What then is digital cinema? It encompasses production, delivery and projection of full-length motion pictures, trailers, advertisements and other audio/visual programmes in theatres using digital technology. In Digital Cinema, a film is delivered to theatres in the form of hard disks or through other communication modes such as satellite.
Another important aspect is that it also helps in curbing piracy to some extent. A secured link is maintained between the server and the projector using High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) protocol. "Movies copied from the UFO theatre screen with a camcorder can be easily identified, as the images on the screen are finger printed which would not be visible to the viewer, but will be easily caught by the recorder. This way it will be easy to identify the source of such pirated content," says Regional Manager (Tamil Nadu), UFO Moviez, P. Jayaprakash.
A demonstration of Digital Cinema, organised by the company, in the city recently indicated that this could be the way cinema halls would go in future. "UFO Moviez delivers digitally mastered high quality movie images through satellite directly to cinema halls facilitating widespread release of any film without any additional cost in prints for content owners and guarantees unprecedented pleasure to movie viewers," he says.
For the film producers, a release covering many areas ensures early recovery of money, as the collection in the first week matters the most these days. The digital technology has also come as a boon to film distributors.
Says Tiruchi Distributors Association President, A. Joseph Francis: "In our business, luck plays a crucial role. With the cost per print ranging somewhere between Rs. 50,000-60,000 it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to release the film in multiple theatres simultaneously. With the help of this new technology we can save up to Rs.40,000 per print, which is certainly encouraging. Though digitalising all the theatres here will take time, in the long run it is going to be a grand success."
The success of the technology lies in the hands of theatre owners. "In the present situation, it is difficult for the owners to invest money for installation of equipment in the theatres. But the digital projector is an excellent concept and there is also a healthy competition between the solution providers. The sound effect in this form of cinema is great," says Tiruchi Film Exhibitors Association President P. Meenakshi Sundaram.
Theatre owners also stand to gain by the low power consumption by the equipment. But how many of the theatre owners in the city are willing to upgrade to the new system? "We have just entered the market here and so far there have been a lot of enquiries. Exhibitors want to attract audience through this technology," says the Marketing Executive, UFO Moviez, C. Karthikeyan.
After all the effort, will this reach the people? Yes, says a confident Jayaprakash. "When the quality is high, then definitely you are going to get good viewership. We believe UFO will redefine entertainment and bring back those good old days, when people thronged the theatres in huge numbers."
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