Digital cinema rollout completed
Central Point Communications, with the support of Argil Venture Capital, recently concluded the rollout of digital cinema servers in 36 Nu Metro Cinema complexes around South Africa, enabling these cinemas to exhibit high definition advertising and full length feature movies from a digital platform.
Using its experience in developing digital signage software and content delivery engines, CPC has developed an advanced digital cinema offering based on its popular DC Media Digital Display technology.
“Our software platform is flexible enough to support newer multimedia formats including High Definition (HD), allowing our customer to innovate without the need for re-capitalisation,” says Richard Brock, director of software development at CPC.
Aside from facilitating playback of digital content, the CPC Digital Cinema product includes management software that provides continuous feedback and remote control mechanisms.
By leveraging off the reliability and high quality displays produced by DC Media, the CPC Digital Cinema offering facilitates the playback of advertising material and feature movies in either standard definition or HD.
Drivers behind digital
“This is one of the drivers behind the digital cinema: the traditional medium of 35mm film stock is expensive, while the film itself is delicate and sustains damage as it is exhibited,” says Paul Dixon, MD of Argil Venture Capital, manages a technology fund whose investors include Ernst & Young. “Eliminating the need for a print, one of which must be supplied to every cinema, immediately and significantly reduces the cost of screenings both for advertising and movies.”
“The advantages of digital cinemas go much further than the massive savings on the costs of film distribution,” continues Dixon.
“The visual quality of the show is better over time (a traditional film print deteriorates with repeated screenings) and advertisements can be added to the feature with ease, a previously error-prone process of splicing advertising reels onto the feature using adhesive tape. More importantly, the elimination of the cost of producing and distributing physical film, independent movie producers are able to take their productions to the public at a far reduced cost.”
Concludes Dixon, “CPC’s product is world-beating; it has been compared with other products including those from Kodak, and has come out tops. This is indicative of the level of talent which exists in South Africa, and which Ernst & Young and Argil are pleased to support.”
