Closed Captioning Capabilities added to GDC-SA-2100 Digital Cinema Server

As part of its on-going product improvement effort, GDC Technology (“GDC”) is pleased to announce that it has added Closed Captioning capabilities to its SA-2100 family of digital cinema servers. This will benefit cinema patrons who are hearing impaired as they can now read the captions individually (using specially designed equipment available on individual seats) while watching the movie at the same time.

Unlike open captioning where text is permanently visible which can be intrusive to the viewing audience, closed captioning allows individual caption-reading. This means others seated alongside do not watch, or even see, the captions. GDC has adopted the WGBH Rear Window Captioning System to display the caption. The adopted system is in full compliance of SMPTE 428-10 and SMPTE 429-12 standards. All GDC SA-2100 servers now accept digital content in the form of Digital Cinema Packages which include closed captions.

In addition, NATO is working towards a standard interface for the digital cinema player so that 3rd party closed caption system can simply plug in without modification. The goal is to incorporate these new standards in digital cinema systems by early 2009, along with the DCI-mandated improvements currently scheduled.”

Barco to further strengthen technology leadership in digital cinema

Barco is pleased to announce a new range of DLP Cinema® based digital cinema projectors. From next year onwards the company will market a full range of 2K and 4K-ready projectors, meeting the needs of small and large screen theater owners at the lowest cost of ownership. Last week Cinemark Holdings, Inc. and Barco already announced an exclusive partnership, closing the first deal ever for enhanced DLP Cinema® 4K digital projectors, reconfirming Barco's pioneering position in the digital cinema market.

Barco introduced its first DLP Cinema® projector more than 10 years ago and has been the industry's technology pioneer since then.

From next year onwards, Barco's family of digital projectors will be complemented with 4K-ready projection. Barco will continue to invest in 2K projection and will at the same time also develop 4K solutions. Based upon the DLP® technology, these 2K and 4K projectors will feature typical Barco differentiators like modular design for ease of maintenance, high brightness for perfect 3D image quality and the lowest total cost of ownership.

Palace Cinemas and XDC Agree to Deploy 170 Digital Screens in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary

Palace Cinemas, the leading exhibitor in the Czech Republic

Palace Cinemas, the leading exhibitor in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, and XDC, the leading Pan-European digital cinema service company, have agreed on the deployment of digital cinema systems in 170 of Palace Cinemas' screens in Central Europe.

Cinema Expo 2009 -- The agreement between Palace Cinemas and XDC includes the roll out of DCI-compliant projection systems co-financed by the Virtual Print Fee (VPF) model. Rollout is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009.

Under the terms of the agreement, XDC will exclusively install DCI-compliant digital projection systems and XDC's CineStore(R) Solo G3 D-Cinema servers. XDC will also implement a fully integrated and networked solution in each of the 20 complexes.

www.xdcinema.com
www.palacecinemas.net

GDC Technology’s SA-2100 Digital Cinema Servers Are 4K Ready

GDC Technology (“GDC”), a world leading digital cinema solution provider, is pleased to announce that it is developing a 4K Media Block which will be compatible with the new generation of 4K chip being developed by Texas Instruments. The new product will extend the capabilities of GDC’s SA-2100 line of digital cinema servers and is timed to be ready when 4K capable DLP Cinema® projectors become available.

GDC was the first digital cinema server manufacturer to show 4K capability as early as in 2004. This early version of GDC’s 4K servers was used in demonstrations with Sony 4K digital cinema projectors using SXRD™ technology in China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong from 2004 to 2005. These early 4K demonstrations with Sony clearly showed that GDC’s state-of-the-art SA-2100 servers were already architected to support full 4K content and bandwidth requirements at that time. The scalable architecture in GDC’s SA-2100 servers allows GDC to offer a seamless transition to 4K without any changes in the screen and theatre management infrastructure. More importantly, GDC’s 4K capable digital cinema technology will retain all its existing advanced features such as:
•Instant import of data drives – allows instant transfer of data drives (i.e. HDD) from one SA-2100 to another, making it possible to move a movie quickly from one screen to another. The entire movie (data) transfer process can be completed within a few minutes.
•Instant playback from any CRU drive on the SA-2100A for emergency – allows content received on a CRU Dataport drive to play back directly from the drive without ingesting. This is useful in emergency situations where the theatre receives content at the last minute.
•Instant playback of content held on the GDC TMS (Theatre Management System) for emergency – allows content residing on the TMS to play back directly through streaming from the TMS without ingesting at the screen server.
•Built-in RealD’s 3D EQ (aka ‘ghostbuster’) technology – RealD’s 3D EQ technology augments the separation of the left and right eye images, providing the best 3D visual experience.
•Closed Captioning capability – facilitates greater access to motion pictures by displaying closed captions from DCPs on WGBH’s Rear Window Captioning devices.
Having such an extensible 4k architecture allows GDC customers to be confident that they have a future-proof product. Customers will also have peace of mind to know that GDC’s existing range of servers will continue to work in full compatibility with 4K DLP Cinema® projectors when they become available.