XDC, the leading digital cinema service company in Europe, has concluded a VPF agreement with Arena Cinemas, the major cinema circuit in Bulgaria.
Having implemented DCI-compliant digital projection systems in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Bulgaria is the next country in Eastern Europe in which XDC is exporting its popular VPF financing scheme.
Under the terms of this agreement, Arena Cinemas, the dominant player in Bulgaria's cinema market, will equip a total of 70 screens at 9 locations with state-of-the-art digital projection systems. Arena Cinemas, which opened its first multiplex back in April 2003, will equip its cinemas with a satellite delivery solution which will allow distributors to deliver films directly to the cinemas, and which provides the opportunity to receive live 2D or 3D transmissions.
Christian De Stoop, VPF Sales Director with XDC, said: "We are delighted to be able to introduce VPF to the Bulgarian market. With Arena Cinemas, we are working with Bulgaria's premier chain of cinemas and we can equip Bulgaria's most modern multiplexes with the latest technology."
Stefan Minchev, President of Alexandra Group Holding, the parent company of Arena Cinemas, added: "With XDC, we think that we can really bring forward D-Cinema in our country. Their expertise in digital cinema deployments really convinced us to make the right step for our future cinema operations and make available high-end digital cinema technology to our patrons."
All the systems will be connected to XDC's NOC (Network Operations Centre) which will perform the hotline support and the preventive remote maintenance. XDC's local partners will directly manage the frontline support of the digital systems. Furthermore, they will take care of the installations and maintenance supported by XDC's NOC services.
Service of the equipment was one crucial point for entering into an agreement with XDC as Bojidar Iliev, Managing Director of Arena Cinemas, confirmed: "Converting all our cinemas to digital entails that we will need a service partner that meets our requirements to the fullest - XDC has a proven track record as far as NOC and on-site services are concerned."
