Signaling the arrival of digital cinema to the
American mainstream, Landmark Theatres, a 2929 Entertainment company, is raising
the curtain on a deal that will outfit the movie chain’s properties with Sony’s
new digital SXRD projectors. Landmark will begin its digital cinema rollout this summer with six SXRD
projectors, and plans to fully enable all of its 59 theaters (covering 22
markets) for digital projection. The new Sony projectors can display images at
more than four times the resolution of current high-definition displays.
Landmark Theatres is the nation’s largest theater chain devoted exclusively
to art and independent film. 2929 Entertainment is a vertically integrated media
company co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban.
The rollout of digital cinema by Landmark Theatres is part of the company’s
strategy to produce and distribute high-definition movies through HDNet Films,
another of 2929 Entertainment’s holdings.
“Digital cinema provides a new experience for theater-goers,” Cuban said.
“Landmark Theatres will give our customers the best of all digital experiences.
Sony's 4K digital projectors allow us to project live concerts and sporting
events, ultra high-resolution movies and presentations created using future
technologies. Most important, it provides a viewing experience for movies that
far exceeds what other theaters are doing today with 2K projectors. We are
excited to start to push the envelope in digital cinema with Sony’s SXRD
technology and see where the technology and experience can take our customers."
The new Sony projectors are the first commercially available “4K” projectors,
which offer a 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution and a high contrast ratio. They use a
Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) imaging device.
“The availability of a 4K projector is a watershed for the digital cinema
industry,” said John Scarcella, president of Sony Electronics’ Broadcast and
Business Solutions Company. “Just as Mark and his team revolutionized TV viewing
with the launch of HDNet, so too will the installation of these projectors in
the Landmark chain revolutionize the digital cinema industry.”
Sony has incorporated the specifications and guidelines established by Digital
Cinema Initiatives (DCI) into the design of the new projectors to fully support
DCI’s efforts and provide an enabling technology that will allow the industry to
move to a digital environment.
There will be two models of the SXRD projector: a 10,000 ANSI lumen model
(SRX-R110); and a 5,000 ANSI lumen model (SRX-R105). The Sony projectors are
planned to be available this summer.
