Saint-Petersburg—Nov 22, 2006
Russia enters Digital Cinema era!
The first Russian Digital Cinema opens in Saint-Petersburg
On October 26, 2006 NEVAFILM DIGITAL™ department of Nevafilm Company has finished the installation of digital cinema equipment for the big auditorium of Zanevsky Cascade Cinema (Kronverk Cinema circuit) in Saint-Petersburg. It will be the first commercial digital cinema in Russia. The set of installed digital cinema equipment complies with DCI requirements for high quality cinema exhibition and includes Christie CP 2000S 2K digital cinema projector, Christie Cine-IPM 2K Digital Cinema Image Processing Module, DoReMi DCP-2000B Digital Cinema player and Dolby DMA8 Digital Media Adapter.
This event is an important step of Russia towards modern screening technologies. There are more than 1 500 digital cinemas in the world today: more than 1 000 in North America (in the US mainly), about 300 in Europe and as many – in the countries of the Asian Pacific.
In Russia however only a few digital cinema experiments have been taken.
In February, 2003 NEVAFILM DIGITAL™ organized the first historical digital cinema screening in Russia. It was taken place in Karo Film in the Atrium Multiplex (Moscow) and supported by the Dolby Labs, EVS and Kinoton.
From January to April, 2004 there were some digital screening of Walt Disney’s Finding Nemo and Brother Bear in Kinosphera Cinema (Moscow). The project was co-organized by Nevafilm and BFC Media (UK) and sponsored by the Dolby Labs, EVS, and Barco.
In the area of non-commercial screening, the installation of high quality digital projectors has started in the second half of 2006. 2K digital cinema projectors from Christie and DoReMi sdigital cinema ervers have been installed in Nevafilm Digital Labs (Saint-Petersburg) and in the screening room of the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications in the Russian Federation (Moscow). Nevafilm has also installed Dolby Digital Cinema System.
And finally, digital cinema has come to the theatre near you. The big screen of the Zanevsky Cascad Cinema will be the first fully operating commercial digital screen in Russia. State-of-the-art digital cinema equipment opens unique advantages for the cinemas: now movie-goers may enjoy not only the movies but also the concerts with exceptional HD image quality and surround 5:1 sound, live sports events and interactive scenario movies, take part in telebridges, track tournaments of computer game players. All these and many other things will be accessible for the new generation of spectators of digital screens in the
future, which is starting today.
Today digital technologies of movie projection leave the viewers with unforgettable impressions produced by high quality screening in the digital format. New Digital 3D cinema is also very attractive to public. As demonstrated the recent 3D premieres of such movies as Chicken Little, Monster House and Nightmare Before Christmas, they help cinema owners over the world to bring public back to the cinema, increasing the box office. Digital technologies open new prospects for advertisers, bringing clips of the highest image and sound quality to the large screen.
Digital screening all over the world is becoming a source of inspiration and of raising new income in all fields of movie industry: production, distribution and exhibition. And, of course, it is becoming a new motivation for people to watch movie in the cinema - the best argument in favor of digital advantages.
