Lianzhong, CFGC Going Dolby

China Film Group Corp. and Lianzhong Circuit have chosen Dolby Digital Cinema and Dolby 3D for deployment in the Chains' locations throghout China. Non-exclusive deal comes by way of Dolby's Chinese distributor, ACE.

D-cinema installation at 100 China Film Group locations starts in April and will continue for several months. Ten Lianzhing screens have been converted to Dolby D-cinema with Dolby 3D. Lianzhang announced a deal in January to convert 100 screens to D-cinema using Chistie projectors and Dolby servers.

Dolby sells its 3-D add-ons outright and, unlike market leader RealD, does not collect royalties or maintain an ongoing financial relationship with theaters that install its systems. Dolby was relatively late to enter the 3-D hardware field and has trailed far behind RealD in the number of installed screens. A major deployment in China would be a significant boost to the San Francisco-based company's 3-D business.

By David S. Cohen, Variety