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Tokyo, Japan/Burbank CA, U.S.—May 16, 2006
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, Warner Mycal Corp. and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation Join Second Phase of “4K Pure Cinema”-- World’s First Networked 4K Digital Cinema Joint Field Trial
“The DaVinci Code” and “Poseidon” to be Distributed Over Fiber-Optic Network and Exhibited in 4K in Japan; New “4K Pure Cinema” Logo Created for Use in Ads and To Mark Theaters to Help Consumers Find Premium Viewing Experience
4K Pure Cinema,” the world’s
first field test to use the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) Digital Cinema
System Specifications at the highest quality standard of 4K to test the service
model of digital cinema distribution and exhibition of feature-length motion
pictures has announced a significant expansion. Another major Hollywood studio
and its Japanese distribution affiliate -- Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony
Pictures Entertainment Japan; another major Japanese exhibitor -- Warner Mycal
-- and another major network service provider -- NTT East -- will join original
participants Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Warner Entertainment Japan Inc.,
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West
Corporation, and Toho Co., Ltd, who began the field trials in October, 2005.
The first public showing as part of this expanded field trial will start
Saturday, May 20, 2006, when “The DaVinci Code” by Sony Pictures Entertainment
opens in Japan, with a digital release at “4K Pure Cinema” quality in Warner
Mycal Cinemas and TOHO CINEMAS in the Tokyo and Osaka regions. Subsequent
digital cinema releases scheduled as part of the field trials through the summer
of 2006 will include “Poseidon” by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Other titles will
be announced shortly.
This expansion marks another big step forward toward the rollout of digital
cinema in Japan. The field trial will continue to provide Hollywood’s newest
feature movies at the highest quality standard of 4K, comparable to a
professional 35mm film “answer print” and superior in many ways to traditional
film “release prints” typically shown in local cinema theaters.
The first phase of the “4K Pure Cinema” joint field trial has included the films
“Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and “V for
Vendetta,” all in the DCI specified 4K format. The field trial participants have
received many positive comments from movie-goers mentioning the superb quality
of the 4K digital images and the uncompressed multi-channel digital sound, as
well as the clarity and stability of the Japanese language subtitles, which made
them easier to read.
To help consumers find and identify those theaters offering this premium viewing
experience, a new “4K Pure Cinema” logo has been created and
will be used in exhibitor ads and onsite signage at the theaters themselves.
A fiber-optic testbed has been configured to send DCI-compliant digital cinema
packages (DCP) containing feature-length motion pictures from California to
distribution servers at NTT’s Yokosuka R&D Center, NTT West’s Osaka Data Center,
and NTT East’s Tokyo Data Center. The encrypted DCP’s received from Sony
Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. will be distributed via NTT’s domestic
fiber optic networks to Warner Mycal Cinemas Itabashi, TOHO CINEMAS Roppongi
Hills and TOHO CINEMAS Takatsuki where secure 4K digital cinema playback systems
provided by NTT will be used to screen feature movies on a regular schedule for
paying customers using Sony SXRD 4K projectors.
This field trial is designed to allow the participants to evaluate digital
distribution and digital exhibition from various perspectives including image
quality, viewer response, operational efficiency, security and reporting,
network performance and reliability, and the costs related to both network
distribution and theater management. The field trial will implement the DCI
specifications for both the 4K format of 4,096 by 2,160 pixels (total resolution
of more than eight million pixels) and the 2K format at 2,048 by 1,080 pixels
(total resolution of more than two million pixels).
The nine companies participating in these expanded field trials share a common
conviction that the introduction of digital cinema has the potential for
providing real benefits to theatre audiences, theatre owners, filmmakers and
distributors. They also recognize that the potential benefits of digital cinema
cannot be fully realized without industry-wide standards supporting
interoperability and compatibility around the world, as detailed in the Digital
Cinema Initiatives Specification that establishes and documents voluntary
specifications for an open architecture for digital cinema that ensures a
uniform and high level of technical performance, reliability and quality
control.
The new participants are each bringing to this joint field trial unique strength
that has made them leaders in their respective fields.
• Sony Pictures (SPE and SPEJ) provide distribution management and supply of
D-Cinema content in accordance with DCI specifications.
• NTT East will construct and provide broadband fiber-optic links in eastern
areas of Japan, establish a D-cinema distribution center in Tokyo and secure
distribution system based on DCI specifications and jointly develop TCB (Theater
Control Box) in cooperation with NTT West.
• Warner Mycal will provide a movie theater, manage theatrical entertainment
content and operate the D-Cinema screening system used in this trial.
Note:
The Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC (DCI) was created in March 2002, as a joint
venture of Disney, Fox, MGM, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal
and Warner Bros. Studios. In July 2005, after extensive testing and
investigation by industry experts, all DCI Member Studios unanimously approved
the publication of the DCI Digital Cinema System Specification v1.0. This
specification is currently under the standardization process at SMPTE to become
an international standard.
Representatives:
Al Barton, Vice President, Digital Technologies, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Inc.
Ken Munekata, Representative Director, Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan Inc.
Chris Cookson, President, Technical Operations & Chief Technology Officer,
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
William Ireton, Representative of Japan, Warner Entertainment Japan Inc.
Millard L. Ochs, President and Representative Director, Warner Mycal Corporation
Norio Wada, President and CEO of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
Toyohiko Takabe, President and CEO of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East
Corporation
Shunzo Morishita, President and CEO of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West
Corporation
Hideyuki Takai, President and CEO of Toho Co., Ltd.
Contact:
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Jim Kennedy
SVP Corporate Communications
Sony Pictures Entertainment
jim_kennedy@spe.sony.com
+1-310 244 6777
Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan Inc.
Hiroki Imahori, Director Sales Strategy, Film Distribution
davinci.info@spe.co.jp
+81-3-5551-0821
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Craig M. Hoffman
Director, Corporate Communications, Technology Operations
Craig.Hoffman@warnerbros.com
+1-818-954-2074
Warner Entertainment Japan Inc.
Kunio Yamada, Director, Sales Department
Kunio.yamada@warnerbros.com
+81-3-5251-6411
Warner Mycal Corporation
hiromi.kuse@warnerbros.com
+81-3-3262-0274
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
Natsumedai, Kimura, Press Relations
cinema2006@ml.hco.ntt.co.jp
+81-5205-5550
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation
Fumitoshi Imaizumi, Senior Manager, Broadband Business Development Division
cinema2006@ml.bch.east.ntt.co.jp
+81-3-3830-6142
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation
Yamane, Ogawa, Utsumi, Kihara and Ishizaka, Broadband Application Services
Department
cinema2006@bld.hq.west.ntt.co.jp
+81-6-4793-8710
Toho Co., Ltd.
Toyoda, Movie Entertainment Dept.
t_toyoda@toho.co.jp
+81-3-3591-1231
Sony Digital Cinema Contacts:
Media Contacts:
Tom Di Nome
Sony Electronics Inc.
Phone: +1 201-930-6357
tom.dinome@am.sony.com
About Sony Digital Cinema:
Sony Electronics Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, Calif. and is a leading provider of audio/video electronics and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Operations include research and development, design, engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing, distribution and customer service. Sony’s Broadcast and Business Solutions Company develops and manufactures video and audio technologies for professional applications including its 4K projectors for digital cinema, as well as technologies for broadcast television and motion picture production, event videography, ENG/EFP, digital cinematography, videoconferencing, IP surveillance and security, digital signage, and remote system diagnostics and monitoring. For more information about Sony’s 4K projectors, visit www.sony.com/digitalcinema.
Sony Digital Cinema Directory page
Sony Digital Cinema Web Site
About Warner Bros. Pictures Distributing :
Warner Bros. Pictures Distributing Directory page
About Warner Mycal Cinemas:
In 1991, The Mycal Group, one of Japan’s leading distributors, formed a joint venture with Warner Bros.
International Theaters Co. to create Warner-Mycal Cinemas. The first complex operated by the venture opened in 1993 in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture, the first of its kind in Japan. As of January 1, 2000, Warner-Mycal Cinemas operates 44 theater complexes with 336 screens, and plans to expand to 70 theaters with 500 screens by 2005.
Warner Mycal Cinemas Directory page
About Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation:
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation Directory page
About Toho Company Ltd.:
Toho Company Ltd. Directory page
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