Kortrijk, Belgium—Sep 5, 2005
Barco and Kinoton announce OEM agreement for the Digital Cinema Market
Barco and Kinoton have signed a contract to
cooperate in the commercial development of an OEM digital cinema solution
incorporating the 2k DLP Cinema™ technology of Texas Instruments.
Barco and Kinoton, two leading brands in the cinema industry and the post
production community, announce a worldwide agreement for the Digital Cinema
Market. Under the agreement, the two companies will develop a new OEM projector
range, based on DLP Cinema™ technology.
Headquartered in Munich and with 160 employees in Germany and more than 80 sales
offices worldwide, Kinoton is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of
equipment and systems for post production and film presentation. The agreement
marks Kinoton’s formal entry into the digital cinema market following a long and
successful history as one of the world’s leading providers of 35mm projectors.
Mr Christoph Dobler, Managing Director of Kinoton, comments “At Kinoton we are
experiencing an increasing demand for digital cinema solutions from our direct
customer base. Hence, the step to digital is a logical consequence. Barco, the
worldwide leading provider of 2k DLP Cinema™ projectors, shares the same
strategic vision for quality and customer care as we have. We are delighted to
be cooperating with Barco and look forward to strengthening our range with
digital solutions.”
Barco and Kinoton are no strangers to each other and have previously
co-developed solutions for the Digital Cinema Market. Commenting on the
agreement to work with Kinoton, Nico Vernieuwe, Vice President of Barco's
Digital Cinema business unit, stated: “We are delighted to support Kinoton in
this step forward towards their digital solution. We welcome them into the
digital business at this time and are looking forward to their success. We
firmly believe Kinoton will play an important role together with Barco and all
its partners to establish Digital Cinema worldwide.”
The new projector range, available as of early 2006, will be co-branded
recognizing Barco as one of three projector manufacturers to hold a license for
Texas Instruments DLP CinemaTM display technology. The product range will adhere
to all related technical and commercial obligations.