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ETC
& JVC to bring electronic cinema to India
This is a technology that is just about making its mark
in even developed markets: delivery of movies to theatres
via satellite transmission or electronic cinema. If things
pan out, cinema goers in film crazy India will be partaking
of the same experience by mid-2002, courtesy ETC Networks
and Victor Company of Japan (JVC).
The two have joined forces to form Entertainment Cinema
Network (I), a venture that will provide conditional access
to film via satellite to cinema halls in India.
Digi-cinema is the first venture of its kind that promises
a complete solution package for the distribution and exhibition
sectors as well as for film production. Announcing the launch
of Digi-cinema, ETC managing director Jagjit Singh Kohli
said: "This distribution will have extremely sophisticated
and secure conditional access and anti-piracy features."
This project envisages the use of the JVC's D-ILA technology
projectors launched recently coupled with Digital HD playback
equipment. These professional projectors are capable of
a mind boggling real QXGA resolution of 2048*1536 pixels.
Thus these projectors are ideally suited to exploit the
maximum advantage out of HD format a standard which gives
resolution of 1920*1080 lines in a 16:9 aspect ratio.
In addition to super high resolution, another key advantage
of JVC's D-ILA LCOS devices is the vertical alignment ("homeotropic"
structure) of the liquid crystal layer. This ensures that
projected images have extra-high contrast and this makes
it possible to reproduce accurately even subtle gradation
differences between the lighter and darker parts of the
projected image.
The contrast ratios achieved are as high as 1000:1. D-ILA
projectors can also achieve more than 15000 ANSI lumens
with stacking, which means that the picture can be viewed
even in brightly lit halls.
The project will initially involve the transfer of 35mm
prints to the HD Video format, their authoring, encryption
and duplication for distribution with copyguard protection
built in.
These digitised tapes will be delivered by hand over a three-month
long pilot phase. 35 theatres in the country are to be part
of the service, while commercial deployment will begin in
April 2002.
According to Kohli, the joint collaboration with JVC is
a very active one, wherein the Japanese company will participate
in all aspects of the project. "It is a technical tie-up;
there in no equity sharing with JVC, although later on they
might participate in the equity. But their commitment is
very high because India is the first country in which they
are introducing this technology. If they succeed in India,
this could be a launching pad for their success all over
the world," says Kohli. Their stakes are very high, so they
will do whatever it takes to persevere with us, he added.
Kohli does anticipate resistance from theatre owners as
the cost of the equipment, comprising D-ILA projector, HD
playback conditional access IRD along with dish antenna
and LNB, is very high currently.
To overcome this problem and to encourage the producers
and theatre owners to adapt this format, the joint venture
will seed the market and promote this technology, says Kohli.
"We will install the equipment in a select number of cinemas
at subsidised schemes," he added.
Kohli said that they would select from among a range of
big and small theatres from metros as well as interior areas,
but added that the process has not been initiated so far.
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