Morristown, N.J.—May 30, 2006
Memorial Day Weekend Milestone Proves Digital Feature Availability
Access Integrated Technologies, Inc. ("AccessIT") (NASDAQ:AIXD) reported today Memorial Day Weekend 2006 marked another digital cinema milestone for the industry, with almost 85 percent of its Christie/AIX digitally-equipped theatre screens across the country presenting feature films, reflecting the first wave of what will be a steadily increasing number of digital releases during the balance of the year.
AccessIT’s own Pavilion Digital Showcase Theatre in New York City featured major digital releases on all nine of its screens. Twenty-five of the company’s fifty-three exhibitor partner multiplexes in California, Washington State, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa, and Alabama are operating digital cinema systems at or near capacity thanks to the record number of digital releases available for the Memorial Day weekend.
Over the next few months, in addition to the films currently in release, more than an estimated 25 feature films are scheduled for digital release. All major studios have announced digital features in their respective line-ups.
Bud Mayo, Chairman and CEO of AccessIT, commented: "This digital cinema milestone underscores the commitments made by Hollywood Studios to provide a steady stream of digital feature releases, enabling exhibitors to fully utilize their new digital cinema hardware. This Summer, millions of movie-goers across the country will have the opportunity to experience the magic of digital cinema first-hand. We expect to reach close to 100% utilization for all installed systems by year-end. Given the full slate of releases planned for the remainder of 2006, an increasing number in digital 3-D, it is our goal to ensure that patrons at our exhibitor partners, Carmike, UltraStar, Emagine, Galaxy, Cinetopia and our own Pavilion, are treated to the kind of unique movie experience that only digital projection can provide.”
To date, AccessIT’s Christie/AIX subsidiary has completed the installation of approximately 400 digital projection systems in 17 states with a goal of reaching at least 500 in-time for July 4th weekend. Complete digitization of the Emagine and UltraStar chains concluded early this year, as the first of multiple installations at Cinetopia and Galaxy Theatres, and the initial phase of up to 2,300 systems at Carmike Cinemas commenced.
The Christie/AIX-funded deployment of Christie DLP Cinema® projectors also includes media players, a central “library” server, two-way satellite communications, data storage equipment, Christie’s technical services, project management, and a 10-year maintenance plan which includes parts and labor. The central servers feature AccessIT’s unique vendor-neutral Theater Command Centre (“TCC”) software, which allows all digitally-equipped screens in a multiplex to be networked, simplifying theater operations through centralized content management, scheduling and reporting.