Sony-AMC in Major 4K Cinema Deal
Sony Electronics used ShoWest this week to put a major stake in the ground around 4K resolution projectors for theatres. To date, DLP projectors with 2K resolution (2048×1080) have dominated digital cinema installs. But a new $315M deal with AMC Entertainment Theaters will change all that. Over the next few years, AMC will equip all of its 4,628 screens at 309 theaters with Sony’s 4K (4096 x 2160) resolution SXRD projectors. AMC currently has 150 Sony 4K projectors in 11 theaters.
With only a few hundred 4K screens operating today, this is a major deal for Sony, a big challenge to TI, and a smart move by AMC. While there is very little 4K content today, a growing amount of content is being shot with 4K cameras or telecined at a 4K resolution. But Sony Pictures Entertainment recently announced it will make and release most of its filmed productions using 4K technology. To support this, Sony is currently developing a complete line of digital 4K cinematography production equipment, including systems for 4K acquisition, storage and post-production (think they might announce something at NAB?).
As more 4K content becomes available, AMC theaters will be able to show this content in its native resolution - a marketing edge. It also can be used effectively for display of live broadcast events in the theater. And, 2K content can be scaled to 4K for even greater detail (if the creative forces allow that).
For 3D content, Sony has a lens attachment that allows the left and right eye images to be displayed in an over/under format on the imager and then optically combined for projection on the screen. The resolution of the 3D image will be 2K, similar to DLP projectors, but instead of being triple flashed it will display the left and right eye images simultaneously. Like DLP 3D projection, it will require a silver screen. 3D light levels are typically about the same - 4 to 5 Ft-L or about 1/3 the recommended level for 2D movies. Neither AMC or Sony specified what percentage of the new projectors would be equipped for 3D, but I would guess a large percentage.
The 4K projectors are also more expensive than comparable DLP 2K projectors, but AMC obviously believes it is buying a more future-proof solution. And, by embracing this path, it is accelerating deployment of both 3D and 4K.
The AMC roll out of Sony digital projection systems is planned to begin in the second calendar quarter of 2009 and continue across AMC’s North American theatre circuit through 2012. The roll out is part of an initiative being led by Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, which is charged with planning and implementing the deployment of digital cinema.
However, availability of funding has slowed the roll out of all digital cinema technology over the last six months. To help address this, Sony also announced a deal with Walt Disney Studios to work together to provide operational and financial resources to exhibitors to encourage them to feature Sony’s 4K SXRD projection technology in both 2D and 3D digital cinema-enabled screens across North America and Europe.
Sony’s digital cinema group has now signed digital cinema deployment agreements with four major studios: Walt Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
So, with Sony upping the ante to 4K, will TI soon follow with a 4K DLP chip of their own?
Chris Chinnock, DisplayDaily
