San Diego, California—Feb 17, 2006
Ultrastar Cinemas Makes History with Largest Digital Cinema Rollout
Southern California Chain Delivers Walt Disney Pictures’ EIGHT BELOW in Pure Digital® in over 90 Percent of its Theaters
UltraStar Cinemas – the first in the
nation to be 100 percent equipped with digital cinema – is releasing Walt Disney
Pictures’ family-friendly film EIGHT BELOW on Friday, February 17, digitally on
12 of its 13 theaters. This marks the first time in history that a theater
circuit has released a digital film in over 90 percent of its locations.
UltraStar Cinemas, currently operating 102 screens at 13 sites throughout
Southern California, has teamed with Access Integrated Technologies, Inc.
(AccessIT) and Christie Digital Systems (Christie) to become the first theater
company in the United States to be fully equipped with Pure Digital Cinema®
powered by DLP Cinema technology® in all of its locations.
Pure Digital Cinema® powered by DLP Cinema® is the crispest, clearest motion
picture technology available. The movies, including this week’s release of EIGHT
BELOW, will be projected digitally using Digital Light Processing™, invented by
Texas Instruments. DLP Cinema® brings a new and enhanced experience to UltraStar
movie audiences. It’s the only digital projection technology currently approved
for movie theater exhibition of films and is supported by many Hollywood
directors including Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez and George Lucas, as well
as producers and all the major studios.
DLP Cinema® uses a digital signal delivered to the theater projectors via
satellite. Unlike film, which is subject to color fading, jumping, scratching
and dirt accumulation, DLP Cinema® technology delivers a consistent digital
picture with incredible clarity over 35 trillion colors. Movie-goers can see a
movie exactly the way the director intended it, whether they see it opening
night or the fifth week of the run.
“We have always been on the forefront of digital technology and are pleased to
be the first theater circuit in the world to have digital capability on 100% of
our screens,” said Alan Grossberg, an executive for UltraStar Cinemas. “Where
other theater chains may have limited screenings of EIGHT BELOW in digital,
we’re thrilled that everyone who comes to see it at UltraStar will get to see it
in Pure Digital Cinema®.” We know that our guests will be amazed by the picture
and sound quality that they experience.”
UltraStar Cinemas has historically been an innovator on the cutting edge of
theater technology. They have worked in the digital realm with major Hollywood
studios since 2002, when UltraStar Cinemas introduced the first generation of
Pure Digital Cinema® with the installation of six digital projectors in San
Diego, pioneering the digital age of cinema and also bringing alternative
entertainment, including live events, to their guests.
UltraStar Cinemas has already successfully screened live events from Duran Duran
concerts in London to SuperBowl XL in digital on the big screen. On March 5, six
Southern California locations will digitally screen the Academy Awards® live.
UltraStar Cinemas’ 100-percent-digital milestone means more than just upping the
ante on the movie-going experience, it also means leading the pack in
alternative entertainment.
