MORRISTOWN, N.J.—Feb 6, 2007
Major Milestone in Digital Cinema Reached -- Access Integrated Technologies Completes 2,000th Installation
Access Integrated Technologies, Inc. ("AccessIT") (NASDAQ:AIXD) celebrates an historic industry milestone today with the installation and commissioning of the company’s 2,000th networked digital cinema system supporting locations in 29 states. AccessIT’s systems set the industry standard employing multiple critical technologies: Christie’s CP2000 projectors, service and support, Doremi’s DCP2000 JPEG server, and AccessIT’s proprietary Library Management Server and Theatre Command Center software. Together, these make it the only complete networked digital cinema solution.
“This is an important milestone for the industry as well as our company and represents the first half of our initial 4,000 screen deployment goal. Today, AccessIT has the most screens and is the only company that provides the complete range of technology products and services required to successfully support distribution and exhibition of digital movies,” said Chuck Goldwater, President of AccessIT’s Media Services Group. “As the industry becomes more experienced with digital cinema we are seeing that it is no longer just about the technology, it’s about what exhibitors and distributors can do with it to enhance their programming options and incremental revenue opportunities. We’re pleased to be leading the way in the digital era and are grateful for the support and commitment of our partners in distribution, exhibition and hardware.”
“Digital Cinema is revolutionizing the way the world receives and experiences its entertainment, and Christie/AIX is recognized as a pioneer and leader in the cinema industry. We provide the most advanced Digital Cinema systems in the world and bring the experience, the expertise and the commitment to quality service that ensures exhibitors maximum performance and reliability,” commented Jack Kline, President and COO of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.
Christie/AIX, a wholly owned subsidiary, was formed by AccessIT as a strategic alliance with Christie Digital Systems in June 2005 to serve as both integrator and administrator of a planned initial 4,000-screen digital cinema rollout. Supported by all of Hollywood’s major studios and major independent distributors, Christie/AIX provides exhibitors with fully-integrated and networked digital cinema systems designed to conform to technical specifications set last year by DCI, a consortium of the major Hollywood studios.
The systems feature CHRISTIE 2K DLP Cinema® projectors, JPEG-2000 media players, a central server running AccessIT’s unique Theatre Command Center software, two-way satellite connectivity, and some of the more robust security elements of the DCI Technical Specification including Cine-Link2 and video watermarking. When the plan was initiated in June of 2005, only a handful of 2K digital cinema systems were operating worldwide in commercial cinemas.