ITV

Tag: digital cinema

  • NxtDigital launches its broadband-over-satellite solution ‘NxtSkyFi’

    NxtDigital launches its broadband-over-satellite solution ‘NxtSkyFi’

    Mumbai : Media and communications company, NxtdDigital Ltd, has introduced “NxtSkyFi,” a broadband-over-satellite (BOS) service. Over Diwali, the BOS service in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland was officially launched in the picturesque town of Tawang. The BOS service will gradually be made available to the rest of India.

    Speaking at a function that was attended by leading dignitaries including in-charge DC of Tawang Rinchin Leta, BJP National Party Minority Morcha leader Tsetan Chombey; DRDA Tawang project director  Tenzin Jambey, and other senior civil servants; 

    DIPRO of Tawang Nawang Chita, lauded NxtDigital for its launch of its BOS service and pointed out, “This launch coincides with a historic day for Arunachal Pradesh. We are proud to have the service inaugurated here. We urge NxtDigital to provide such services that augment the lives of citizens by providing education and so many other digital services – across all of Arunachal Pradesh and the north-east of India quickly.”

    The NxtSkyFi BOS offering is unique in that it is a bundled offering that gives clients access to services like interactive learning, digital movie on demand, over-the-top (OTT) TV, and other online solutions, rather than merely a “passive Internet pipe.” In addition to signing on with top OTT platforms, it has already onboarded two major partners, Tata Studi and Jadooz, to bring infotainment content to the last mile.

    Tata ClassEdge chief business officer at Sachin Torne said, “Tata Studi is an award-winning interactive learning solution founded on the science of learning – giving students access to a highly effective learning method, recommended by learning scientists.”

    Jadooz, a company founded by Padmashree Shobana and veteran media executive Rahul Nehra is focused on interactive big-screen education and entertainment, with a focus on rural and emerging markets. Jadooz has already launched 20 centres in India where NxtSkyFi will partner for its BOS solution.

    NxtDigital chief business officer Sameer Kanse said, “NxtSkyFi is an innovative solution. For retail users it goes beyond uninterrupted internet connectivity to offer real solutions to enrich the lives of customers, through our partnerships. For OTT providers, it leverages our connectivity together with over 1,500 locations-based Edge content delivery network (CDN) solutions to address low latency requirements – enhancing the user experience, facilitating higher subscriber addition and retention. For enterprises, we have a myriad of solutions including bundling BOS with fiber connectivity for optimal reach and cost-efficiency.”

    NxtDigital’s strategy is to use its vast network of over 10,000 digital service partners and presence in over 4,500 pin codes across India to deliver a variety of solutions ranging from education and healthcare to information and entertainment. The BOS solution will be an important component of the company’s national “NXTmesh” network project, which aims to integrate connectivity across India via its own fibre and the vast national fibre network of its partners. The emphasis will continue to be on providing innovative business models and dependable connectivity solutions to its retail and enterprise customers.

    NxtDigital managing director and CEO Vynsley Fernandes pointed out, “The launch of NxtSkyFi is in line with our vision to build out a pan-India network of digital infrastructure to fulfill our government’s objective of a digital and truly ‘connected’ India. This launch fits in with our expanding portfolio of digital TV via fiber and HITS and our terrestrial broadband connectivity which has expanded significantly over the last couple of years.” 

    He added, “The recent launch of our OneDigital product will also ride on the back of our BOS initiative bringing television, broadband, OTT, VoIP, WIFI and CCTV solutions to markets where reliable connectivity is a challenge. The launch of our broadband over satellite service also triggers off the first phase of our relationship with Thaicom – as we look to work together to bring emerging solutions to India.”

    According to the binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) between NxtDigital and Thaicom, the plan is to develop and offer a portfolio of global emerging digital solutions that are critical to the mission of a digital India. Thaicom has already developed and deployed satellite artificial intelligence solutions in other parts of the world, including space-based data technologies for agriculture, disaster relief, and natural resource management, as well as public WIFI systems and drones to supplement rural digital solutions.

    Given India’s heavy reliance on agriculture and the current difficulties in crop management, satellite-based AI will be helpful in providing readily accessible mission-critical data. Additionally, both businesses have decided to establish a Center for Excellence to use artificial intelligence and analytics to develop new satellite and associated digital-based technologies, utilising their respective reputations for deep-tech research and development.

  • Deluxe and Technicolor ink digital cinema joint venture

    Deluxe and Technicolor ink digital cinema joint venture

    MUMBAI: Deluxe and Technicolor have inked an agreement to create a new digital cinema joint venture, Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema, which will specialize in theatrical digital cinema mastering, distribution and key management services.

     

    This joint venture in digital cinema will bring together best-in-class technologies, personnel, work processes and facilities to provide seamless and exceptional services to its customers on a greater global scale.

     

    Both Technicolor and Deluxe will be committed to the operational and financial success of the new business, which will be managed by Deluxe and based in Burbank, Calif. All other lines of business will continue to operate independently of one another.

     

    “As the global entertainment industry continues its transition to 100 percent digital distribution and delivery, this transformational partnership will be optimally positioned to offer our companies’ existing and future customers industry-leading digital cinema services with greater efficiencies. This is yet another example of Deluxe expanding our partnerships to deliver a suite of next generation digital cinema services to our industry customers,” said Deluxe Entertainment Services CEO David Kassler.

     

    “This partnership puts us in a stronger position to offer industry-leading digital cinema services around the world. At Technicolor we have committed ourselves to services that are driven by creative talent and technology, creating the next generation immersive media experiences our customers have come to expect from us,” added Technicolor president of production services Tim Sarnoff.

     

    This joint venture is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.

  • UFO Moviez honoured at Chhattisgarhi Film Awards Ceremony 2014

    UFO Moviez honoured at Chhattisgarhi Film Awards Ceremony 2014

    MUMBAI: UFO Moviez India ltd, the company that delivers satellite based Digital Cinema to theatres across India, has yet again received the award for the ‘Best Digital Cinema Solutions’ at the Chhattisgarhi Film Awards Ceremony 2014. The awards are organized by Filmi Chhattisgarh and sponsored by Credible Chhattisgarh, Cultural Division, Government of Chhattisgarh and Megh Sai production.  The fourth edition of the Chhattisgarhi Film Awards Ceremony 2014 was held on January 28, 2014, at Amardeep Talkies, Raipur.

    Post the advent of UFO’s satellite-delivered Digital Cinema solutions, the Chhattisgarhi film industry has displayed a strong and steady growth trajectory. From just two releases in the year 2009, the Chhattisgarhi film industry has seen a seven fold jump in the number of annual releases. The year 2013 has witnessed a release of 14 Chhattisgarhi films. Other films like ‘More Man Ke Meet’, ‘Maya ke Gharaunda’, and ‘Dagabaaz’ are some of the successful Chhattisgarhi releases of 2013.

    Mr. Amit Pradhan, Producer/Director/Story Writer, Red queen Pictures, said, “UFO Moviez has proved to be a boon for the Chhattisgarhi film industry. The widespread day one release of films at nominal costs made possible by UFO Moviez has spurred the revival of the Chhattisgarhi film industry.  UFO’s Digital Cinema solutions have enabled the widest reach possible for our content and we’re thankful and wish them great success in the future..”

    Producer and Director Mr. Pranav Jha said, “It has been a pleasure experiencing various platforms provided by UFO.  My film ‘B.A 1st Year’ debuted on 5 UFO digital screens. The content was highly appreciated and Digital Cinema made it possible thereafter for the movie to be screened in 22 UFO digital theatres till date.  This wouldn’t have been possible in the pre-digital era.  We sincerely thank UFO Moviez for their continued support towards the growth of the Chhattisgarhi film industry.”

    Mr. Lucky Rangshahi, a leading distributor of the Chhattisgarhi film industry, added, “We highly appreciate UFO’s services throughout the country, especially in Chhattisgarh. The producers of Chhattisgarhi films are very pleased with UFO’s cooperation resulting in an increase in the number of films made.”

    Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Pankaj Jaysinh, COO, UFO Moviez India said, “We are delighted and humbled by this recognition bestowed upon us by a State Government body as well as local film industry stakeholders.  We remain dedicated to extending our support to the growth of regional cinema across the length and breadth of the nation. UFO Moviez is a pioneer in the digitization of theatres in Chhattisgarh. Today, upon evaluating the outcome of our efforts, we are pleased to see how film producers and distributors can now showcase the latest local language films on a first-day-first-show basis to a much wider set of audiences, both in Chattisgarh and across India.  UFO today has 56 digital screens in Chhattisgarh and our subsidiary Scrabble Entertainment has 21 .  Theatre owners are also reaping the benefits of the digitization of films including higher footfalls in the theatre premises, more ticket collections and enhanced advertising revenue earnings. It’s a win-win situation for all stakeholders of the Chhattisgarhi film industry and we are happy to see how the ecosystem has grown.”  

     

  • ‘The real push for digital cinema will come when biggies like Adlabs decide to ramp up’ : Senthil Kumar – Real Image Media Technologies director

    ‘The real push for digital cinema will come when biggies like Adlabs decide to ramp up’ : Senthil Kumar – Real Image Media Technologies director

    Already setting cash registers ringing across Hollywood, with movies like Beowulf, Hannah Montana and Meet the Robinsons, Digital Cinema has been touted as the next big thing in the entertainment industry. And Chennai-based Real Image Media Technologies (RIMT) is already geared up to herald a major resurgence of the film exhibition industry in India with the introduction of this new technology.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Anindita Sarkar, Real Image Media Technologies director Senthil Kumar says that the future of cinema lies in digital and unveils the company’s growth plans.

     

    Excerpts:

    Do you see digital cinema growing faster from now on?
    Several things that were roadblocking the growth have got sorted out. Prices have fallen and the technology has settled down. Film producers, distributors and exhibitors have realised that digital makes better economics. There has been an improvement in sound, though we do not see the same jump in picture quality.

    What will fuel the growth?
    Digital cinema will grow on its own as it is an effective tool against piracy and saves on print costs. But what will further fuel this growth is the emergence of 3D. Across the world today, there are around 5000 digital screens of which at least 1000 are 3D – that is 20 per cent already. In India, we are already seeing a 15 per cent conversion of theatres (about 10,000) into digital. We haven’t seen a 3D wave as yet, but I am sure it will come. More and more people are finding that with plenty of 3D Hollywood ventures coming up in the next two years, 3D makes a lot of sense commercially. That realisation will come in India too.

    What will drive digital cinema growth in India?
    We are already seeing decent growth in India. We have installed 550 digital systems across the country. UFO Moviez has touched 1000 theatres. Reliance ADAG’s Adlabs is testing the technology.The real push will come when Reliance decides to ramp up.

    What is the model that you follow?
    We sell our equipment to various providers like E-City, Pyramid Saimira, and PVR. UFO Moviez, on the other hand, follows a rental model; they act like a technical service provider.

    So you are not looking at the rental model….?
    The rental model is not lucrative for us right now.
    ‘Digital cinema will grow on its own as it is an effective tool against piracy and saves on print costs. But what will further fuel this growth is the emergence of 3D‘

    But doesn’t this model provide UFO the volumes?
    If you put out the money and you operate at the theatre saying pay me a rental, why would you not have takers? Theatre owners do not have any commitment. If the theatres want the digital systems for two weeks, UFO will give it for that period and then take back the services when they do not want it anymore. So it is an easy scheme. Therefore, it is quickly chosen. But these theatres do not always run on digital systems.

    Isn’t your system more costly?
    We charge Rs 3 million for installation of our system. But we have a cheaper option where theatre owners have to pay Rs 1-1.2 million; they can upgrade later on. Most of our customers are from this bracket. For the 3D system, theatre operators will have to further part with Rs 2 million. So it takes Rs 5 million to do digital plus 3D.

    Is the growth coming in from smaller cities?
    No.These 550 equipments are mainly with mainstream A and B theatres including multiplexes. E-City alone is using 150 systems, mainly in Gujarat. Pyramid Saimira has taken 100 while Sri Venkatesh Films in West Bengal has installed our systems in 40-50 theatres. PVR is also using our systems.

    Is an export market available?
    We have sold 150 systems in overseas markets. Our main clients overseas are in US, Canada, Korea and European countries.

    How effective has digital cinema been in tackling piracy?
    We have put in invisible water markings into our system to fight piracy. If a film has been shot from the screen directly, we can tell exactly from which theatre the copy came from. And the best thing about these water markings is that it cannot be edited. We also lock the projector and the server in such a way that the projector is unable to work with any other server.

    Do you see digital theatres tapping new streams of revenue?
    Advertising is a new revenue opportunity. We are going in for consolidated advertising. We have a technology wherein you can put in an ad at a particular time to get the best audience attention. You can also decide the number of times the ad could appear, thereby hitting at the target audience directly. Using this technique, You can also choose the theatres in which you would want your ad to get displayed. This leads to targeted advertising, next only to internet.

    How big an attraction is 3D?
    3D is definitely an attraction – like digital. Take for example the 3D Disney film Hannah Montana that is stated to have made $30 million during its opening weekend.

     

    3D is also lucrative for other programmes like live concerts and sports. Today, concerts are being covered in 3D and released; sports are being covered live on 3D and released.

    Is the cost of covering a live concert on 3D the same?
    Covering live concerts on 3D is much more cost effective when compared to films. When you are making a full movie, of course, the cost on the budget will go much higher; live event coverage is on the other end much cheaper.

    How is the installation done?
    The movie is placed on the server to a digital projector and we transmit the movie through satellite or by hard drive depending upon how many theatres are receiving it. Our system accecpts anything. There are two kinds of technology that can produce a 3D effect, the passive and the active.

     

    When it comes to the passive technology, we put them up along with the system in our servers. For example the external rotating polarizing filter that works with a single projector for the single screen. We have taken this technology from Master Image. The other technology is for the dual projector with fixed polarizing filters on each projector. It is for the silver screen. Here there is not active involvement of the eyewear.

     

    The active systems include the infrared emitter and shutter glasses technology from XpanD. It requires a single projector and has and active eyewear and is for the white screen.

    How cost effective is it in converting old movies into 3D?
    The cost varies between $5 million to $30 million, depending upon how lengthy and complex the movie is. There is only one company that is currently doing it. It’s called In3.

    How many movies have been converted till now?
    Nothing has been released yet. But yes, there are movies like Star Wars (1979) that have been converted.

    What are your 3D plans for India?
    We are trying to act as a catalyst to make 3D happen in India, in both production and exhibition.

     

    Satyam in Karnataka has already installed one screen with 3D and we assume that a few more will be coming up very quickly like Adlabs and PVR. Also, we will start helping Indian films shoot in 3D. And this we see will definitely bring in a huge boost to our technology.

    Since the digital market is growing, will you need to raise money to fund your expansion?
    We are looking at a third round of funding within 6-12 months and expect to raise Rs 600-800 million. The funds will be mainly used for rolling out digital cinema and development work. We are also looking at expanding in the area of 3D. We already have Intel Capital supporting us in the second round. Street Edge and Novastar have participated as initial investors.

  • Ficci seeks widespread benefits, exemptions for digital cinema

    NEW DELHI: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has demanded various benefits for the digital cinema industry, including tax holiday under Income Tax, exemption from MAT and DDT, 100 per cent depreciation benefit, sales tax exemption and customs benefits.

    Topping the list of demands is a 10-year income tax holiday, just as is done in the case of various types of infrastructure development, including creation of trunking, broadband network and tax holidays multiplexes.

    The Ficci document has also strongly stressed the definite need for removal of service tax in the case of this “fledgling industry”,
     

    It has shown that at various stages, from conversion of analogue images to digital and the time of being actual screening, the players – operators, distributors, rentals for service providers, etc. pay several times.

    “All the services described in the business model above attract a levy of service tax at 12% plus 2% education cess thereon, albeit under different service categories. It is submitted that for an industry in its infancy, a cost of 12.24% of its revenues will have a significant adverse affect on its prospects, if not serve to destroy it altogether,” Ficci has emphasised.

    The document spelling out Ficci’s budgetary wishlist says that digital cinema has tremendous benefits, not the least of which is less burden on the environment, which is the ground on which it has demanded 100 depreciation benefit for the sector.

    The document argues that analogue prints are made from polyester films and are destroyed by burning, which is a huge bio-hazard. Digital prints are mere digital files and can be simply erased from our server’s memory. Hence, film waste removal is taxing on the environment, because polyester films cannot be recycled.
     

    Ficci has suggested the development of digital cinema infrastructure that would benefit the industry hugely.

    It argues that this will increase box office collections, generate rural employment and curb piracy, as well create savings in foreign exchange and minimize wastage in print.

    “In India”, the document argues, “software piracy has assumed gigantic proportions. Ficci studies estimate that the Indian film industry loses almost 42 per cent revenue due to piracy.

    “In absolute terms this amounts to approximately Rs 2,000 crore on account of piracy. This is money on which the government earns neither Entertainment Tax nor Income Tax.

    “An early and widespread release of movies, enabled by digital cinema will act as an effective deterrent to piracy,” it says.

    Ficci also says that early migrants to the digital cinema system have reported more than 100 per cent increase in revenue collections by way of increased box office collections due to early screening of movies.

    “Needless to mention, this has also translated into enhanced collections of Entertainment and Income Tax,” stressed the document.

    Digital cinema makes niche cinema and regional language films more commercially viable. This will, in turn, generate employment for local artists and technicians and other regional film industry related infrastructural suppliers, holds Ficci.

    It has stressed that digital cinema infrastructure equipment, particularly the digital projector and digital movie compressor, which attract the peak rate of custom duty, be given exemption.

    “Since these items are not manufactured in India and are a very heavy cost burden to the provider these should be treated at par with hi-tech and information technology sector items with customs duty being reduced to nil,” suggests Ficci.

    Ficci has also recommended that the state governments give lease tax exemption to the new industry.

    Considering the way digital cinema infrastructure is poised to revolutionise the films and visual arts exhibition in the country, with multi-fold advantages to all the constituents of the society, (viz. the content owner, the theatre owner, the tax administration, and the general public as the ultimate consumer), it certainly deserves a whole hearted support from the Government of India, Ficci feels.

    “And as elucidated above, a strong Digital Cinema Infrastructure would, in the long run, pay back more than what it is requesting for now.”
  • Digital cinema co. Interworld releases first production on 19 January

    Digital cinema co. Interworld releases first production on 19 January

    MUMBAI: Interworld, a digital cinema firm, has announced the release of its first movie Mr. Hot Mr. Kool on 19 January and is aiming to produce around 15 movies a year.

    Mr. Hot Mr. Kool is a romantic comedy targeting college going youth and young professionals. The company says that the other movies in the pipeline would be produced keeping in mind the target audience, trends in cinema and towns with digital theaters.

    Interworld Digital’s platform “DigiCine” claims to be the only platform in India which is based on high end technology and provides opportunity to show movies broadcast by various digital cinema operators in the same theater during different shows. The firm also proclaims to be the first to present a pay per use model for theater owners.

    “We are proud of being India’s first Digital Cinema Company certified with ISO 9001:2000.”

    The company also states in an official release that they are confident that the Motion Pictures Division will make good profits as the first venture itself has recovered the full amount even before the release of the movies by selling various rights.

    Interworld is currently in the process of selecting and finalizing of the theaters in Mumbai, Delhi and UP circuit for up-gradation to show movies on digital mode. The distribution of movies to these theaters will be via satellite mode, adds the realese.

    “DigiCine is end-to-end Digital Cinema Solution. Our equipments are fitted with high precision and are fit to work in extreme Indian climate of very cold, humid or hot even up to 45 degrees. We have designed and architected the equipment like Digital Servers and projectors to suit Indian environment and needs, and they are manufactured in Norway and Singapore,” says Interworld.

  • ‘Broadcast India 2006’ begins 26 October

    ‘Broadcast India 2006’ begins 26 October

    MUMBAI: The 16th Broadcast India 2006 Exhibition and Symposium will be held from 26-28 October 2006 at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai.

    Broadcast India 2006 will present the latest technology of newsgathering and telecasting of programmes live through a mobile phone.

    From film making to television production and post production, from content creation in all formats to its management and finally to its delivery, the Broadcast India show will cover all the technologies, said an official release.

    More than 400 companies from 31 countries will be at Broadcast India to showcase their latest products and services in Broadcast, Television, Audio, Radio, Film, Computer Graphics, Satellite, Special Effects and Multimedia. This year’s show will throw light on IPTV, Mobile TV, Digital Cinema and High Definition.

    The Broadcast India 2006 Symposium sponsored by Cisco Systems will be held on 25 October 2006 at YB Chavan Centre, Mumbai. The keynote address is by Dan Scheinman, senior VP for corporate development, Cisco Systems.

    Broadcast India Awards for Excellence in Film & Television will also be held at YB Chavan Centre on 25 October 2006 from 7 pm onwards.

  • UFO Moviez & Pyramid-Saimira join hands to set up digital cinema chain

    UFO Moviez & Pyramid-Saimira join hands to set up digital cinema chain

    MUMBAI: Digital cinema network UFO Moviez and the Chennai based Pyramid Saimira Theatres Limited (PSTL) have got together for the digitisation of 1000 theatres over the next three years all over India.

    UFO Moviez shall be providing end to end digital cinema solutions for the theatres in the Pyramid Saimira chain at a cost of Rs 1.5 billion.

    Commenting on the deal, UFO India executive director & CEO Sanjay Gaikwad said, “We anticipate that this tie up with Pyramid group will chart the way for the digital revolution happening in the field of cinema exhibition. A single integrated chain of 1000 digital cinemas all over India will provide producers and distributors a unique opportunity for saturated wide spread release in the week of release itself. Worldwide, there is tremendous excitement about this technology which is being hailed as the next great leap in film distribution and exhibition”.

    Elaborating on the agreement, UFO India’s director Usman Fayaz adds, “Pyramid Saimira has tremendous presence in the southern states and are now looking at expanding to other territories in India. This agreement is indeed a step forward in our future plans of creating a truly global network and becoming the world’s undisputed leaders in digital cinema network.”

    “The states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka between themselves have 59 per cent of the cinema halls in India. We expect at least 50 per cent of our conversions to UFO Digital system to come from the south market. Unlike the hindi speaking states, the four southern states are highly compartmentalized as regards film viewing and exhibition in terms of language and we expect a high density of theatres in these states.”

    States PSTL MD P S Saminathan, “PSTL plans to have 2000 screens under its full operation management spread across 1550 locations by the year 2009-2010. The agreement with UFO enables PSTL to reach this target faster since it frees PSTL capital from Plant & Machinery and enables PSTL to lock in more points of presence faster”.

  • Digital Cinema Show 2006 discusses business and tech aspects

    Digital Cinema Show 2006 discusses business and tech aspects

    MUMBAI: Digital Cinema Show 2006, organised by Saicom Trade Fairs & Exhibitions got underway in Mumbai today. The three day trade show is packaged with an exhibition, conferences and film screenings.

    This year’s conference topics range from the Cost effectiveness of digital cinema to Animation for digital cinema. Panel discussions and analyses on topics such as Digital Intermediate Film Production, Releasing digital films through satellites, Creating storage for digital cinema at reasonable cost, Digital films from script to screen, Distribution and Exhibition of digital movies and Digital cinema technology from production to post production also feature the three-day line up.

    The show as well as the conference has exhibits and speakers from around the world and India. The sponsors for this year’s event include JVC and Panasonic of Japan, Quantel and Western Digital of UK, Digital Film Systems of Ireland and AGIV India.

    The exhibitors in the trade show include ADI Media, Mhatre Electronics, Quantel Ltd, Screen World Publication, Yasuka Corporation, The FX Factory, Studio Assist and Western Digital.

  • Digital cinema to go low-cost route in India

    Digital cinema to go low-cost route in India

    MUMBAI: Digital cinema is about to take off in India with major players like Anil Ambani-controlled Adlabs Films and Subhash Chandra’s E-City chalking out rollout plans, speakers at a seminar in Mumbai said.

    There are around 400 theatres who have installed digital systems and many more are in the pipeline. But the model being followed so far is low-cost digital cinema or “e-cinema” in contrast to the 1200 installations of “d-cinema” (top quality) made across the world.

    “E-cinema is going to be the larger play in India because of its low-cost model. There is no proper initiative of d-cinema with just two installations so far,” Texas Instruments India business development manager of DLP Products S Ganesh said while speaking at the sixth exhibition of Cinema India 2006.

    Though digital cinema is yet to catch on, this year will see growth from the US which had 600 installations till 31 March 2006. “D-cinema installations are expected to touch 2500 in FY07 with US seeing close to 1800 screens,” said Ganesh.

    Mumbai-based UFO Moviez, a service provider, services 300 theatres in B and C centres. Though it also uses hard disk mode of distribution, the main format to download movies is through satellite delivery. “Digital cinema was a dormant market that was not addressed. Digital delivery of movies has made it possible for B and C centre theatres to have first day releases of big movies. This has meant more audiences and revenues for them,” said Valuable Media Pvt Ltd chief technical officer Sanjay Chavan.

    There are three modes of digital delivery of movies. At the low end is the hard drive model which is loaded into the server in the theatre. Big telecom players like Reliance Infocomm can use their fibre optic backbone to deliver content. The most cost-effective model is the satellite distribution system but it would require more bandwidth.

    “Interoperability and playability across the service providers need to be tackled. We provide solutions which can interchange packages with Dolby and Kodak among others,” said real Image Media Technologies director Senthil Kumar.

    Real Image, which recently received funding from Intel Capital, serves 70 cinema theatres in Tamil Nadu. The Chennai-based company has also sold servers to theatres in the US. “Digital cinema enables democracy in filmmaking and can beat back video pirates. Only a complete end-to-end digital solutions can completely prevent piracy,” says Senthil.

    There is a big task at hand if digital cinema has to be a major force as India has converted only 400 out of a total of 8,000 theatres. While there are 110,000 theatres across the world, the US has 35,000 screens.