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What do you all think about this?
Texas Instruments Will Work with Imax
Corporation To Develop Projectors Featuring
DLP Cinema Technology
DLP Cinema Projector Manufacturer Initial
Line-Up Now Complete; Imax to Be The
Exclusive Developer and Provider of
Large-Format DLP Cinema Projectors
Updated 7:29 AM ET June 5, 2000DALLAS,
June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments
(TI) (NYSE:TXN) today announced that it had
signed an agreement with Imax Corporation
(Nasdaq: IMAX; Toronto: IMX), headquartered
in Mississauga, Canada, under the terms of
which Imax and its subsidiary Digital
Projection International (DPI) will develop,
manufacture and market projectors based on
DLP Cinema(TM) projection technology for
both large-format IMAX(R) theatres as well as
standard cinema.
"We're delighted by this announcement," said
Bob England, Senior Vice President and
Manager of TI's Digital Imaging division. "Imax
has a worldwide reputation for excellence in
showing movies, and Imax's wholly-owned
subsidiary, Digital Projection International, is
one of our longest-standing customers for
DLP technology. With their knowledge of how
to get the best from DLP technology, the
cinema expertise and experience that Imax
brings, and the power of the IMAX brand, we
believe we have added great strength to our
program to roll out DLP Cinema technology
globally."
Terms of the agreement between TI and Imax
were not announced. However, TI will make
available to Imax DLP Cinema(TM) technology
that will form the heart of a new generation of
all-digital cinema projectors for both standard
and large-format venues. Also as part of the
agreement, Imax will be the exclusive licensee
of DLP Cinema(TM) technology for
large-format venues. The two other licensees
for standard format cinema venues, Christie
Systems Inc. and BARCO, were announced in
March.
"We are very happy to enter into this
agreement with TI to develop digital projectors
for conventional cinema and IMAX theatres,"
said Imax co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and
Bradley J. Wechsler. "We are excited about the
opportunity in d-cinema for conventional
theaters given Imax's tradition of delivering the
highest quality images and DPI's history with
TI in developing high brightness DLP
technology. While there are a significant
number of technological hurdles to overcome
to develop a digital system that meets our
standards of image size and clarity for IMAX
theatres, we are very happy to be the exclusive
provider of this world leading technology once
a solution has been developed. This
agreement, and our larger relationship with TI,
will keep Imax at the leading edge of
projection technology and reaffirm our
leadership in the large-format cinema
market."
Digital cinema or d-cinema refers to
conventional movie theaters replacing 35mm
film prints and film-based projectors with
movies encoded as digital data that are
projected using digital projectors. This
transformation will allow for a higher quality
image to be projected in the theatre and a
significant reduction in the cost of producing
and distributing film prints. DLP Cinema(TM)
projection technology is considered the
leading technology to drive this change.
"Our DLP Cinema(TM) technology program
continues to gain momentum with this exciting
announcement," said Doug Darrow, Business
Manager for DLP Cinema(TM). "Beyond this,
our field demonstration program is returning
impressive results in terms of audience and
exhibitor acceptance and in terms of the
robustness and reliability of the technology.
We continue to announce additional locations
and movies as we expand the program to
even more worldwide locations. We believe
we're on track to see several thousand
projectors based on DLP Cinema projection
technology installed within the next three years
or so."
TI's DLP Cinema(TM) projection technology
has already been exposed to over three
quarters of a million movie-goers throughout
the world. These extensive field
demonstrations began in June 1999 with
all-digital showings at two North American
locations of "Star Wars: Episode I -- The
Phantom Menace." This was followed in July
when 'Tarzan' was shown at three locations.
'Toy Story 2' opened on six projectors in
November in the U.S., and opened on an
additional six projectors in February and
March in Europe and Japan. 'Bicentennial
Man' opened in the U.S. and Canada on six
projectors in December, followed by 'Mission
to Mars' in March in North America and May in
Europe. An additional four projectors were
added in the U.S. for the opening of 'Dinosaur'
on May 19. Additional DLP Cinema(TM)
projectors will be installed in worldwide
locations during the second and third quarter
of this year to bring the total to around forty.
DLP Cinema(TM) technology is Digital Light
Processing(TM) technology specifically
adapted for the needs of the movie industry.
By comparison with the industry-leading large
venue DLP(TM) technology-based projectors
on which it is based, it features even higher
contrast, together with color processing
designed to replicate the visual experience of
film: commercial projectors featuring DLP(TM)
technology are designed primarily for video
and graphics applications. At the heart of TI's
DLP Cinema(TM) technology are three Digital
Micromirror Device(TM) optical semiconductor
chips. The DMD(TM) switch has an array of to
1,310,000 hinged, microscopic mirrors which
operate as optical switches to create a high
resolution, full color image.
Today, TI supplies DLP(TM) subsystems to
more than thirty of the world's top projector
manufacturers, who then design, manufacture
and market DLP(TM) technology-based
projectors. There are now over fifty products
featuring DLP(TM) technology in the market.
Since early 1996, over 350,000 DLP(TM)
subsystems have been shipped. Over the
past four years, DLP(TM) technology-based
projectors have consistently won some of the
audio-visual industry's most prestigious
awards, including, in June 1998, an Emmy
Award from the Academy of Television Arts &
Sciences.
Imax Corporation and its subsidiaries
comprise one of the world's leading
entertainment technology companies, with
particular emphasis on film and digital
imaging technologies including giant-screen
images, 3D presentations, digital
post-production and digital projection. There
were more than 210 IMAX theatres operating
in 26 countries around the world as of March
31, 2000. Imax's subsidiaries include Digital
Projection International, whose primary
business is the design and manufacture of
high-end digital image delivery devices, and
Sonics Associates a designer and
manufacturer of high-end sound systems.
Imax has forged strategic alliances and
relationships with some of the most
prominent corporations in the world including
Famous Players Inc. (a subsidiary of Viacom
Inc.), America Online Inc. and Loews Cineplex
Corp. Imax Corporation is a publicly traded
company listed on both the Nasdaq and
Toronto stock exchanges (Nasdaq: IMAX;
Toronto: IMX). More information on the
Company can be found at www.imax.com .
Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world
leader in digital signal processing and analog
technologies, the semiconductor engines of
the Internet age. The company's businesses
also include materials and controls, and
educational and productivity solutions. TI is
headquartered in Dallas, Texas and has
manufacturing or sales operations in more
than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York
Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More
information on TI's DLP(TM) technology can
be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.ti.com/
dlp .
Digital Light Processing, DLP, Digital
Micromirror Device, DMD and DLP Cinema
are all trademarks of Texas Instruments. All
other products and names may or may not be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective companies. |
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 Anonymous posted on Sunday, June 11, 2000 - 11:17 am
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Time to look ahead to a time when film projection
technology is a thing of the past. What will YOUR
role be if IMAX presentations are
"push-the-button" shows? When big crates of film
no longer have to travel across continents to make
shows possible? When film print expenses no
longer affect booking decisions?
What will be the incentives to upgrade to digital
projectors? Will a present investment in an IMAX
film projector be seen as a waste of money when
the DLP projector arrives? I hope IMAX is taking
this into consideration, or it will have an awful
lot of very unhappy customers in a few years. |
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| Anonymous posted on Sunday, June 11, 2000 - 04:15 pm
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| The goal of DLP development has been to acheieve a brighter image with higher resolution all along. Since Texas Instruments is the largest producer of DLP equipment, does it seem that Imax is basically laying some sort of claim to any technology that produces a larger-than-traditional image? |
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| Anonymous posted on Sunday, June 11, 2000 - 09:54 pm
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--Time to look ahead to a time when film projection technology is a thing of the past. What will YOUR role be if IMAX presentations are "push-the-button" shows? When big crates of film no longer have to travel across continents to make shows possible? When film print expenses no longer affect booking decisions?--
The obvious response is: I really don't think "they" know or care what individuals' role will be. I assume that many jobs--including my own--will no longer be needed and, like any other dead job, they will be eliminated. But that is the price to pay for technological advances. And to assume our jobs will affect any decision-making, or stand in the way of progress, is folly. Things change. We no longer need patch-bay switchboard operators, or telegraph men, or newspaper boys who hawk issues on the corner, or thousands of other jobs. And we may no longer need films, reel units, or compressors--or projectionists, service technicians, Kodak, or DKP. That's life. |
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| Ken Larson posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2000 - 03:04 am
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With the loss of "traditional projectionist" there will be new opportunities for those who look ahead.
There will still be a need for qualified and interested persons to install, run and maintain equipment no matter what the format.
If you are hard working, dilligent, committed to putting out a superior product and willing to continue to learn,better yourself and grow with the industry; there will always be a place for you.
Imax will still need people that they can count on.People who have proven themselves to be necessary to the companies growth and financial stability.
The question then is: Do we sit on our butts and complain that IMAX is keeping up with emerging trends and we will be obsolete? Or, do we help Imax realize that we have always been the ones they could count on and WE should be the ones that help bring them into the future?
The choice is ours. |
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| Anonymous posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2000 - 04:57 am
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I'm not complaining that IMAX is keeping up with
emerging trends. All I'm saying is that we must be
ready for the future when it arrives. We are all
no doubt familiar with small theaters that use
video projection as the source of the
presentation. Very few of these theaters require a
full-time projectionist or full-time maintenance
person aboard to keep them running.
Imagine that IMAX presentations have evolved into
that kind of thing. In an institutional theater,
there will be no need for a squadron of
projectionists, only an electronic maintenance
person who makes adjustments when needed (sort of
like the guys who take care of Digistars). In a
commercial multiplex with IMAX and conventional
theaters, the manager may end up setting up all of
the theaters--IMAX included--for shows, so the
popcorn preparers can "push the button" to make
the show go.
Everyone in the projection trade should begin to
evolve into a combination of theater manager and
projectionist. Non-technical management skills
will be needed when your IMAX projector is hauled
away and a smaller, more efficient video projector
is installed in its place. |
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| Tom Wahl posted on Wednesday, June 14, 2000 - 05:14 pm
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You guys have the right idea about keeping your options open and thinking about the future.
I worked for Kodak for 28 years, and one day last year they said time to look for a new Job Tom. I bailed out.
I was reel:) bitter at first, but there is life after kodak, and there will be life after IMAX also if the worst happens. Fortunately for me projection is part time for me for extra cash, but for most of you it is much more I'm sure. You just need to have a plan.
Having said that, I don't see digital being a replacement for LF film anytime soon, and keep the IMAX quality presentation. Analog will be around for at least 10 years before digital becomes good enough or reliable enough for prime time.
Roger Ebert did a story on film vs digial, and a product like IMAX is far far better than any digital projection in his opiion. I tend to believe Mr Ebert. You can read the story at his website, unfortunately it's burried in one of the side menus. I'l try to post the url in another post if you guys want to read it. :) |
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| Did anyone see the Efilms digital test that was screened in the technical sessions at LFCA 2000, and what did you think of it? |
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