Adlabs Films Limited, a member of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has crossed the milestone of over 10,000 successful shows in the true 2K Digital Cinema format.
The record was achieved with the 5:05pm screening of Welcome to Sajjanpur on 22nd September 2008 at Adlabs’ IMAX cinema in Wadala, which was Mumbai’s first multiplex to convert entirely to 2K Digital Cinema in April 2008.
Adlabs was the first cinema operator in India to start rolling out Digital Cinema using Hollywood-standard DCI-grade projectors and servers, when it commenced its digital test bed network in April this year.
Adlabs Digital Cinema has also established a world first by becoming the first and only operator in the world to-date to commercially distribute digital cinema films over the optic fiber cable (OFC). Using the network of Reliance Communications, over 2000 Digital Cinema shows to-date have come from digital copies delivered via OFC on a weekly commercial basis.
Films are encoded at Adlabs Digital Cinema Mastering Facility at Film City in Mumbai and sent over a 200Mbps connection to its Content Distribution and Logistics (CDL) Hub at Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) in Navi Mumbai, from where they are sent further via dedicated 100Mbps OFC to cinemas as far as Ahmedabad. OFC allows for transportation of Digital Cinema films that is faster, more reliable and more secure than any other form of delivery.
“The Adlabs Film City complex – which includes the Digital Cinema Mastering facility - is the first facility in Asia to receive the prestigious international FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) accreditation. Using fiber for end to end delivery, we are able to offer unparalleled picture and sound quality,” said Patrick von Sychowski, COO of Adlabs Digital Cinema, “and we are proud to have offered that to our patrons for over 10,000 screenings of both Bollywood and Hollywood films.” These screenings have also included regional Indian films as well as Hollywood films shown in BIG Digital 3D format.
Anil Arjun, Chief Executive Officer, Adlabs Films added that, “Adlabs is implementing globally recognized Digital Cinema technology standards and processes and is, at the same time, pushing the envelope by introducing distribution technologies such as OFC. We intend to be an end-to-end world class service provider covering mastering to delivery on site; and are looking at significant expansion in this space aimed to cover 500 screens in the initial phase.”
