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Christie At The Heart Of Digital Revolution In Holland's First VPF-Funded Roll-Out

WOKINGHAM, UK – 10 March 2009 – Christie, a leader in digital cinema projection, is pleased to announce that it has been selected to fit 68 Christie 2K DLP Cinema® projection systems in the exclusive agreement between the Amsterdam Booking Company B.V. (ABC), a buying group representing Dutch independent cinemas, and Arts Alliance Media (AAM), Europe’s leading digital cinema provider.  Christie digital cinema projectors will be deployed in 68 screens within 20 cinemas across The Netherlands.  The deal also covers the installation of a professional satellite network for the transmission of live events and encrypted content.

“We are very pleased that ABC has chosen to invest so strongly in digital cinema for its future development. We are also delighted that Arts Alliance Media has secured another success in Europe, a testimony of their leadership in digital and 3-D digital cinema”, says Richard Nye, Senior Market Development Manager, Cinema, Christie.  He adds, “We have been working with AAM for five years now, and this agreement will further strengthen the excellent relationships we have with them in what is now four European countries.”

ABC acted quickly to equip screens for the Dutch release of Disney’s 3D movie “Bolt” on February 11th, making it the first wide 3-D release in the Netherlands.  Seven Christie CP2000-S 2K DLP Cinema projectors have already been installed in Heerenveen, Heerlen, Schagen, Spijkenisse, Venray, Weert and Zutphen, in time for “Bolt”.  The remaining projectors will be a mixture of CP2000-S and Christie CP2000-ZX models.

ABC’s roll-out will permit the screening of other upcoming 2009 3-D movies such as “Monsters vs. Aliens” (Dreamworks/Paramount), “Up” (Pixar/Disney), “Ice Age 3” (Twentieth Century Fox), “Planet 51” (Sony Pictures), “Toy Story 3D” (Pixar/Disney) and “Avatar” (Twentieth Century Fox).  Digital 3-D screens generate higher box office than standard screens.

Rich Phillips, Head of Technical Operations, AAM says, “We have chosen Christie’s projectors because of their performance and flexibility offered for a variety of screen sizes in existing theatre infrastructure.  Our commitment is to help all cinemas convert to digital, regardless of size or location and having Christie on board is incredibly valuable from this point of view.”

The Christie projectors and Doremi servers were jointly selected by AAM and ABC for the deployment.  The satellite equipment will be provided by Arqiva Satellite and Media.  Under the conditions of the agreement, AAM will create a fully integrated digital cinema and satellite network within the ABC group of cinemas.  The agreement requires AAM to procure, service and maintain all digital cinema systems deployed, including the projectors and servers, central storage servers and a theatre management system.  FTT Filmtronics, a subsidiary of Christie partner FTT in Germany will carry out the installations, as well as provide maintenance and local support.  Thomas Rüttgers, General Manager of FTT, testifies, “We are delighted to be working again with Christie for this exciting project, as previous installations such as the major deployment of D-Cinema systems in Austria, already proved to be a success. We are also very pleased to be working jointly with Arts Alliance on this project.”

To date, AAM has a European footprint of 507 installed and operated digital cinema screens in the UK, France, Spain and Norway.  Successes of Christie with AAM include the UK Film Council funded project – the Digital Screen Network (DSN) and Circuit George Raymond (CGR Cinémas) in France. The company is currently completing the 400-screen rollout in CGR Cinémas with the help of Christie projectors. AAM was the first digital cinema provider in Europe to sign VPF-based deployment agreements with studios and exhibitors.

With 80 years of experience in cinema, Christie is today manufacturing the most actively used projectors in digital cinema, designed to fulfil the requirements as specified by DCI for a superior cinematic experience. To date, Christie surpassed an historic 5,500 active 2K digital cinema installations worldwide, less than four years after launching the world’s largest digital cinema deployment plan. 

About Arts Alliance Media

Arts Alliance Media, based in London, Paris and Amsterdam, is Europe’s leading provider of digital distribution services, committed to building the largest digital cinema delivery network in Europe, and to supply digital content – films, alternative programming and live events. AAM provides end-to-end digital cinema solutions encompassing equipment selection, financing and integration, operator training, installation and support, and content management and delivery. The company’s in-house digital cinema lab has mastered over 430 digital titles to date. AAM also sources, manages and promotes ‘Alternative Content’ programming for cinemas.  AAM was founded in 2003 by Thomas C. Hoegh, who serves as Chairman of the board. Further information can be found at www.artsalliancemedia.com

About Amsterdam Booking Company B.V.:

Amsterdam Booking Company, which programs Dutch independent cinemas, is based in Amsterdam. Founded by Paul Visser in 2004, ABC was created to enable the independent cinemas to join forces and collectively program content, as well as gain management, marketing and overall strategy advice in such areas as digital deployment. Visser has over 20 years working experience in the film industry, mainly as a sales director at various distributors in the Netherlands. Further information can be found at: www.abcbooking.nl

About the Virtual Print Fee Model:

The VPF business model is a means of financing the conversion to digital cinema, where both distributor and exhibitor contribute over time towards the total cost of the digital projection and server equipment, funded up front by the roll-out entity (AAM).

Christie At The Heart Of Digital Revolution In Holland's First VPF-Funded Roll-Out

Christie, is a leader in visual solutions for world-class organisations, offering diverse applications for business, entertainment, and industry. A leading innovator in film projection since 1929 and a pioneer in digital projection systems since 1979, Christie has established a global reputation as a total service provider and the world's single source manufacturer of a variety of display technologies and solutions. With the acquisition of Vista Controls Systems, Corp., Christie offers the most complete and advanced solutions for cinema, live venues, control rooms, business presentations, training facilities, 3D and Virtual Reality, simulation and education as well as industrial and government environments.