920x1080 HD resolution using cameras such as the Sony CineAlta or Thomson Viper. New cameras such as the Arriflex D-20 and Silicon Imaging's SI-2K can capture 2K resolution images. Currently in development are cameras capable of recording 4K RAW, such as the RED Digital Camera Company and Dalsa Origin.

Digital post-production Film is scanned from camera-original film negatives into a digital format on a scanner or high-resolution telecine. Data from digital motion picture cameras may be converted to a convenient image file format for work in a facility. All of the files are 'conformed' to match an edit list created by the film editor, and are then color corrected under the direction of the film's staff. The end result of post-production is a digital intermediate used to record the motion picture to film and/or for the digital cinema release.

Digital mastering When all of the sound, picture, and data elements of a production have been completed, they may be assembled into a Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) which contains all of the digital material needed for a show. The images and sound are then compressed, encrypted, and packaged to form the Digital Cinema Package (DCP).

Digital Cinema Distribution Digital Cinema Distribution (DCD) is the process of transmitting the DCP to theater servers via different methods that may include: hard drives, Linear Tape-Open data tapes, DVD-ROMs, or Communications satellite.

Each method of distribution faces its own unique challenges and there is currently much debate regarding preferred methods. The issue can become hotly debated by advocates for the various methods and media. Currently, there is no industry or de-facto standard for distribution. This issue will likely be decided by market forces and business models. There is some testing of the various methods going on that may provide empirical data and objective analysis in the future.

Physical media delivery Digital content is currently distributed on hard drive for feature film content and DVD for trailer (film) content. Other potential physical media include LTO3 tape or HD DVDs, BluRay Discs and other similarly emerging high density media.

Network delivery Digital files can be delivered to theater servers via shared or dedicated network connections.

Satellite delivery Content can be sent in a multicast transmission to theatres via Communications satellite. The received files have to be verified and missing or corrupted portions would have to be rebroadcast and appropriate forward error correction would need to be used.

Digital cinema distributors Technicolor, Deluxe, XDC and Access Integrated Technologies are the leading companies in digital distribution. Other companies currently distributing digital cinema include Kodak, Dolby, and Arts Alliance Media.

===Digital projection===There are currently two types of projectors for digital cinema. Early DLP, used primarily in the United States, used limited 1280 x 1024 resolution which are still widely used for pre-show advertising but not usually for feature presentations. The DCI specification for digital projectors calls for three levels of playback to be supported: 2K (2048x1080) at 24 Frame rate, 4K (4096x2160) at 24 frames per second, and 2K at 48 frames per second.

Three manufacturers have licensed the TI-developed DLP Cinema technology. Christie (company) Digital Systems, Barco and NEC. Christie (company) is the maker of the CP2000 line of 2K DCI-compliant Digital Cinema Projectors, and long established in traditional film projector technology throughout the U.S. Barco is the market leader in terms of units sold and deployed internationally. NEC manufactures the Starus NC2500S, NC1500C and NC800C 2K projectors for large, medium and small screen respectively and the Starus Digital Cinema Server system, as well as other equipment to connect PCs, analog/digital tape decks and satellite receivers, DVD, and off-air broadcast, etc. for pre-show and special presentations. Where NEC is a relative newcomer to Digital Cinema, Christie is the main player in the U.S. and Barco takes the lead in Europe and Asia.

The other soon-to-be-deployed-technology is from Sony and is labeled "Liquid crystal on silicon" technology. Their projector provides 4096x2160 resolution.

Other manufacturers have been developing digital projector technology, but these have not yet been deployed into motion picture theaters and are not commercially available in versions that conform to the DCI specification.

As of July 2007, there are some cinemas in Singapore showing digital 4K films to public using Sony's CineAlta 4K digital projector. They are located at Golden Village Cinema in Vivocity (Hall 11), Eng Wah Cinema in Suntec (Hall 3), Shaw Cinema in Bugis (Hall 1 & 3) and at Cathay Cineplex (Hall 7).

Live broadcasting to movie theaters Sometimes digital cinema provides projection of a live Broadcasting of a performance or other event. For example, there are regular .

Current developments By October 2007, DG2L Technologies had supplied a record 1500 Digital Cinema Systems to UFO Moviez Ltd. in India and Eurpoe.{{cite news | author=Bollywood Trade News Network | url=http://in.movies.yahoo.com/071015/128/6lymg.html | title= DG2L and UFO digitalize cinemas in Europe! | publisher=Yahoo! India Movies |date=[2007-10-15 | accessdate=2007-10-15 -->

As of July, 2007, 1400 screens in the U.S. have been equipped with digital cinema projectors including a dozen theaters where the Sony 4K projector has been installed. In continental Europe, XDC is servicing over 300 screens in 10 countries, where Germany has the leading territory with over 100 installations.

The UK is home to Europe's first DCI compliant fully digital multiplex cinemas, Odeon Hatfield and Odeon Surrey Quays (London) have a total of 18 digital screens and were both launched on Friday 9 February 2007. ODEON Digital

In June 2007, Arts Alliance Media announced the first European commercial digital cinema VPF agreements (with Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures).

As of March 2007, with the release of Disney's Meet the Robinsons, about 600 screens have been equipped with 2K digital projectors that are equipped with Real D Cinema's stereoscopic 3D technology, marketed under the Disney Digital 3-D brand.

In mid 2006, about 400 theaters have been equipped with 2K digital projectors with the number increasing every month.

In February 2005, Arts Alliance Media was selected to roll out the UK Film Council’s Digital Screen Network (DSN), a $20M contract to install and operate Europe’s largest 2K digital cinema network. By March 2007, 230 of the 241 screens had been installed on schedule, with the remaining 11 to be installed later in 2007 when cinemas have completed building works or construction.

Chicken Little (2005 film) from Disney, with its experimental release of the film in digital 3D, increased the number of projectors using the 2K format. Several digital 3-D film#3-D formats (1984-Present) will surface in 2006 and several prominent filmmakers have committed to making their next productions in stereo 3D.

By early 2006, Access Integrated Technologies (AccessIT) had announced agreements with nearly all of the major film studios and several movie theater that enable the company to roll-out its end-to-end digital cinema systems.

In August 2006, the Malayalam language digital movie Moonnamathoral was distributed via satellite to cinemas; thus becoming the first Malayalam digital film to be so distributed. This was done using the end-to-end digital cinema system developed by Singapore based DG2L Technologies.{{cite news | author= | url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/19/stories/2006081901860200.htm | title= Digital movie in Malayalam released | publisher=The Hindu |date=[2006-08-19 | accessdate=2006-08-23 -->



Economics Savings in distribution Digital distribution of movies has the potential to save money for film distributors. A single film print can cost around United States dollar1200, so making 4000 prints for a wide-release movie might cost $5 million. In contrast, at the maximum 250 megabit-per-second maximum data rate defined by Digital Cinema Initiatives for digital cinema, a typical feature-length movie could fit comfortably on an off the shelf 300 Gigabyte hard drive—which cost as low as $70—which could even be returned to the distributor for reuse after a movie's run. With several hundred movies distributed every year, industry savings could potentially reach $1 billion or more.

Alternative content An added incentive for exhibitors is the ability to show alternative content such as live special events, sports, pre-show advertising and other digital or video content. Some low-budget films that would normally not have a theatrical release because of distribution costs might be shown in smaller engagements than the typical large release studio pictures. The cost of duplicating a digital "print" is very low, so adding more theaters to a release has a small additional cost to the distributor. Movies that start with a small release could scale to a much larger release quickly if they were sufficiently successful, opening up the possibility that smaller movies could achieve box office success previously out of their reach.

Greater protection for content A last incentive for digital distribution is the possibility of greater protection against Copyright infringement of audio-visual works. With traditional film prints, distributors typically stagger the film's release in various markets, shipping the film prints around the globe. In the subsequent markets, pirated copies of a film (i.e. a Cam (movie piracy)) may be available before the movie is released in that market. A simultaneous worldwide release would mitigate this problem to some degree. Simultaneous worldwide releases on film have been used on The Da Vinci Code (film), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film), Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and Mission Impossible III amongst others. With digital distribution, a simultaneous worldwide release would not cost significantly more than a staggered release.

Costs On the downside, the initial costs for converting theaters to digital are high: up to $150,000 per screen or more. Theaters have been reluctant to switch without a cost-sharing arrangement with film distributors. Recent negotiations have involved the development of a Virtual Print License fee which the studios will pay for their products which allows financiers and system developers to pay for deployment of digital systems to the theaters, thus providing investors a certain payback.

While a theater can purchase a film projector for US$50,000 and expect an average life of 30–40 years, a digital cinema playback system including server/media block/and projector can cost 3–4 times as much, and is at higher risk for component failures and technological obsolescence. Experience with computer-based media systems show that average economic lifetimes are only on the order of 5 years with some units lasting until about 10 years before they are replaced.

History Digital media playback of hi-resolution 2K files has at least a twenty year history with early RAID arrays feeding custom frame buffer systems with large memories. Content was usually restricted to several minutes of material.

Transfer of content between remote locations was slow and had limited capacity. It wasn't until the late 1990s that feature length projects could be sent over the 'wire' (Internet or dedicated fiber links).

There were many prototype systems developed that claim a first in some form of digital presentation. However, few of these had a significant impact on the advance of the industry. Key highlights in the development of digital cinema would likely include: demonstrations by Texas Instruments of their Digital micromirror device technology, real-time playback of compressed hi-resolution files by various vendors, and early HD presentations from D5 HD tape to digital projectors.

Standards development The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers began work on standards for digital cinema in 2001. It was clear by that point in time that HDTV did not provide a sufficient technological basis for the foundation of digital cinema playback. (In Europe and Japan however, there is still a significant presence of HDTV for theatrical presentations. Agreements within the ISO standards body have led to these systems being referred to as Electronic Cinema Systems (E-Cinema).)

Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) was formed in March 2002 as a joint project of the motion picture studios (Disney, Fox, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios) to develop a system specification for digital cinema. In cooperation with the American Society of Cinematographers, DCI created standard evaluation material (the ASC/DCI StEM material) and developed tests of 2K and 4K playback and compression technologies. DCI published their specification in 2005.

Claims to significant events One claim for the first digital cinema demonstration comes from JVC. On March 19, 1998, they collaborated on a digital presentation at a cinema in London. Several clips from popular films were encoded onto a remote server, and sent via fibre optic for display to a collection of interested Industry parties.

The Last Broadcast (film) made cinematic history on October 23, 1998, when it became the first feature to be theatrically released digitally, via satellite download to theaters across the United States. An effort headed by Wavelength Releasing, Texas Instruments, Digital Projection Inc. and Loral Space, it successfully demonstrated what would become a template for future releases. In 1999, it was repeated utilizing QuVIS technology across Europe, including the Cannes Film Festival, making The Last Broadcast the first feature to be screened digitally at the Cannes Film Festival.

Several feature films were shown in 1999 using DLP prototype projectors and early wavelet based servers. For example, Walt Disney Pictures Bicentennial Man was presented using a Qubit server manufactured by QuVIS of Topeka, Kansas. DVD ROM was used to store the compressed data file. The DVD ROMs were loaded into the QuBit server hard drives for playout. The file size for Bicentennial Man was 42 GB with an average data rate of 43 Mbit/s.

In 2000, Walt Disney, Texas Instruments and Technicolor with the cooperation of several U.S. and international exhibitors, began to deploy prototype Digital Cinema systems in commercial theatres. The systems were assembled and installed by Technicolor using the TI mark V prototype projector, a special Christie (company) lamp housing, and the QuBit server with custom designed automation interfaces.

Technicolor manufactured the DVDs for uploading on these test systems and was responsible for sending technicians out to the locations for every new feature film that was played. The technicians would typically spend ten or so hours to load the files from the DVD to the QuBit, set up the server to play the files, and then set up the projector. A full rehearsal screening of the feature was mandatory as was the requirement to have back up DVDs and backup QuBits available should something fail.

The systems were eventually replaced or upgraded after TI made improvements to the projectors and Technicolor developed a purpose-built digital cinema server in a venture with Qualcomm, the engineering giant from San Diego best known for advanced mobile phone technology. The new systems were called AMS for Auditorium Management Systems and were the first digital cinema servers designed to be user friendly and operate reliably in a computer-hostile environment such as a projection booth. Most importantly, they provided a complete solution for content security.

The AMS used removable hard disk drives as the transport mechanism for the files. This eliminated the time required to upload the DVD-ROMs to the local hard drives and provided the ability to switch programs quickly. For security, the AMS used a media block type system that placed a sealed electronics package within the projector housing. The server output only 3DES encrypted data and the media block did the decryption at the point just before playout.

The first secure encrypted digital cinema feature was Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The system functioned well but was eventually replaced because of the need to create a standard data package for D-cinema distribution.

Universal Pictures used their film Serenity (film) as the first DCI-compliant DCP to be delivered shown to an audience at a remote theater, although it was not distributed this way to the public. Inside Man was their first DCP cinema release, and was transmitted to 20 theatres in the United States along with two trailer (film).

In April 2005, DG2L Technologies announced that it had been awarded the multi-million dollar contract for the world's largest satellite based MPEG4 digital cinema deployment to be done in India, which encompassed 2000 theaters for UFO (United Film Organizers), a subsidiary of the Valuable Media Group. In Mar 2006, United Film Organizers Moviez (UFO Moviez), had reached a significant milestone—surpassing 30,000 shows using the DG2L Cinema System platform. This figure increased to 100,000 shows in August 2006. In September 2006, UFO Moviez acquired 51% stake in DG2L Technologies in a deal estimated at around $50 million.

Stereo 3-D images In late 2005, interest in digital 3-D stereoscopy projection has led to a new willingness on the part of theaters to co-operate in installing a limited number of 2K stereo installations to show Disney's Chicken Little (2005 film) in 3-D film. Seven more digital 3-D movies are slated for 2006 or 2007 release (including Monster House (film) and Meet the Robinsons). The technology combines digital projectors with the use of polarized glasses and screens. DLP technology is well-suited for stereo 3-D as it can handle the higher frame rates required for flicker free presentations.

Digital Cinema Training Asian Academy Of Film & Television

List of digital cinema companies

See also

References and notes External links

 

Digital Cinema



 
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