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Topic: First movie beamed in by satillite!

Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-21-2000 10:16 PM

John,

I forgot to put a on my last post. I was making a joke about the dates in the trailers and on the one-sheets.

I just think it's silly of the studios to promote films for "one day" and then dropping the advertising ball literally within hours of the film's release.

If they would promote a while longer, maybe the film would stick around and make some more dollars. And small places like ours (where we play most films "off the break") would benefit from such advertising too.

Having said all of the above, if the studios REALLY cared about pic quality, they would come down on whoever is damaging all those prints. There are too many people not "doing film right."

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 11-29-2000 11:23 PM

Here's a news clip that showed up on PanAmSat's clips page today (I think one of our birds was used). The article covers *some* of the technical stuff for this demo. Enjoy!

Paul

*****

November 29, 2000, Wednesday 09:09 AM Eastern Time

DISTRIBUTION: Business/Entertainment Editors, High-Tech Writers

LENGTH: 741 words

HEADLINE: Boeing Satellite Systems Selects Harmonic for Feature Film Distribution

DATELINE: Nov. 29, 2000

BODY:
Harmonic, Inc. (Nasdaq:HLIT) announced that its CyberStream IP-over-Satellite technology, by Harmonic Data Systems, was successfully used by Boeing Satellite Systems to enable the theatrical distribution of the first digital feature-length movie delivered to a theater over satellite.

Miramax Films' "Bounce" starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, was successfully transmitted using the Harmonic system over a geo-stationary satellite to the AMC Empire Theatre in New York City, on November 14, 2000.

The concept of Digital Cinema, the digital distribution of films, news, concerts and other entertainment events, is not new. However, it is only over the last few years, that the technology to address the required data rates and security issues associated with film distribution has become a reality. Studios and filmmakers worldwide may financially benefit from not having to pay for hundreds or thousands of prints for distribution to movie theaters. Instead, they may now choose to transmit the film as digital files.

"Harmonic played a very important role to the success of the project," said Fred Medina, co-director, Digital Multimedia Systems, at Boeing Satellite Systems. "The CyberStream end-to-end solution provided key elements of the overall delivery platform."

"Choosing the CyberStream system and working with Harmonic greatly improved the project," added David Baker, co-director Digital Multimedia Systems, at Boeing Satellite Systems.

"Boeing Satellite Systems has successfully proven the viability of distributing digital movies to theaters," said Tom Dennett, director of Strategic Accounts, Harmonic Data Systems. "It was exciting working with Boeing on this historical event and we feel privileged to be involved in this distribution model."

About the Technology

A Hybrid Fiber Satellite (HFS) network was used to digitally distribute "Bounce." The movie was compressed in a proprietary digital format using a QuBit digital disc recorder by QuVIS. A Harmonic CyberStream system was utilized to uplink the movie from the VyVX earthstation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, then downlinked at the AMC Empire Theatre in New York City to be stored and projected.

About Harmonic Data Systems

Harmonic Data Systems Ltd. (HDS) is a leading provider of fast Internet and Push systems for satellite, cable and wireless cable networks. Formerly known as New Media Communication, the company was founded in 1995 to offer high-speed data-over-broadband solutions, originally developed in alliance with IBM. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Harmonic Inc., HDS operates from its headquarters in Tel-Aviv and offices in the United States. For more information, please call +972-3-623-6222 in Tel-Aviv, 858/675-7797 in San Diego or check the company's website at www.harmonicdata.com.

About Harmonic Inc.

Harmonic is a leading provider of innovative broadband solutions that deliver video, voice and data to communications providers around the world. Harmonic's technically advanced fiber optic, digital video and IP data delivery systems enable network operators to provide a range of interactive and advanced digital services that include high-speed Internet access, telephony, digital video, HDTV, video & audio streaming, and video-on-demand.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Harmonic employs approximately 1000 people and operates more than 15 R&D and sales & system integration centers globally. Harmonic's customer base includes the world's largest communications providers. Harmonic's stock is traded on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol "HLIT." For more information, check the company's website at www.harmonicinc.com.

This press release includes forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, financial benefits of transmitting films as digital files and integration of IP capabilities into existing MPEG-2 networks, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are also subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of the risk factors detailed in Harmonic's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q.

Note to Editors: Product and company names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

CONTACT: Aries MarketMasters
Dawn Danaher, 714/378-5841 (Public Relations)
or
StreetConnect
Michael Newman, 408/542-2760 (Investor Relations)

URL: http://www.businesswire.com

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Matthew Bailey
Master Film Handler

Posts: 461
From: Port Arthur,TX
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 11-30-2000 03:11 PM

Hmmm...You could probably suggest that
DirecTV release a commercial cinema
version of their satellite receivers.

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Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.

Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 11-14-2003 05:41 PM

From the Mercury News:

quote:
Boeing looking to sell its digital cinema business

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A major player in the struggling effort to replace celluloid copies of feature films with digital bits is ready to call it quits.

Boeing Digital Cinema is seeking a buyer three years after it beamed the movie ``Bounce'' via satellite from a facility in Oklahoma to a New York theater using military-strength encryption.

Since then, the company has placed about 30 systems, which includes digital projectors and storage systems, as well as encryption technology.

The move from celluloid to digital has stalled in part because the industry has been trying to set a common standard for the technology and also because movie theaters and studios have yet to decide who would pay for the conversion.

In can cost up to $150,000 per screen to install digital projection equipment, compared to about $35,000 for a traditional projector.

Thursday, a group backed by the seven major studios formally adopted a technology standard for digital projection. But the development, while significant, isn't expected to speed the pace toward widespread digital projection fast enough for Boeing.

See related thread, Qualcomm pulls out of Technicolor Digital Cinema.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-14-2003 08:34 PM

I bet its costing more to pull this off than it cost for all the 35mm distribution prints!

According to people that I recently worked with from both HBO and Dolby the distribution cost of D Cinema will be about as high as film is. Some of you may not realize that a fair quality film transfer for D-Cinema is alomst a million dollars in itself...and that is only a falr quality transfer. A really good quality transfer which is what will be required for decent D-Cinema is well into 2 million dollars for the average feature!! There is still transmission to be done and satellite time for that sort of bandwidth is higher than manufacturing a 35mm equivelent print per theatre. Do you really think that Satellite transmission time will get cheaper..... NO.....it will become even more expensive as the economy does its ususal thing. Space for transmission on all satellites is also limited. Then there have been countless problems of playing back at the Cinema end. Too many data block errors in a large program and you have nothing to play back. There have been incompatabiilities of the same source material, played back on the same type equipment at different cinema sites, etc.

Then there is the cost of the hardware at the projection end. I've heard that people at T.I. doubt that the cost of the large projector will fall much below 50K in price. Still more than a complete first class Dolby Digital booth worth of equipment.

With Kodak jumping into digital in a big way I think film will be around for quite a long time...at least through my lifetime. I think Kodak will make sure of that...they have way to much invested in film and soon in digital and they will have the ability to somewhat control what happens with both over time. I see D-Cinema living in the same booth next to Mr. Simplex for at least three more decades

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 11-14-2003 09:39 PM

Countless problems with playback? I am not really aware of any we had with our 6 digital systems. We didn`t have any compabtibility issues either. The movie gets downloaded onto the server and then stays there. You don`t really "move" digital prints. In those locations where we have 2 projectors, the servers are interlinked and you can play the movie on the other projector if you get a software key from the distributor.

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Joe Schmidt
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 172
From: Billings, Montana, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 11-15-2003 01:35 AM

A shell from the Peanut Gallery:

As my friend Mike Blakesley recently pointed out, here in Billings we suffer from a fatal disease called "Carmikeitis" producing a result that neither I, nor anyone I know ever goes to a movie in a theatre any more. We wait for the DVD.

Actually, Carmike here might have better results if they showed movies by playing a DVD thru a good video projector.

Hmmmmmmmm. Question: What WOULD be a good video projector to use for a screen size of, oh, say about 9' x 22' ?

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Adam Martin
I'm not even gonna point out the irony.

Posts: 3686
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 11-15-2003 05:05 AM

I linked to several video projector threads here

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-15-2003 10:28 AM

Michael,
Just wait till one of your digital light amplifiers, moving mirroe chips, etc goes bad and you have to junk the entire unit. This happened not too long ago to a unit in a stars home screening room. Apparantly T.I refuses to replace just the bad chip, you have to buy the entire optical train!!

When test screenings are done the data is carried on some media or other, usually DVD's so far as I know. On numerous occasions the data downloaded fomr the DVD's wopuld not play back even though the equipment fomr one city to another was identical.

Regarding Bill Purdy's comment on the fact that filmakers really care and then film companies....

Having done dailies on over 35 features and having worked with countless Cinematographers I wish I had recorded how many said that after color timming any control over release print quality was out of their hands and purely up to distribution. Most felt that general release print quality stunk and they regard their job finished after timming is done. None of them considered any regular release print an actual example of their work. Some just shrugged when you said the word release print and said we never watch those anyway. Steve K has also done alot of this sort of work and has probably heard the same thing as well.

Mark @ CLACO

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Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man

Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 11-16-2003 12:08 AM

I remember this being on the discussion floor of my local union as far back as 1969 or somewhere thereabouts. Obvoiusly, it was not a threat to us then....but today with this technology (even though it may be crude) and DLP, I fear the days of 35mm film is about to go the route of the dinasour. [Frown]

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 11-16-2003 04:42 AM

Mark, so far we didn`t have any problems with the hardware or the program content which gets downloaded onto the server via satellite. We screen every download to make sure everything is there. Since we didn`t have hardware failures so far, I don`t know how TI behaves in the event of a problem.

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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 11-16-2003 06:14 AM

I would assume that when and if Digital starts rolling, there would be a spares / exchange program and nationwide support. The new Barco projectors are basically slide out modules for every critical component. Barco is setting up a spares program at the Atlanta airport for same day delivery...and I assume other competitors would catch up. Boeing is having other issues within their company ( such as where to build new airline models outside of Seattle and tax rebates ) so their thinking may be reflecting emphasis on short term goals and money issues.

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Paul Konen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 981
From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-16-2003 01:58 PM

In the four years that I have had DLP units, only two pixels have become stuck. TI has come out and replaced only the prism with the DMDs, not the entire optical track.

Also, I think the Distributors would also save money if they didn't have an outside source come in everytime we open a DLP movie. Now while I certainly enjoy TDC coming out, and I think they do too. It doesn't make sense when I have two projectors and have to move content from one house to another. How do they (distributor) make sure that I haven't screwed up the move and that there movie won't look right. They don't. Just want to be sure that opening weekend is ok.
Paul

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Thomas Jonsson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 216
From: Bromolla, Sweden
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 11-17-2003 03:46 PM

I can´t help wondering: is there a point were the companys that manufactures digital projectors give up? How long can they go on spending thousands or millions of dollars developing products that are so expensive, that hardly anyone are able or willing to buy? I may be wrong, but at least to me it doesn´t seem like a profitable business.

Thomas

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-17-2003 06:52 PM

TI's expendatures for DMD development are enormous. I think it is on the order of 100-million for each generation of the chip.

Certainly, DCinema is not where they hope to recoup that sort of R&D.

As always...the consumer market where there are billions of homes is the real quest. DCinema is just one of the paths to get them there.

As to the various Digital projectors out there...DCinema is such a small market it doesn't register...all of those manufacturers have conventional A/V projectors using the same technology for everything from Rock Shows to school classrooms. When you factor in all of those units...then high-res digital projection development doesn't seem so bad...only when you look at the DCinema model does it look like a lose-lose situation.

Steve

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