International Datacasting Corporation (TSX:IDC), a leader in IP-based solutions for the distribution of broadband multimedia content, and Deluxe / EchoStar LLC today announced an agreement for an initial order of IDC's digital cinema specific equipment and content distribution solutions, that will potentially be worth several million dollars.
Deluxe / EchoStar LLC is a joint venture formed by Deluxe Digital Cinema Inc. and EchoStar Satellite Services, L.L.C. to distribute digital content via satellite to cinemas throughout Canada and the United States. Deluxe / EchoStar will deploy a turn-key content delivery system that includes IDC's Pro Cinema Cache Servers, with dual DVB-S2 satellite demodulators, on board storage, and DCP aware applications.
Vern Smith, Senior Vice President of EchoStar, commented "EchoStar has a strong relationship with IDC for ViP-TV services and this is a logical extension of our IP-based platform for content delivery." Smith added, "IDC has integrated next generation digital cinema-functionality into its solution that will allow Deluxe / EchoStar to operate our network in a converged mode with live, file-based, and on-demand delivery. This is very exciting for the future of digital cinema distribution."
"Deluxe / EchoStar selected International Datacasting as our technology partner for deployment of our satellite-based distribution network after an exhaustive evaluation of all currently available technologies," said Rick O'Hare, Managing Director of Deluxe / EchoStar. "IDC's leadership and experience in digital cinema distribution, including alternative content and live 3-D, gave IDC an important advantage in our selection. We value IDC's experience and innovation in this market and recognize that working with IDC would help to minimize the risks associated with such a critical deployment," added O'Hare.
Fred Godard, President and CEO of IDC commented, "We have been working with this important customer for several months and in concert have developed the most comprehensive solution for digital cinema distribution available today." Godard added, "This is a significant strategic win for IDC achieved through our innovative approach to solving the complex technical challenges associated with this unique network deployment. Further, our capacity to work collaboratively with our customers has put us well on our way to becoming the de facto standard in this rapidly evolving industry. We have a greater number of advanced systems deployed around the globe than any other provider."