Over 90 Percent of Digital Cinema Installations in Canada are from Christie
Canadian moviegoers have always expected the best in cinema quality and a full range of content on their screens, and the theatre owners who make up the Motion Picture Theatre Associations of Canada (MPTAC) have been meeting this expectation for many years. Helping them to achieve best-of-breed quality in projection and state-of-the-art digital signage and lobby displays is the goal of Christie®, the exhibitors’ valued partner, which now supplies 90 percent of the nation’s digital cinema projector installations.
With the industry’s 25th anniversary conference, ShowCanada 2011, scheduled for May 31–June 2, in Ottawa, it is notable that Christie contributes greatly to Canada’s knowledgebase in cinema and visual display technology. The company is the only provider of high performance digital cinema projectors headquartered in North America, with its manufacturing located in Kitchener, Ontario.
“Christie’s digital cinema solutions provide eye-popping image quality the first time and every time a movie is shown,” says Dave Muscat, senior director of sales, Christie Canada. “Christie also makes it possible to provide the seamless 3D imaging and alternative content that exhibitors need to serve their customers.”
Notes Kathryn Cress, vice-president of global and corporate marketing, Christie: “Our commitment to customized solutions and Canadian service and support make Christie the exhibitors’ choice for digital conversion among both Canada’s largest theatre chains and its smaller, independent venues.”
For Cineplex Entertainment (‘Cineplex’: TSX: CGX), Christie is part of the next-generation cinema experience. “Christie projectors provide the sharpest available on-screen image so our guests can enjoy the stunning imagery of today’s movies the way they are meant to be enjoyed – on a big screen in a theatre,” said Pat Marshall, vice president, communications & investor relations, Cineplex Entertainment.
Recent Highlights of Christie Cinema Success in Canada:
- In March 2011, Cineplex hosted a world-first showing of a movie in 4K DLP® cinema for moviegoers at Galaxy Cinemas in Waterloo, Ontario, using the new Christie CP4200 platform. The premium, high-definition 4K digital cinema format delivers four times more pixels than mainstream digital cinema and is capable of displaying on 2D screens as wide as 105 feet, and 3D screens as wide as 75 feet.
- Quebec’s leading independent movie chain – Les Cinémas Ciné Entreprise – becomes the first chain in Quebec to go 100 percent digital when it purchases 24 Christie CP2000 Series projectors. The chain is an innovator in offering advertising and promotional support to its member cinemas, and Christie’s solution makes it possible to offer even more options.
- Christie supplied its powerful Cine-IPM processors to Cineplex for its February 2011 high definition (HD) screenings of traditional Japanese Kabuki Theatre at select cinemas in Toronto and Vancouver. Christie’s Cine-IPM processing module converts incoming analog or digital signals into a format suitable for digital cinema projectors. It is renowned in the industry as the highest quality, format-conversion solution available, facilitating accurate display of alternative content such as theatre productions, broadcast television, satellite, business presentations and HDTV sources. It would not have been possible to show traditional Kabuki on the big screen without the processors.
- In January 2011, Christie shared the screen with Cinéma Pine at Ciné-Québec ‘Le Rendez-Vous Festif et Éclaté,’ a four-day cinema industry celebration. Cinéma Pine, established in 1948, and the oldest, continuously operated, family-owned theatre business in Québec, showed private screenings of two new Québec releases, ‘La Vérité’ by Marc Bisaillon and ‘Angle Mort’ by Dominic James, using a Christie DLP Digital Cinema® projector, the world’s most installed brand. Christie is also a sponsor of Ciné-Québec, an annual conference for Quebec cinema professionals.
- Christie’s digital cinema projectors, including the new generation Christie Solaria™ Series 4K-ready DLP Cinema® projectors, screened a record number of digital titles at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival®, September 9 –19, 2010. Celebrating 10 years as projection sponsor for the festival, Christie has played a key role in the festival’s growing use of digital projection technology to reflect the innovative works of a new generation of filmmakers.
Approaching 20,000 digital projectors installed to date across the globe, with more added daily, Christie is the world leader in the 2D and 3D digital screening market.
About Christie®
Christie Digital Systems Canada Inc. is a global visual technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio, Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world’s most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images. Visit www.christiedigital.com.
Source: Christie Digital Systems
