The debate over motion picture release windows heated up again last week as two studios spoke openly about their plans for allowing limited home viewing of movies shortly after their theatrical opening. In addition, news came of a pricey new service looking to make films available in living rooms day-and-date with their theatrical launch.

On Tuesday, Sony’s CFO, Rob Wiesenthal, said that his company was not only looking to cable and satellite operators to provide early releases for the studio’s titles, but has high hopes for its new streaming video service, Qriocity. The service was established earlier this year to beam content directly into Sony’s consumer electronics products (televisions, video game consoles, Blu-Ray players, etc.).

Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, Wiesenthal spoke of the “big white space” between theatrical and home video release dates for movies, stating there was “a real consumer desire for a premium offer” for such content. He did not cite any studies or reports to back up the claim that consumers were clamoring for such services.

In fact, it often seems that the only people making such statements publicly are the studios themselves, rather than moviegoers. This is probably because a number of studios are exploring premium video on demand models that will enable them to release movies for home viewing during their theatrical window but with significantly hire prices; around $30 per viewing.

This is precisely what Sony intends to do with Qriocity which will offer subscription plans for content in addition to one-off transactions. Wiesenthal provided no details on when the service would start offering first run movies or what the pricing of such content might be, but he made it clear that being in both consumer electronics and content creation gave Sony an advantage in the marketplace.

All of this is in direct conflict to what Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman said at the very same conference just a day earlier. According to the Holywood Reporter, the executive told attendees that the Viacom owned Paramount Pictures would instead focus on the needs of their distribution partners (read: exhibitors). Keep in mind, this is somewhat self serving since Viacom is owned by National Amusements, which also runs a large theatre chain.

Then on Wednesday the Wall Street Journal ran a story that got a lot of play around the Internet, if only for shock value. At the center of the piece was Prima Cinema Inc., a new company that is actively working on bringing first-run movies into living rooms through high-end home theatres. There’s just one tiny little catch; customers will have to shell out USD $20,000 for digital-delivery equipment and will be charged USD $500 per film.

It’s easy to think that a company with such pie in the sky ideas won’t get very far, but Prima has already raised USD $5 million in venture capital from the likes of Best Buy and Universal Pictures. With such a high price tag Prima’s market would seem relatively small, however the company has a target of 250,000 homes and hopes to be serving up movies by the end of next year.

In talking to WSJ, Adam Fogelson, chairman of Universal Pictures touched on the service’s limited market appeal:

“While this is a niche market, there is a chance for significant upside. And precisely because it is a niche market, that upside should come without harming any of our existing partners or revenue streams.”

Prima CEO Jason Pang echoed Fogelson’s sentiment regarding the disruption of existing distribution channels:

“We’re not here to replace anything. We are trying to create new revenue streams for studios and new viewing opportunities for moviegoers.”

Such statements contradict the very nature of the proposed service. Presumably, someone willing to spend USD $20,500 to begin watching new film releases in the comfort of their own home could be classified as a movie buff. It is safe to assume that a majority of such customers are presently avid moviegoers who visit theatres several times a year. Prima’s customer will likely make fewer trips to cinemas to see movies once they are available to them at home, thus transferring revenue from theatrical box office to home video.

With studios trying to makeup a 43 percent decline in DVD revenue since 2006 (and a 20 percent decrease in just the past year), it’s not hard to see why they view this as an advantageous business decision. However, John Fithian, the president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, believes the studios are giving up millions in theatrical grosses for a few pennies in home video. And don’t even get him started on piracy:

“There is no such thing as a secure distribution to the home. This proposal will give pirates a pristine digital copy early, resulting in millions of lost revenue to piracy, while at the same time selling a very limited number of units. Only billionaires can afford $500 per movie.”

Fithian has a point. If the recent WikiLeaks fiasco has taught us one thing about security, it’s that data is only as secure as the weakest link in the system. After spending the past ten years and millions of dollars making sure digital cinema content could be transported and played back through encrypted, highly secure systems, it would be a shame to see it all go to waste thanks some hacker sitting in their living room. Will the same stringent DCI specifications movie theatres are required to adhere to apply to Prima’s digital delivery system?

As a bit of an aside, WSJ also takes up Fithian’s argument that Prima’s offering is only for the super-wealthy. They explain that a small number of “entertainment-industry power brokers” have been given free 35mm film prints to at home. The number of individuals with such fancy home cinema setups are so limited that the group, which includes Viacom owner Sumner Redstone and actor/director George Clooney, has been dubbed the Bel-Air Circuit in industry circles. The name stems from the upscale part of Los Angeles where most of these multi-millionaires live.

What do you think of Prima’s proposed service? Let us know in the comments section below.

One question I am asked repeatedly by exhibitors is about the success of Technicolor’s 35mm film-based 3D solution. Rather than being asked by those in an exploratory phase, it oftem seems as if the question is being posed so that I can confirm someone’s doubts or decision not to install the technology. Usually I simply point people to an August press release Technicolor issued announcing they had deployed the system on more than 250 screens.

Two weeks ago during ShowEast, Technicolor shed a little more light on the subject with two additional press releases. The first detailed an agreement the company had reached with the Milwaukee, Wisconsin based Marcus Theatres to install their film-based 3D system on at least 15 screens. It also contained the following paragraph which, depending how you read it, may help answer the question about the format’s success:

Technicolor 3D is currently installed on more than 300 screens in North America, and has recently launched internationally in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan. The format was initially launched in theatres in March 2010. To date, nine films have been released in the format, including features from DreamWorks Animation, Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and The Weinstein Company. Upcoming titles planned for release in the Technicolor 3D format include “Jackass 3D”, “Saw 3D”, “Megamind”, and “Yogi Bear”.

The next day Technicolor announced that they had reached a deal with Summit Entertainment to release the distributor’s upcoming action film “Drive Angry” in Technicolor 3D. The film, which was shot in 3D, stars Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard and William Fichtner and is set to be released on February 11, 2011. Technicolor’s film-based 3D prints will be available to North American theatres.

Technicolor announced their film-based 3D system in September of last year amid much skepticism. The solution requires a special 3D projector lens which is used to split the over/under images on each frame of 35mm film. Rather than containing one image that is four perforations high, each frame of film holds two images that are two perforations high. Technicolor is currently patenting the digital process used to optimize the compressed images onto 35mm film.

But it was Richie Fay, Summit’s President of Domestic Distribution, who best explained Technicolor’s 3D solution in his press release statement:

“Technicolor 3D allows us to bring ‘Drive Angry’ to a wider number of theatres in 3D. We see Technicolor 3D as a great bridge solution for the industry as the digital cinema conversion progresses.”

This past week the digital cinema pipeline into movie theatres in India became a little more narrow – figuratively, not literally or technically. On Thursday Reliance MediaWorks (formerly Adlabs), one of India’s largest entertainment services companies announced a “strategic alliance” with UFO Moviez, a company billed as the world’s largest digital cinema network in the press release.

This is the kind of business news that usually doesn’t make a huge impact whether in trade papers or in the mainstream media. However, it’s actually a significant announcement. What it means is that a most digital content mastering being done for the Indian market will now be conducted under one roof. Besides being the film lab which handles 80% of all Bollywood releases, RMW is also home to one of India’s largest digital intermediate facilities. Previous digital mastering for pan-Indian films was split between the two companies with RMW handling JPEG200 DCI content and UFO taking care of non-DCI e-cinema content.

Real Image is another company offering digital mastering in India, handling both d-cinema and e-cinema to support the sale of its servers for both markets. What the alliance between RMW and UFO does is swing the balance of digital mastering work squarely in RMW’s favor while leaving a question mark over the future of Real Image’s mastering efforts.

Under the agreement UFO will set up an additional encoding and encryption facility on RMW’s premises and effectively turn over the work to their new partner.  Producers and distributors will work directly with RMW moving forward. Meanwhile, UFO will shift to being more of a finance, funding and licence vehicle for e-cinema installations, having recently also expanded into content rights with the cinema distribution deal for the wildly succesfull third annual Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket league currently screening in multiplexes all over India.

While most, if not all, of the content UFO sends through its satellite based digital cinema network may be high-def e-cinema, it is distributed to the over 1,800 screens throughout India. RMW also has experience operating and programming movie theatres, being the owner of Big Cinemas, India’s largest theatre chain consisting of more than 250 screens in 78 cities throughout the country. The pact will allow both companies to offer a wider range of programming and enable distributors to release titles on more screens simultaneously in an effort to increase box office revenues.

Commenting on the deal, Anil Arjun, RMW’s chief executive officer stated:

“By combining our unique strengths, Reliance MediaWorks and UFO Moviez will accelerate the creation of a secure digital ecosystem that facilitates a wider reach for digital distribution of movies, delivering to movie consumers a superior experience, more content, with greater reliability and lower costs. That’s where we can make a real difference.”

One could easily read into what Mr. Arjun is saying here, especially with his use of the word “secure”, to see why the move makes sense for both companies. Last year an Indian piracy ring was unearthed when the theft of a pre-release copy of the film “What’s Your Rashee?” was traced back to the vice president of technology at UFO. Films were allegedly being stolen by the executive while they were being mastered at UFO’s facility. An employee at RMW also turned out to have links to the piracy ring, however it was discovered no films had ever made their way out of RMW, presumably because of the company’s stronger security measures.

Thus it’s easy to see why UFO might have an interest in exiting this part of their business (which may only break-even for them) and turn it over to a company like RMW. After all, mastering is a core business for RMW, having already dominated the market for DCI-grade mastering for Hindi-films as well as doing work for Hollywood studios active in India such as Warner Bros and Twentieth Century Fox.

RMW will now wind up handling smaller, regional films, including titles from South India where Chennai-based Real Image has predominantly been a strong player. Time will tell whether the new relationship between RMW and UFO will place any pressure on Real Image to exit the content mastering business and focus on manufacturing and selling digital content servers (Qube) and audio equipment. Given that Real Image has their own JPEG encoder and a license in India for DTS 5.1 surround sound on 35mm films, they are likely to be in the mastering game for some time to come.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that SmartJog has been on a roll lately when it comes to partnerships? After announcing an agreement with Ymagis in February, they formed a partnership with XDC just before ShoWest and earlier this week entered into a deal with Twentieth Century Fox to deliver digital cinema content.

The agreement with XDC mirrors the one SmartJog signed with Ymagis in that XDC will deploy SmartJog’s technology in theatres it has contracted with. Specifically, each cinema will receive a SmartJog Gateway server which will act as a central library storage device that receives the content. The two companies will integrate their solutions to better automate the delivery of digital cinema content. What wasn’t clear from the press release was whether XDC would eventually integrate SmartJog’s technology directly into their own theatre management system (TMS).

SmartJog’s solution will enable XDC, which operates primarily in Europe, to deliver digital content into its theatres directly from their mastering facility in Liège, Belgium. Additionally, XDC will also be able to deliver content to any of the more than 160 cinema complexes in SmartJog’s digital cinema network throughout Europe. Commenting on the agreement, Fabrice Testa, XDC’s Vice President Sales and Business Development was quoted in the release:

“After an initial phase of testing, we have decided to broaden our service offering to include the SmartJog solution. Our cinema customers will have the possibility to receive digital cinema content via SmartJog and our XDC Digital Content Lab will also offer to theatrical distributors a digital delivery service to all cinemas connected to the SmartJog network.”

Then this past Tuesday, SmartJog continued to expand its digital delivery empire by pacting with Fox to distribute the studio’s digital cinema content to their European network via satellite. The 160 theatre sites presently in the network consist of more than 800 screens and the company is planning to double its size to 300 cinemas by the end of the year. SmartJog’s solution allows for large digital cinema files to be transfered to theatres at an optimal speed (i.e. really fast) through satellite or terrestrial means. Julian Levin, Fox’s Executive Vice President, Digital Exhibition and Non-Theatrical Sales and Distribution, explained the studio’s reason for entering into the new relationship in the press release:

“With the rapidly increasing footprint of digital projection systems, 2D and 3D, coupled with emerging electronic distribution platforms, SmartJog has taken a leadership role toward providing a more efficient electronic delivery methodology which we believe will ultimately dominate the means by which movies are delivered to theatres worldwide.”

SmartJog began delivering digital cinema content through its network in early 2009. Since then they have distributed more than 70 feature titles as well as trailers and preshow advertising content. Since their distribution agreement with Fox is non-exclusive, the studio will presumably continue to work with Deluxe to deliver digital cinema content outside of SmartJog’s network.

Patrick Goldstein of the L.A. Times

If you’ve never read Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times, you’re really missing out. Especially this past Tuesday when the subject of his weekly column, The Big Picture, was none other than release windows.

Goldstein has been writing his column for as long as I can remember and it is one of my favorite reads each week. When he started blogging back in 2008, a form of journalism he had previously criticized, I made sure to keep up with his daily posts. As the tagline on his blog states, Goldstein covers the “collision of entertainment, media and pop culture”.

On Tuesday Goldstein was covering the collision of exhibitors and distributors over theatrical release windows and some of his observations are worth mentioning. Some of his well-made points I agree with, others I do not.

The columnist cites the recent release of “Alice In Wonderland” as a “dramatic tipping point in film history”, but not because its box office success has confirmed that audiences will come to see 3D movies even when they aren’t made by James Cameron. What Goldstein believes earned Tim Burton’s version of “Alice” a place in movie history is that “It finally put the nail in the coffin of movie theater owners’ mindlessly stubborn resistance to shorter DVD windows.”

In case readers weren’t paying attention to the recent tussle over “Alice’s” DVD release window, Goldstein fills them in on the history of Disney’s decision to release the film on DVD only three months after its theatrical bow. He then goes on to detail the record breaking box office returns the film earned; biggest U.S. non-sequel opening weekend of all time with USD $116 million and a current worldwide gross of USD $366.2 million. Given the amount of press coverage over Disney’s disputed release plans for “Alice” Goldstein figures most audiences knew the film was being released on DVD in just 12 weeks. It’s success, even in the face of poor reviews, should prove the shorter DVD release window had no affect on theatrical grosses. He even quotes one studio head as saying, “case closed”.

I would suggest that this argument doesn’t work and that comparing the “Alice” release to that of a non-3D tentpole film is difficult at best, if not impossible until 3D has been adopted in the home. Nearly 80% of “Alice’s” gross to date has been from 3D showings. Audience’s showed up to see “Alice” in part because it offered them an experience they couldn’t receive at home 12 weeks later.

Like many who have written or spoken about theatrical release windows, Goldstein laid out the studios’ case for shorter release windows:

From the studio point of view, it simply doesn’t make sense to wait 16 weeks or more to release a film on DVD when the average film does 80% of its business in its first three weeks in the theaters. Except for a phenomenon like “Avatar” or a mega-crowd pleaser like “The Hangover,” most studio films have completely played out in six, or at most eight, weeks.

Bringing a film to DVD in a shorter time span could take advantage of the marketing campaign for the theatrical release, writes Goldstein. Like me, he is not shocked that Disney is the studio that decided to push the boundaries on windows:

Unlike the other major studios, which are still helmed by executives with a background in movies, Disney is run by Bob Iger and Rich Ross, whose formative years were spent in TV. Being TV guys, they are used to expecting quick results and are unaccustomed to the glacial pace of moviedom. They also have few emotional ties to the film business. . .

Goldstein questions what the harm would be in experimenting with day-and-date release windows on non-tentpole films. His first idea on how to execute such a release plays off the concept of a single marketing campaign for both the theatrical release and home video. It is one many of us who work in exhibition and distribution have heard before:

If you have a film like “Shutter Island,” “Cop Out” or “The Bounty Hunter,” that could just as easily be enjoyed at home as in the theaters, why not charge fans a premium–say $22.95–to see it at home on VOD at the same time as it plays in the theaters?

Both exhibitors and trade groups such as the National Association of Theatre Owners have previously made public their distaste for such a release strategy. The contention is that a theatrical release helps boost the value of a film title in ancillary markets, something most distributors don’t dispute. However, Goldstein may be onto something. Ideally audiences would venture out to theatres for every single film, but what about those who simply can’t; parents with children, handicapped people or those that live too far from their nearest theatre? They very well may pay a premium to watch certain movies like “Couples Retreat” at home so they can participate in the water cooler conversation on Monday morning. Of course, the ability to thwart in-home piracy for such viewings would first need to be solved.

Another point Goldstein’s makes that I agree with is the idea of studios and exhibitors working together as partners:

If they [exhibitors] are willing to risk a box-office shortfall, then promise them a cut of the VOD revenue. Or a better split from the theatrical take.

The fight over how release windows will evolve over time won’t be solved with a single newspaper column or blog post. After all, product versioning is a well practiced marketing tactic to help maximize revenue during a product’s life cycle. If the windowing of media products didn’t work then the publishing industry would not market hardcover books months ahead of paperbacks. (Actually, the recent surge in electronic versions of books has caused no end of strife to publishers who are watching their returns on hardcover books begin to erode). Still, Goldstein may be doing the industry a favor by reminding us:

There’s a lesson here, one that the movie business should have already learned from the collapse of the record industry. If you let your business model lag too far behind the habits of your most loyal consumers, you’ll soon discover that you don’t have a business anymore.

SmartJog and Ymagis issued a joint press release yesterday announcing they had reached a non-exclusive partnership agreement and will integrate their technologies to offer theatre owners a more robust digital cinema offering. The pairing seems as if it would be complimentary given that SmartJog specializes in high speed delivery of digital content and Ymagis focuses on digital cinema deployment.

What this means is that when Ymagis installs digital cinema equipment at one of their theatres, they will also be deploying SmartJog’s digital content delivery solution. During the first phase of the partnership, the SmartJog Gateway will be integrated into the Ymagis Cinema Central Server, which is a theatre management system. Content will arrive through the SmartJog Gateway and be handed off to the Ymagis TMS. This solution requires a theatre to make room for a separate piece of network connected equipment. The second phase of the partnership will integrate the software which runs the SmartJog Gateway directly into the Ymagis Cinema Central Server, allowing for content to be delivered straight to the TMS without need for additional hardware.

One bonus that comes with the partnership is that the two companies will be able to share their respective content delivery networks. This means Ymagis would be able to send content to any theatre in SmartJog’s network, even if the exhibitor wasn’t signed up with them. Both companies are based in France so it’s no shock that integration and deployment will begin in that country. Most, if not all, of the exhibitors Ymagis works with are in Europe.

Because the agreement is non-exclusive, Ymagis is still able to integrate content delivery technologies from other companies into their TMS while SmartJog is free to offer their solutions and technologies to other integrators and deployment entities in the market. As for the latter, it’s just a matter of when, not if, we’ll hear similar announcements in the future.

The announcement on Celluloid Junkie that Texas Instruments is developing 4K projector solutions is causing waves throughout the industry. The story was picked up by both THR.com (DLP making the jump to 4K) and Variety (TI leaping into 4K fray), which despite their headline both acknowledge that TI was effectively forced into this situation by the Sony tie up with Regal and AMC.Perhaps the best other coverage came from Eric Taub in the New York Times:

TI has always said that 2K is good enough, with tests showing that consumers can’t see the difference.

TI has been against 4K, until they were for it. On Thursday, the company announced that it would now market 4K technology, which will be incorporated into their next-generation projector technology to be manufactured by a variety of partners.

The company will continue to sell 2K projectors to the majority of its customers, according to Nancy Fares, business manager for TI’s DLP Cinema Products Group.

Ms. Fares said that this is not a case of TI trying to play catchup to Sony, which recently announced a number of large contracts to install its 4K projectors in AMC, Muvico, and Regal Entertainment cinemas. Texas Instruments has been working on 4K technology for two years, she said.

And when TI said that most consumers can’t see the difference between a 2K and 4K image, the company is sticking to its guns.

Their 4K technology will only be installed in about 20 percent of its customers’ theaters, the “brightest and biggest” with screens 70 feet and larger in size.

TI has meanwhile put out a press release providing details:

Texas Instruments will deliver the enhanced DLP Cinema 4K chip to its licensees, Barco, Christie Digital and NEC, which will extend the breadth of products to exhibitors to over 12 projector models. All projectors with the next generation DLP Cinema electronics platform, regardless of the resolution, will have the leading attributes for which DLP Cinema products are known, including precise DCI compliant colors, superior contrast ratios and light output necessary to illuminate the largest auditoriums. The solutions provide the capability to light up theatre screens as big as 100 feet and 3D screens as big as 75 feet, which has been a challenge for competing technologies.

It then includes a quote from Cinemark’s CEO calling DLP Cinema the exhibitor’s “exclusive platform of choice for 4K deployments.” It also confirms that “the next generation DLP Cinema electronics platform combines the three boards needed to produce images into a single board,” making it cheaper for its licensees, not to mention also making ‘DCI-compliant’.

Christie is the first of those three licensees to have put out a press release about its plans for the 4K chip:

Christie, the world leader in digital cinema projection, is pleased to introduce the new Christie Solaria(TM) series digital cinema projectors, based on Texas Instruments’ (TI) industry-preferred and proven DLP Cinema(R) technology. The five new products in the series offer a wide range of resolution and brightness levels for exhibitors who require projection from the smallest to the largest screens. The new product line includes the Christie CP2210, Christie CP2220 and the Christie CP2230 – all available at 2K and 4K-ready; as well as Christie’s premium 4K projectors for screens up to 100 feet: the Christie CP4220 and the Christie CP4230, delivering an unprecedented 30,000 lumens of brightness.

But Barco went one better by announcing that they have tied up exclusively with Cinemark to roll out 4K projectors for “the world’s second largest motion pictures exhibitor.” From the press release:

As part of this agreement, Cinemark is also partnering with the DLP Cinema® product group from Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN) and media server provider Doremi to secure the industry’s best-in-class and brightest digital cinema solution. This group of partners, representing more than 100 years in combined cinema expertise, will employ the full spectrum of Barco’s upcoming new family of enhanced DLP Cinema next generation 4K projectors.

Cinemark plans to deploy digital cinema as part of the DCIP initiative. More than 3,000 digital projectors are to be installed in nearly 300 theater sites throughout the US, which include Cinemark’s Century, Cine Arts and Tinseltown brands. Every theater will show the industry’s biggest and brightest images, projected from Barco DLP powered projectors and driven by Doremi’s 4K integrated media block. The agreement also includes plans for Cinemark’s international locations in Latin America, which would bring the overall deployment to more than 4,600 screens.

It’s getting difficult to keep up with this flurry of announcements. It seems the 4K dam has broken.

The biggest question right now is what effect this will have on existing 2K deployment plans – while the smaller question is what Sony’s response will be. As a chip maker TI will be well familiar with the apocryphal story of Osborne Computer Corporation (OCC) and the infamous Osborne Effect:

The Osborne effect is exhibited when a company’s premature revelation of information about future products results in customers not purchasing (or delaying purchases of) the current offering. Its origin is a purported suicidal marketing mistake made by the Osborne Computer Corporation in the 1980s when its announcement of a successor to its Osborne 1 system led to a sharp reduction in sales, and the delay of the successor system created a revenue vacuum from which the company did not recover. This statement is a common myth.

The Osborne Effect may be a myth, but it still sends shivers down the spines of tech marketers. We won’t know for sure until the discussion gets underway at this week’s European Cinema Summit in Brussels and next week’s Cinema Expo in Amsterdam what the impact of TI’s ‘jump’ will be.

It’s official: On the heels of our previous Celluloid Junkie post on this subject, TI announced that it plans to develop 4K as an extension of its next-gen DLP Cinema projection technology.

The new platform—which TI said would comply with the DCI spec—is slated to launch at the end of the year and initially support 2K. TI aims to offer 4K sometime in 2010.

Meanwhile, Barco inked a deal to deploy TI’s developing 4K technology to the Cinemark theater chain—a notable move, as additional DCIP members Regal and AMC both recently announced deals with Sony.

“Regal and AMC are no stranger to DLP Cinema,” said Nancy Fares, business manager for DLP Cinema Products Group. “I hope this will give them an option to think about.”

Fares reported that a 1.2 inch 4K chip would be developed and released first, “but there are not limitations.” She added that TI would also continue 2K development. 4K, she said, would offer choices, including support for 2D screens as big as 100 feet, and 3D screens as big as 75 feet. It’s not expected that the developing technology will be able to be retrofitted to the current system.

Even before the announcement was made, speculation about the impact of such news was beginning. Some ask if a 4K announcement would potentially slow the pace of 2K installations. Meanwhile, a few well placed sources have questioned if TI will be able to have 4K technology ready in 2010.

According to TI, DLP Cinema technology is installed at 6,000 2K digital screens in North America. Sony has deployed several hundred of its systems.

As to screen count for the DCIP partners, Regal represents 6,775 screens, and AMC, 4,628 screens. Cinemark offers 3,814 screens in the U.S. and 1,032 in Latin America.

Public demos and side by side comparisons of the developing TI technology are currently not anticipated.

In other news, RealD has inked deals to forward 3D deployment in Austria and Germany.
Austrian cinema chain Cineplexx GmbH plans to add RealD 3D capabilities to 100 of its nearly 200 screens. The rollout will begin immediately on 15 screens, with an additional 45 screens to be equipped by the end of September and the remaining screens upgraded within the year.
RealD similarly partnered with Greater Union Filmpalast, operator of Germany’s Cinestar circuit, to launch its 3D rollout in the German market. Per the multiyear exclusive agreement, rollout begins immediately.
Real D reported that it now has 8,000 screens under contract and over 2,900 screens installed.

–With his contract recently extended until 2013 and “Monsters Vs. Aliens” one of the year’s top grossing films so far, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has now revealed plans to release five feature films every two years, adding an additional film every other year to its existing two picture a year release schedule.
With today’s news, DWA’s release slate through 2012 now includes eight feature films, including five original films and three sequels based on the company’s existing franchises, Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. And as previously announced, all DWA features will be produced in 3D.
This commitment to 3D content should come as good news for stakeholders, but it could also mean added pressure on theater owners to install digital cinema and 3D capabilities, as well as on those working to advance 3D for the home market.

DWA’s schedule includes:
–“How to Train Your Dragon,” based on the book by Cressida Cowell, will be released on March 26, 2010. It will star a cast that includes Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
–“Shrek Forever After” will be released on May 21, 2010. It features the original cast, including Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.
–“Oobermind” (formerly “Master Mind”) will be released on November 5, 2010. It will star Robert Downey Jr. and Tina Fey.
–“Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom” will be released on June 3, 2011. Returning is a voice cast that includes Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and David Cross.
–“The Guardians” (working title), based on the forthcoming books by William Joyce, will be released on November 4, 2011.
–“Puss In Boots” (working title) will be released on March 30, 2012 and star Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots and Salma Hayek as Kitty, Puss’ love interest.
–The next Madagascar sequel is due to be released on May 25, 2012. It will find the zoo animals continuing to get back to New York. This time the road takes them through Europe.
–On Nov. 2, 2012, DWA plans to release one of three original projects currently in pre-production at the studio.

–There is more on this news announcement in a Reuters article, reporting that Katzenberg spoke yesterday at the Cowen and Co. Technology and Media and Telecom Conference and predicted that he could get its production budgets down to $130 million (including 3D) for the 2011 films. (“Monsters Vs. Aliens” was estimated to cost $175 million.) The Reuters article also said that Katzenberg expects a positive shift it distribution costs, come 2012 when DWA’s distribution contract with Paramount expires.

–In related box office news, at press time DWA’s debut 3D title “Monsters Vs. Aliens” is just shy of an impressive $194 million in the domestic box office—the highest grossing digital 3D release to date. It had also been the biggest money maker of the year so far, but today it was just passed by the Starship Enterprise. “Star Trek” reached $194.8 million. “Monsters” will surrender the majority of 3D screens this weekend to Disney/Pixar’s “Up.”

–Dolby announced new 3D installations this week: The Empire Leicester Square in London has become Europe’s first auditorium to use the new Dolby 3D Digital Cinema large screen system.
The company reported that the new Dolby 3D large screen solution combined with Barco’s digital cinema twin-projector allows exhibitors to project Dolby 3D onto standard, non-silver screens ranging from 12.5 to 21 metres, surpassing the previous size limit of 12 metres. The Empire Leicester Square, one of the UK’s oldest and largest cinema venues, offers a 20-metre screen.
In related news, Dolby reported that Sundance Kabuki Cinemas in San Francisco has installed Dolby 3D Digital Cinema in its 160-seat auditorium, in time for Disney/Pixar’s “Up” opening.

–Universal Studios Home Entertainment will release director Henry Selick’s stop-motion animated feature “Coraline” on Blu-ray Hi-Def combo pack, 2-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD and single disc DVD on July 21.
All editions feature both the 2-D and 3-D versions of the film and four pairs of 3-D glasses, making “Coraline” the next 3D home release to watch. In theatres, digital 3D release “Coraline” made $75. 2 million in North America and $85.2 million worldwide.

“The Digital Dilemma”—a 2007 report from AMPAS’ SciTech Council that examines the challenges of archiving and accessing digital motion picture materials—was the subject of the SMPTE’s Hollywood Section May meeting, held at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theatre in Hollywood.

The report concludes that there is no long-term strategy for archiving and preserving digital assets that doesn’t require large capital investment.

Andy Maltz, director of the SciTech Council, reported that in 2008 the worldwide box office reached $20 billion, but he estimated that only 0.0015% of that amount was spent on addressing this dilemma. He emphasized that much more needs to be done.

During the evening, Maltz presented an overview of the report and an update on its impact since its release. He generated applause and laughter from an audience that has been inundated with 3D format talk when—in outlining the discussion objectives—he quipped “there will be nothing about stereoscopic movies tonight.”

Actually, he wasn’t entirely correct. He addressed AMPAS’ need to preserve digital content, citing as an example the increasing number of 3D titles that originate from and are/will be released in the digital realm. He also cited the ASC/DCI Standard Evaluation Material (Stem) and all Oscar-nominated films, which are archived by the Academy.

“Current technologies and practices are inadequate,” he said. “Periodically you will need to copy the digital media. Storage technology and operating technology will become obsolete.”

As to current investment, the report suggested that it costs $1,059 to preserve one film archival master for one year. In contrast, it estimated that annual cost of preserving a 4K digital master to be $12,514.

The SciTech Council is now working on what it calls a Digital Motion Picture Archival Framework, which would include the development and standardization of a file format, directed research, education and a follow up report on “The Digital Dilemma” for indie filmmakers and executives at public archives.

A very worthwhile read, “The Digital Dilemma” report can be downloaded from the AMPAS web site (here).