Dolby and Arqiva Partner to Provide Electronic Delivery to Cinemas

Dolby Laboratories launched Dolby Direct Distribution Services -- a pan-European satellite content delivery network for digital cinemas. The service is provided in association with leading digital network solutions provider Arqiva and uses their international satellite infrastructure to distribute feature movies, trailers, and advertising content direct to their participating exhibitors and cinemas throughout Europe.

Dolby Direct Distribution Services will simplify the cinema distribution process, eliminating physical delivery and manual upload of digital content onto individual cinema servers. The new services, coupled with Dolby's world class JPEG 2000 compression and two-pass encoding system, delivers Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) efficiently without compromising quality. The incredibly low file sizes offered by Dolby DCPs are a key element in the efficient use of satellite as a highly effective delivery platform.

"Dolby is committed to utilizing the most effective methods to deliver cinema content. Our new service using Arqiva's satellite delivery network offers very exciting opportunities in that area," said Richard Welsh, Digital Cinema Services Manager, Dolby Laboratories. "Arqiva's extensive experience in delivering live content via satellite to cinemas, coupled with their core satellite expertise and international infrastructure, makes them an excellent technology partner for this innovative service."

Arqiva operates at the heart of the broadcast and mobile communications industry and is at the forefront of digital network solutions and services. The company provides much of the infrastructure behind television, radio, and wireless communications in the UK and has a growing presence in Ireland, mainland Europe, and the United States.

"We see electronic content distribution as the future of cinema and satellite is the most efficient means of delivering content to multiple sites across countries and continents," said Barrie Woolston, Commercial Director of Arqiva's satellite and media division. "We are delighted to have entered into this partnership with Dolby which we believe represents an important advance for digital cinema."

Source: Dolby