 Abirami goes digital
Eminent film-maker Maniratnam has said that the Real Image Media Technologies has heralded the coming of a new technological revolution in the film industry with the installation of Qube XP hi-def Digital Cinema Servers at all four theatres in Chennai's Abirami Complex, making it the first cinema complex in India to go completely digital.
Maniratnam said it is a win-win situation for the entire film industry as it provides not merely benefits to the film-maker and film-goer but also to the producers, distributors and exhibitors. The digital format can greatly reduce the cost of prints and thus the cost of production and distribution but more than anything else can enhance the quality of films, he added.
He recalled how as a boy he watched films in "touring talkies" where often there would be a gap of several minutes when reels were changed. Also, the quality of prints would be bad. Today, the digital format assures a viewer the same quality even on the last day of screening.
Ramanathan, owner of Abirami group of theatres, said the complex took pride in bringing several new concepts, right from DTS sound. Although an investment of Rs 60 lakh has been made though no digital films are available now, he said he was sure that digital films would soon be made in India. Also, digital films would also come into the country from abroad if such theatres were available.
Jayendra said the Qube Cinema Server, completely conceptualised and developed by Real Image Media Technologies, is highly versatile in handling picture and sound. Designed to be format independent and future proof, it is upgradeable to support new formats that might emerge across the world. Each theatre equipped with the Qube Cinema Server has the capability to offer audiences high quality, high definition digital cinema with rock steady picture, even illumination, unsurpassed 6-track digital sound and the absence of any scratches, even on the lOOth day of screening, making it the ultimate experience in movie viewing.
With the Tamil New Year fast approaching this April 14, audience in Tamil Nadu will also have the satisfaction of viewing movies digitally when 30 theatres across the state will be equipped with Qube Cinema Servers and 3-chip DPL digital projectors. This will mean digital projection of the latest movie releases at several cinema halls within Chennai and at other locations in the state, added
Jayendra.
The first Indian technology company in the media space to go truly global, Real Image has won rave reviews across the globe for the path-breaking digital technology that is Qube. The Qube Cinema system has also recently been chosen to steer a Digital Cinema Network in Portugal, operated by the Institute of Cinema and Multimedia (ICAM), under the Ministry of Culture.
The inauguration of the 20-cinema network took place on February 17 at Lusomundo Cinema in Lisbon with a digital presentation of a Portuguese film. The Secretary of State for Culture, Government of Portugal and other officials of the Ministry, Mayors of several Portuguese cities along with filmmakers in the country presided over the event. Theatres equipped with the Qube Cinema Player will be networked to receive feature films and other content digitally using Real Image's unique QubeCentral control and monitoring system.
For a company that is all set to go places with its path-breaking digital cinema technology, this achievement comes as no surprise. It was in May 2004 that Real Image was invited to present a demonstration of the Qube technology for a European digital cinema evaluation at Berlin, Germany, and was adjudged amongst the top two digital cinema servers against 14 such competitors worldwide.
In November 2004, the CEO of Intel, Craig Barrett, during his visit to Delhi to address the industry on his perspective of the country and where it stood among other nations in terms of technology, commended the potential of Qube Cinema. In his presentation, the Intel CEO showcased the Qube Cinema Server, highlighting how an Indian company in the digital arena had innovatively used technology. He
discussed the potential the Qube Cinema system had to transform the cinema industry worldwide.
The Qube Cinema Server has witnessed marked progress since its initial introduction to the world of digital cinema in mid 2003. The efforts of Real Image, during this time, have been aimed at making digital cinema a reality, technically and commercially. Today, the benefits of this path breaking technology are here and accessible to the cinema industry with Qube Cinema - the hi-def Digital Cinema Server now making waves across India and the globe.
The Chennai-based Real Image Media Technologies has made its mark in the Digital Cinema arena on the global level. The company's Qube XP Digital Cinema Player has been chosen to steer a Digital Cinema Network in Portugal operated by the Institute of Cinema and Multimedia (I CAM), under the Ministry of Culture.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Government of Portugal and other officials of the Ministry, Mayors of several Portuguese cities along with filmmakers in the country were present at the inauguration of the 20 cinema network with a digital presentation of a Portuguese film on Feb 17, 2005 at Lusomundo Cinema in Lisbon. Theatres equipped with the Qube Cinema Player will be networked to receive feature films and other content digitally using Real Image's unique QubeCentral control and monitoring system.
With Qube Cinema, these cinemas can download from the central server, the content that is suitable to them based on their requirements. The cinemas can also choose to play movies in any available language along with sub-titles in the language of their choice.
This initiative of the Government of Portugal is being set up to promote cinema produced within the country. In future, such films will also be sent digitally to other Portuguese speaking countries around the world with an expansion of the digital cinema network.
Real Image worked closely with its Portuguese partner, Gigalink to win this project against global competition.
The Qube Cinema Player, completely conceptualised and developed by Real Image Media Technologies, is highly versatile in handling picture and sound. Designed to be format independent and future proof, it is upgradeable to support new formats that might emerge across the world.
For a company that is all set to go places with its path-breaking digital cinema technology, this achievement comes as no surprise. It was in May 2004 that Real Image was invited to present a demonstration of the Qube technology for a European digital cinema evaluation at Berlin, Germany, and was adjudged amongst the top two digital cinema servers against 14 such competitors worldwide.
Real Image Media Technologies, India's foremost technology provider in the film, video and audio markets and the company that brought you the amazing DTS Sound format, has great pleasure in introducing another revolution that can change the future of cinema, Jayendra said.
Digital Cinema is the projection of features using a digital projector in the theatre. The original negative of the film is converted to Hi-Def digital using a HD Telecine. During this stage, the film can be colour corrected perfectly in a manner that is impossible when printing on film. This digital copy of the film is then compressed to a format such as MPEG-2 or Windows Media 9 in order to make it a manageable size to transport to the theatre. Finally, the compressed film is encrypted using virtually unbreakable digital methods so that the film cannot be pirated.
This compressed, encrypted digital version of the film can then be transported to the cinema theatre. This can be done using a small hard disc pack, using a fiber optic network or using a satellite system. In the theatre, the film is loaded into the Qube Hi-Def Digital Cinema Player and projected onto the screen using a high quality 3-chip DLP projector from companies such as Panasonic, Barco, Christie and Digital Projection.
 The Qube Hi-Def Digital Cinema Player, conceived and developed by Real Image, is highly versatile in handling picture and sound. Designed to be format independent and future proof, the Qube Hi-Def Digital Cinema Player is upgradeable to support new formats that might emerge across the world.
Film producer M Saravanan of the AVM Group, said henceforth, each theatre from the cinema chain will have the capability to offer audiences high quality, high definition digital cinema with rock steady picture, even illumination, unsurpassed 6-track digital sound and the absence of any scratches, even on the 100th day of screening, making it the ultimate experience in movie viewing.
Apart from the astounding picture and sound quality, Qube also promises to rewrite the economics of film-making, giving you the chance to recover investments within the first few weeks of release.
A digital movie can mean a much wider release enabling screening of the movie in hundreds of theatres across the state on the very first day. More theatres releasing a new film on Day 1 means more audiences flocking to the halls in the first few weeks, increasing collections dramatically.
The cost of film prints, which is currently 20 per cent of a film's production cost, is reduced to a minimum so there is little additional risk for a distributor to plan a large release. Maximum revenues can be gained before there is any form of piracy. A completely digital release will remove all possibilities of video piracy since there will be no physical prints to copy from, Saravanan added.
R Rangaraj
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