Published:
18-May-09
Regal Entertainment, the largest movie theatre circuit in the US, has concluded a deal to adopt 4K projectors from Sony Electronics in at least 75% of its screens. The agreement will see Regal adopt 4K technology in all its 550 cinema locations for a minimum of 5,000 of its 6,700 screens. The deployments will be completed within a three to five year time period and commence as soon as DCIP, the deployment entity set up by the three largest circuits in North America, is able to lock down $1bn in financing, which has so far remained elusive due to recent economic conditions.
Regal's decision to adopt 4K closely follows that of fellow US circuit AMC Entertainment and combined will see over 10,000 screens upgrade to the higher end 4K resolution projectors in North America, roughly double the total number of digital screens installed in the US at end 2008 (c5,500) and potentially achieving a leading market position by 2012. This potential scenario does, however, depend on deployment time scales and equipment choices of other major exhibitors including Cinemark, the third remaining shareholder in DCIP.
Our take...
Sony's 4K technology has moved into a very strong position with two of the three largest movie circuits in North America now on board, in stark contrast to what has been a limited take up of the higher-end 4K equipment to date. In comparison, Texas Instrument's 2K DLP Cinema technology licensed to three main projector manufacturers (Barco, Christie, NEC), has come to be regarded as the industry norm with over 97% of global installations at end 2008. The recent move towards 4K is linked to the need to gain a competitive advantage (or not to be placed at a disadvantage compared to rival circuits) as well as to ensure an element of future proofing. It is also not known if Regal or AMC will install server or playback systems of their preferred manufacturer(s) given that Sony's technology comes with an integrated server. The financial terms of either the Regal or AMC deal are not known, but it was reported that the recently reduced price point for the 4K machine to bring in more into line with existing 2K projectors, albeit still marginally higher, was a major factor in swaying the decision. This could create more pressure for 2K projector companies to reduce their prices and/or offering to widen the price differential again.
Sony has improved its technical offering to include 3D projection capabilities with one projector including a link up with RealD's technology. Both Regal and AMC had previously agreed large orders for RealD's 3D system in at least 20 per cent of their screens. 3D capability is regarded as an essential and incremental component of d-cinema systems and previously the two complementary technologies were incompatible (4K and 3D) which would have been a major disincentive for widespread take up and is no longer the case.
A delay in commencing industrial roll-out for DCIP has given those exhibitors more time to make a decision on whether to commit fully to 4K, in light of the recent technical and economic developments outlined above. It has yet to be seen what impact this will have on the rest of the market as even though both 2K and 4K resolution projectors were advocated in the original DCI technical recommendations, this does appear to be a format war of sorts.
Sony's technology has also seen a resurgence internationally with South Korean multiplex chain, Megabox, equipping Sony's 4K projectors in each of its 100 plus screens. In Romania, leading cinema chain CinemaPro and Hollywood Multiplex has installed five Sony projectors with 3D capabilities, the first of their kind in Europe. Meanwhile, the Nordic D-Cinema project has also ordered an additional two projectors that have options for 3D capability if required, on top of several 4K projectors that were already installed. In the US, Sony's deployment entity DCSS has also made several smaller signings, following its first major deal with Muvico Entertainment, with independent movie theatres The Alamo and Palace.
The move towards 4K comes as JVC has revealed an 8K resolution projector (8,192x4,320 pixels) although this is expected to be at least several years away from commercial deployment in cinemas, if at all, as such scope was not included in the official DCI technical recommendations. The 8K projector will support 4K playback.
Romania,
