First Ever Showing Of Electronic Cinema In Latin America

For the first time since the advent of sound, the motion picture industry is being turned upside down by a revolution in technology: Electronic Cinema. Wow Hughes-JVC Technology Corporation and Miramax Films have added a new chapter to the history of cinema with the Latin American digital premiere of Miramax's ""Life Is Beautiful,"" this year's OscarÆ winner for Best Foreign Film. This very special presentation of the worldís most advanced digital visual technologies took place on June 29 and 30, 1999 at Metropolitan in Barre, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The historic event promised to be an unforgettable experience and a milestone for entertainment in Latin America. A worldwide consortium of hardware and software manufacturers has contributed its efforts and technologies to bring this exhibition to the big screen. ""Life Is Beautiful"" was presented on Hughes-JVCís ILA-12K Electronic Cinema projector by Broadband Image Technologies, LTD, the Brazilian representative for the world's most advanced broadband and digital visual, data and graphic equipment technology. Rio-based BIT's vision is to play a key role in raising Brazil's place in the global economy by promoting Visual Entertainment as a key opportunity for new employment and growth. Noted Metropolitan's Ricardo Amaral, this revolutionary technology ""will positively affect and assist the future direction and recognition of Brazil in the global visual communication world."" Charles Pintard, Hughes-JVC's director of Latin American Operations and executive producer of this event added, ""The arrival of the broadband fibre-optic cable transmission infrastructure will enable 1200 gigabytes of capacity, of which visual transmission will be a major part. BIT will have the equipment and expertise to transmit this visual information to the Brazilian people. The largest emerging market for video and telecommunications, second only to China, is Latin America. And in the next ten years, Brazil will be the leader in that objective.""The proponents of digital exhibition promise many practical and quality advantages. Unlike 35mm film, which is subject to constant wear and tear, an electronic image precisely maintains its quality on the screen through hundreds or even thousands of showings, each as pristine and scratch-free as the first. Distribution will also be significantly streamlined, with first run films transmitted digitally via satellite and shown in theatres without delay. And, with electronic display, worldwide events from interactive videoconferences to Carnival may be projected onto screens 30 meters wide and larger for viewing by hundreds or thousands of people at a time, either indoors or on the beach. The Electronic Cinema exhibition in Brazil closely follows the first public exhibition in the United States. On June 18, Hughes JVC's ILA-12K Electronic Cinema projector began playing two of the summer's best films in movie theatres on screens up to 15 meters wide, each for a four-week run. Lucasfilm's summer blockbuster ""Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace"" and the summer's critical favorite, ""An Ideal Husband"" from Miramax, are both showing digitally in the Los Angeles and New York areas through July 15. Electronic Cinema is a revolution not just in technology, but also in the quality of the viewing experience. Audiences have been awestruck by the outstanding brightness, color reproduction, contrast and resolution of the picture. They have commented consistently that the images were sharp and clean without dirt or scratches, that the picture seemed richer and more three-dimensional. Exit surveys confirm public acceptance of electronic cinema: nine out of ten people asked to rate the quality of the Hughes-JVC digitally projected image found it to be as good as or better than traditional film. Hughes-JVC Technology Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Victor Company (JVC) is located in Carlsbad, California. For more information on Digital Cinema, the ILA-12K projector and other high resolution video, data and graphic projectors, visit the Hughes-JVC website at www.hit.com or contact Patricia Booher at 760 929 5365m E-mail: pabooher@hjt.com.