Walt Disney Studios International and Arts Alliance Media Sign Digital Cinema Deployment Agreement

"Walt Disney Studios International ("Disney") and Arts Alliance Media ("AAM"), one of Europe's leading providers of digital film distribution services, have reached a non-exclusive long-term agreement for digital cinema rollout across Europe. Disney is the latest studio to support the AAM DCI-compliant rollout. Under the terms of the agreement, Disney will supply European exhibitors with its feature films in digital format and will make provisional contributions towards the digital cinema hardware costs of AAM-deployed DCI-compliant screens.

AAM is the only company in Europe to have signed long term digital cinema deployment agreements with Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures International, Paramount Pictures International and Sony Pictures Releasing International. These agreements cover the conversion of up to 7,000 screens over the next few years.

In November 2007, the first European cinema chain, CGR Cinemas in France, signed up with AAM to convert 100% of its 400 screens to digital. AAM is currently creating a fully integrated DCI-compliant digital cinema network within the CGR Cinémas infrastructure. This network includes digital cinema systems, including projectors and servers, central storage servers and a Theatre Management System.

Widespread commercial digital cinema rollout across Europe will enable exhibitors, distributors and the entertainment industry at large to reap the substantial benefits of digital cinema: consistently high quality non-degradable prints, new programming opportunities - alternative content and premium ticket shows, notably 3D films and live satellite events (opera, concerts, sports, etc), as well as vastly reduced print production and logistics costs."

Source: DCinemaToday