Eclair, a leader in content services for the motion picture and television industries in Europe, is pleased to announce an agreement with German cinema exhibitor Timebandits GmbH & Co. Kinobetriebs KG to fully-equip its flagship Berlin cinema, the Hackesche Höfe Kino, with EclairColor HDR technology, thus becoming the first all-EclairColor cinema complex in the world.

“We are delighted to see Hackesche Höfe Kino, considered one of the best arthouse cinemas in Germany, embrace our HDR technology,” explains Michael Krauth, General Manager of Eclair Deutschland “EclairColor represents a fantastic opportunity for the film industry to raise the quality of the cinema experience at a reasonable cost. The advantages are clearly visible to all – professionals and general audiences alike. EclairColor is also a commitment to the creative teams that their film seen by cinemagoers will be as they originally intended. The strict specifications of the EclairColor process ensure excellent control is retained over the image on screen, thus guaranteeing that the artistic choices of the movie director or DP are properly reflected.”

For Gerhard Gross, Managing Director of the Hackesche Höfe Kino, “We promise our guests the best experience and that’s exactly what we will deliver with EclairColor by helping bring back the magic of the movies. EclairColor enhances the big screen experience with more brightness, crisper images, greater depth of field, and more density, and it applies from US blockbusters to independent movies.”

“Germany is a leading market in Europe for the implementation of our EclairColor HDR technology with 51 screens, 10 of which are located in Berlin alone, including the Cineplex Titania Filmpalast and the Neue Eiszeit Kino,” explains Georg Miros, Eclair Sales & Business Development Manager. “Before the end of October, the five-screen Hackesche Höfe Kino complex will be equipped with EclairColor technology powered with Sony Digital Cinema 4K SRX-R515P projection systems. Berliners will be able to enjoy considerably higher image quality from every one of the complex’s 685 seats.”

EclairColor technology was praised by moviegoers in an audience survey conducted in France last month. The study performed by an independent body, L’Observatoire de la Satisfaction, revealed 97.3% of moviegoers who attended the screening of a film in EclairColor intend to repeat the experience and over two thirds will be recommending it to their family and friends. Spectators spontaneously mentioned the beauty of the images, stating they are of superior quality, more colourful and brighter in comparison with a standard image. More importantly, the projection in EclairColor significantly increased the level of appreciation of the film versus a screening in standard format (source: the Observatoire de la Satisfaction’s L’Echo du Public barometer). The full study is available at the following address: http://eepurl.com/c4AXKH

There are currently 105 EclairColor screens located across Germany (51) and France (46), the United Kingdom (3), Italy (1), Switzerland (1), Tunisia (1), Spain (1) and the USA (1). For the full list of cinemas available in EclairColor and film line-up,visit: http://www.eclaircolor.com

EclairColor is a registered trademark of Ymagis Group.

About Eclair – Ymagis Group
Founded in 1907 in the early days of cinema, Eclair is a historic, innovative and respected company in the motion picture and television industries. Eclair is the Ymagis Group’s business unit dedicated to content services, a leader in advanced digital technology services for the cinema industry. Through CinemaNext and Eclair, the Group provides innovative solutions to movie exhibitors, distributors (feature films & event cinema), producers, cinema/TV advertising networks, rights holders, broadcasters, VOD/S-VOD platform operators and video publishers. Created in 2007, Ymagis Group is headquartered in Paris and has offices in 24 countries with more than 700 employees. Our core business is structured around three main units: CinemaNext (exhibitor services: sales and field services, software solutions, customer service/NOC and consulting), Eclair (content services: post-production, theatrical delivery, digital distribution, versioning and accessibility, restoration and preservation) and Ymagis (financial services). For more information, please connect to www.ymagis.com, www.cinemanext.com or www.eclair.digital

About Hackesche Höfe Kino
The Hackesche Höfe Kino is an independent arthouse cinema with a substantial programming policy. It was built in the Berlin Mitte area after the wall came down in 1996 and is based on the blueprint of the courtyard with the same name i.e. the Hackesche Höfe. Today it is a contemporary centre of cinematic art with five auditoriums seating 685 people. European arthouse cinema and German cinematic art make up the varied programme of this cinema venue, as do German and international documentary films, independent films from the United States and artistic film creations from around the globe. For more information, please connect to www.hoefekino.de