Technicolor Acquires Stake In Real Image Digital

Technicolor has announced that it has acquired a significant interest in Real Image Digital, a developer of digital-cinema technology. As part of the transaction, Technicolor is acquiring 49 percent of Real Image, with the option of picking up another 11.5 percent in the future on pre-negotiated terms. Real Image is partnered with the Sarnoff Corporation, which is currently developing technology to compress and encrypt film-quality images for theatres - a process that Sarnoff claims is many times more complex than video compression for the home-entertainment market. Currently, Technicolor (which brought color to movies 80 years ago) processes and develops film during production, then produces and distributes release prints direct to over 34,000 cinema screens across the U.S. for studios such as Disney, Warner Bros., and DreamWorks SKG. Digital distribution, by satellite or other means, is expected to significantly cut the cost of getting films to cinemas, and do away with shortages of physical prints for unexpected hits. Real Imageís technology encompasses the full range of processes required to compress, encrypt, and store a film digitally so it can be electronically transported and digitally projected in a ""high-quality, copyright-secured format."" The companyís group of industry experts has been working for five years to achieve its e-cinema goals through platform-neutral technology. Technicolor and Real Image expect interest in digital-cinema technology to grow rapidly, after a boost this summer from digital screenings of George Lucas' ""Star Wars: Episode I -The Phantom Menace"" Miramax's ""An Ideal Husband,"" and Disney's ""Tarzan."" The two companies are developing a business plan to provide a complete digital and financial solution for distributors and exhibitors that will allow e-cinema to grow alongside the traditional print-production business.