ARTS ALLIANCE MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE UPGRADE
OF 50 UK SCREENS TO JPEG2000 COMPATIBILITY
LONDON, 5 June 2006 - Arts Alliance Media (AAM), Europe’s leading provider of digital film distribution services, has reached another European digital cinema milestone with the announcement that all 50 QuVIS servers installed as Phase 1 of the UK Film Council’s Digital Screen Network (DSN) have been upgraded to be JPEG2000 compatible.
Following this upgrade, the first of a series that will take place as DCI standards are formalised, AAM have announced the first JPEG2000 feature release to play on the network. Disney’s The Wild has been shown on the DSN in JPEG2000 compression format, using MXF packaging and security keys, the format recommended by the DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives), a consortium of seven Hollywood studios formed to define universal standards for digital cinema.
Fiona Deans, AAM’s Director of Digital Cinema said, “This milestone cements our commitment to DCI compatibility and our dedication to support the content owners and ultimately to achieve the highest quality and most secure digital cinema presentation.”
AAM subsidiary Arts Alliance Digital Cinema (AADC) was selected to rollout the UKFC DSN, a $20m contract to install and operate Europe’s largest 2K digital cinema network, in February 2005. Phase 1 (50 screens) of the 240 screen rollout was completed in February 2006. All future installations in the DSN will be JPEG2000 compatible. AAM recently expanded its digital cinema operations into Europe with the launch of a digital cinema circuit in Norway.
To date, 44 feature films have been shown on the UKFC Digital Screen Network, including Oscar Nominees March of the Penguins (Warner Bros.) and Good Night and Good Luck (Lionsgate); Michael Winterbottom’s A Cock and Bull Story (Redbus); Hidden/Caché (Artificial Eye), The Proposition (Tartan Films); Transamerica (Pathe), 36 Quai des Orfevres (Tartan Films), Time to Leave/Le Temps Qui Reste (Artificial Eye) and Richard E. Grant’s Wah Wah (Lionsgate). Upcoming titles in June and July 2006 include Hard Candy and Awesome; I F**kin’ Shot That (Revolver).
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For further information, please contact
Kate Pidgeon
Arts Alliance Media
kate@artsalliancemedia.com
0207 751 7512
Louise Imeson
Mischief PR
louise.imeson@mischiefpr.com
0207 553 3333
Notes to Editors
About Arts Alliance Media
Arts Alliance Media (AAM) is Europe's leading provider of digital film distribution services, dedicated to building a European digital network to deliver film to the cinema, to the home and between industry players. For Digital Cinema, AAM provides end-to-end digital cinema solutions encompassing equipment selection, financing and integration, operator training, installation and support, and content management and delivery. With Video-on-Demand and Download-To-Own, AAM provides ISP's, media companies and e-tailers with turn key solutions for securely distributing digital video content over the internet to their audiences for a minimal up-front cost.