London—Jan 31, 2008
Kodak Brings Moviegoers in Greece ‘First Ever’ Opportunity To Enjoy Movies in Digital 3D
Village Cinemas use Kodak system in four popular multiplexes
Kodak announced today that its proven Kodak Digital Cinema Content Player JMN3000 is bringing the magic and uniqueness of digital 3D to moviegoers in Greece, in the first-ever digital installations in that country. ‘Beowolf’, the 3D animated motion picture from Paramount Pictures, was the latest of several successful movies shown on the three largest Village Cinemas screens in Athens and one in Thessalonica, using the Kodak system.
“We like the unique cinema experience that digital 3D offers,” said Mr. George Karivalis, operations manager, for Village Cinemas, “but any new digital system we install has to be a workhorse, handling 2D digital presentations as well. When we saw Kodak’s demonstration of their digital cinema system, and realized how easy and reliable their equipment is, we began working on a plan to bring them into our cinemas.”
The plan took shape with the help of Spacevision S.A., agent for both Kodak Digital Cinema and Christie digital projectors in Greece. Spacevision put the system together using components from each company, and brought in REAL D to add 3D capability.
“These are the first digital cinema installations in Greece,” said Mr. Panagiotis Bellos, General Manager, Spacevision. “We know that the evolution to digital will involve a long-term effort and it’s important for us to work with companies we know and brands we trust. This is a first step; we’re confident of the reliability and support of the Kodak system under the demanding conditions of four busy, working theatres.”
The Kodak Digital Cinema system handles 2D or 3D movies and automatically recognizes the compression format used – JPEG or MPEG – and employs that for playback. In all four installations in Greece, it’s being used as a standalone unit for a single screen; however, the content players can also be networked and driven by the Kodak Theatre Management System for fully automated content handling and presentation.
“We’ve built Kodak’s extensive imaging capability into the system – and designed it to serve as a building block for digital cinema as it evolves,” said Kercher. “It works seamlessly with all DCI-compliant feature projectors, including the Christie units used in these installations. Audiences will enjoy a great motion picture experience.”
Village Roadshow, parent company for Village Cinemas, operates in five countries – Australia, Singapore, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Greece – with more than 145,000 seats in 699 screens in 71 sites. In Greece, Village Cinemas have 72 screens with 14,180 seats in 7 sites. Kodak’s systems are being installed in the Village ‘Faliro’, the Village ‘Mall’, and the Village ‘Park Rentis’ – all in Athens – and the Village ‘Cosmos’ in Thessalonica.
“At Village Cinemas, we take pride in creating a great audience experience by doing things first,” said Mr. George Karivalis. “We were one of the first with stadium seating and the concepts we’ve introduced, such as Club Europa and Gold Class, were developed to raise the standards of cinema entertainment. Now, digital projection continues that tradition and we are pleased to be working with Kodak and our other partners to bring this to moviegoers in Greece.”
“As Village Cinema’s business evolves, we will continue to advance our system to keep pace with their needs,” said Kodak’s Kercher. “This is a new beginning, a new opportunity, for us to work together, to learn together, and to grow with digital cinema as this business develops.”
