Microspace Communications Corporation, the leading provider of point-to-multipoint
satellite services for business applications, is donating a complete satellite network
package to the Digital Cinema Laboratory, a unit of the Entertainment Technology
Center at the University of Southern California. It was announced today by Microspace
Manager of Digital Cinema Development Sam Matheny. The Entertainment Technology
Center (ETC) researches and tests new entertainment technologies and its Digital
Cinema Lab (DCL) is considered the premiere Hollywood facility exploring digital
cinema solutions. Microspace is providing a complete high-speed satellite transmission
network and a reception terminal to bring its VELOCITY® satellite service to the
DCL and help support the Lab's evaluation of digital cinema delivery, security and
projection systems.
"We are very impressed by the work being done at the ETC," said Matheny, "and
see the Center as THE place to interact with key members of the digital cinema community,
i.e., the studios, content producers and Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI). It also
provides a great opportunity for interested parties to interact with Microspace
and that interaction will help us insure that our satellite-based delivery solution
is right for the market. We fully understand that the ultimate delivery solution
will need to be cost effective, highly reliable and extremely secure. "
"As the DCL begins to focus on the distribution portion of the digital cinema
chain, we will demonstrate and test the three alternative means of delivery to theatres:
packaged media, terrestrial broadband and satellite," said Charles S. Swartz, executive
director/CEO of the ETC. "To that end, we are extremely pleased to have direct,
ongoing access to the Microspace system."
Microspace introduced the VELOCITY® system in 1996 to serve the business-to-business
market and had been perfecting the system's digital cinema capabilities since that
time. The VELOCITY® service rapidly transports both digital cinema imagery and pre-show
content with no resolution limits. Pre-show content--advertising, short films, live
events and other unique content— is of increasing interest to one of the DCL's founding
members, The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), as it looks toward the
digital theatre of the future. In addition to availing its equipment to the DCL
staff, sponsors, founding members and clients, Microspace plans to host special
events at the Lab.