A new cinema era will be ushered in on Friday 1 December 2006 when
Ster-Kinekor unveils the country’s, and the continent’s, first Hollywood
studio endorsed digital cinema projector.
The first high definition projector, the Christie CP 2000x, and computer
server is to be installed in Ster-Kinekor Classic Sandton, who will launch
the South African digital cinema era with a screening of the movie Happy
Feet, the comedy adventure set in the land of the Emperor Penguins in the
heart of Antarctica.
“We’re excited about ushering in digital cinema for South Africa audiences
who will now be able to see movies of a quality that has not been possible
up till now,” said Fiaz Mahomed, CEO Ster-Kinekor Theatres. “It will really
be a case of always better on our big screen.”
Capable of projecting a range of up to 35 trillion colours digital cinema
has been gaining momentum across the globe with Hollywood agreeing on a
common technical standard and the benefits of the format becoming all too
clear.
The primary benefits of digital cinema are:
* Clearer high definition picture quality
* Longer life span for the digital print as there is no degradation of
quality over time
* It will assist in curbing piracy which Hollywood estimates to have
cost the industry over $6bn.
* It will cut distribution costs, as the studios will no longer have
to duplicate expensive 35mm prints
* In the long term, it will give cinema owners more flexibility
allowing them to screen anything they can input digitally, be it music
concerts or webcasts for example
With digital cinema the film is delivered on a hard drive, with the content
then copied onto the server. Each film is encrypted to avoid piracy and the
cinema is given a unique key that enables them to unlock the encryption and
show the movie.
At the end of last year there were less than 1 000 digital screens worldwide
and it is estimated that more than 17 000 will be installed in the next few
years, most of which are expected to be in the USA.
“In the long run this will be good news for South African film makers as
well, as it allows potentially for broader and easier distribution of
films,” added Mahomed.
Ster-Kinekor will trial the digital projector for three months to assess the
way forward regarding future roll out plans.
