Amsterdam—Jun 20, 2006
Kodak Introduces Flexible Networked Digital Cinema Player At Cine Expo
Kodak CineServer plays all formats, demonstrates ‘The Network is the Power’
Kodak is showcasing its fully-networked digital cinema solution at Cinema Expo 2006, June 26 – 29, here in Amsterdam. The Kodak demonstrations feature the first public European showings of the versatile Kodak CineServer JMN3000, a playback unit that handles JPEG- and MPEG-compressed movies, as well as trailers and pre-show content.
Kodak Digital Cinema systems maximize the potential that digital technology offers exhibitors and distributors and demonstrate Kodak’s capability to prove “The Network Is the Power.” Kodak demonstrations use Barco DP Premiere projectors.
Kodak offers the only systems that link all screens in a multiplex with digital pre-show, trailers and features, providing exhibitors a complete solution for the full theatrical presentation, right now. And because they’re designed to grow and expand as the capabilities of the technology and business needs of the customers grow, Kodak systems provide exhibitors with solid long-term value.
"Customers are not just buying a ‘kit,’ they’re choosing a partner,” says Brian Kercher, general manager of Kodak Digital Cinema in Europe. “We’re providing the option to choose a partner they enjoy working with, they respect, and they can depend on over the long term. We’re offering them a partnership with Kodak.”
Kodak takes pride in a continuing tradition of service, record of innovation, broad scope of capabilities and overall ease of operation – all included in a digital cinema solution ready for today and tomorrow.
As Studios and others create and distribute an ever-growing number of digital movies, they’ve recognized that image files need to be compressed for efficient distribution. There are two compression formats – MPEG and JPEG – in widespread use. For quality reasons, Studios are moving toward the adoption of JPEG.
Still, Kercher points out, a lot of MPEG-compressed material – including local language movies, independent productions, documentaries, and other content – will need to be played on the same screens as the major Studio releases. Exhibitors can’t afford dual systems.
“Our new CineServer recognizes the different compression schemes and plays the right one, automatically,” Kercher says. “It accepts MPEG- or JPEG-compressed data for 2D features, or 3D-compressed MPEG images. In this ‘show in a box’ is all the playback capability – including pre-show – the exhibitor needs for a seamless presentation.”
The Kodak network connects pre-show, features, and theatre operations in ways that enable exhibitors to gain the full benefits of digital cinema.
Exhibitors can create presentation playlists right on the large, detachable screen of the Kodak CineServer – or download them from a central source. Controls are intuitive. Operation is simple and highly reliable.
“The Kodak system is engineered for the projection booth,” Kercher says. “It’s driven by unique Kodak software and based on our extensive experience. We designed it for today’s needs and tomorrow’s requirements. It’s what customers expect of Kodak.”
Kodak also has a long working relationship with major studios and other filmmakers, who trust the company to prepare and distribute their digital content. “We can introduce exhibitors to content suppliers,” Kercher says. “We can help ‘open doors’, help exhibitors get the content they need – and then deliver it reliably to their cinema sites.”
In May, Kodak prepared and distributed Paramount’s ‘Mission: Impossible: III’ to 174 digital screens in the US and Canada; it was the largest digital release to date.
Now, Kodak is seeing increasingly serious interest in digital cinema in the European market. But every exhibitor’s needs are just a bit different.
“Our business today is about developing individual plans for each customer and with each customer,” Kercher says. “We’re talking to fast-moving smaller chains and bigger, forward-thinking pace-setters. But they’re all betting on the future. They’re betting that their chosen partner will have the commitment and the resources to be DCI-compliant, to keep pace with the industry’s evolving demands. Our message is: ‘Without a shadow of a doubt, Kodak is your best bet for the long term’.”
The Kodak CineServer JMN 3000 and the full Kodak Digital Cinema networked solution are available worldwide, now.
