Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Norway is the first country to be all digital...

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 07-27-2011, 07:36 PM:

Link

Oslo—Jul 21, 2011
Norway Becomes the World`S First Country with Only Digital Cinema Technology

All cinemas in Norway are digital by the July 2011. Film & Kino, the Norwegian cinema association have conducted the roll-out of 420 screens all over the country. This means that no more 35 mm will be distributed.

The roll-out started in June 2010 and has taken a year. It has been a challenge due to Norway`s elongated shape with sparsely populated areas, but the process took one year less than anticipated. Mainly Christie projectors and Doremi servers have been used in the roll-out, but 65 Sony 4K`s have also been installed. About 80 percent of Norwegian Cinemas are 3D capable.

Some results of digitalization can already be witnessed. The system is now more secure compared to the 35mm system. Only a handful quality failures have been counted for the first 150 000 digital screenings. VPF income is a bit higher than predicted and VPF payments will probably end in 2017. The small and medium sized cinemas are the winners of digitalization and have obtained access to a much larger selection of film than previously. They also get the films considerably faster than before. This has resulted in higher attendance and better economy for the smaller cinemas.

"This is a great achievement for Norway", said Jorgen Stensland, Head of Consultants at Film & Kino. "We would like to thank, Disney, Fox, Paramount, Universal, Sony and Warner as well as local distributors such as SF-Norway and Nordisk Film, for working with us in this scheme. We also would like to thank Unique Cinema Systems, Nordic Digital Alliance, DNB-NOR Finance, Christie, Doremi and Sony who all have contributed in this great effort. We are happy that Norwegians all over the country now are able to experience the perfect quality of a DCI-compliant digital exhibition in their local cinemas."

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I love the last sentence. [Big Grin]

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-27-2011, 08:40 PM:

Agree. Wonder if they've had bad presentation experiences with 35mm to have that statement made...

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 07-27-2011, 09:07 PM:

quote: John Wilson
The small and medium sized cinemas are the winners of digitalization and have obtained access to a much larger selection of film than previously. They also get the films considerably faster than before. This has resulted in higher attendance and better economy for the smaller cinemas.

This is one of the things I'm hoping to see once we are 100% digital. We frequently pass on the limited release product because many of our customers have traveled to see it by the time we get a print.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 07-27-2011, 09:14 PM:

Depends what is meant by "limited release".

If that means art films, that's not going to get the multiplexes to start playing them. If you are an arthouse, it will depend if the art distrbs want to make enough copies to go day and date with everyone. Or it they want to continue to do slow roll outs for critical support and to fill the niches left by the big distribs.

If that means films that are platformed (ie. intentionally not released wide) it won't change a thing unless the distribs abandon the platform model.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 07-27-2011, 09:40 PM:

Martin, we typically don't get prints until about the 2200-2500 platform. It would be nice to get in on the kind of releases that normally start in the 1200-2000 range.

When it comes to art films or independent films, I would just like to have the opportunity to get them within 4-6 weeks, rather than sometimes being 8-12 weeks out - which often makes them not worth playing at all.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 07-28-2011, 08:12 AM:

Justin: As there's no where else to go around here, the 8-12 weeks doesn't hurt us too much, other than they've forgotten that when they heard the review on NPR they requested we show the film.

As a single screen calendar arthouse, there's only so much we are going to be able to fit in anyway. And if a film looks like it is going to be big, 90 percent of the time the distrib is going to screw us and send it to the multiplex.

Nonetheless, as long as the industry wants to use the limited release and platform model, neither you or I will get those films any faster no matter the format.

Posted by Olivier Lemaire (Member # 5579) on 07-28-2011, 10:11 PM:

Strange that no Norwegian folk comments this news there... Does Norwegian operators were digitalized too in the process? [Smile]

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 07-30-2011, 09:12 PM:

It doesn't quite explain what the "Norwegian cinema association" is. It is like NATO? Does every theatre in the country belong to it? And how does one "association" decide that EVERY theatre is going to change to a particular type of projection system? There's not a single theatre in the whole country that can't affort a conversion and says, "You know what, I think I'll pass; I'll stay with film."?

I don't know, sounds a little to socialistic for my tastes.

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 07-30-2011, 09:37 PM:

It doesn't indicate whether the Government assisted with the financing of the conversion, also it is strongly intimated that the several manufacturers listed may have participated in a near give away (relatively speaking) program in order to achieve a goal.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 07-31-2011, 06:28 AM:

I believe you will find that Norway, just as in the UK, the government heavily subsidized the cost of conversion. It's "Greenie" thing. Louis

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-31-2011, 06:50 AM:

In Norway's case I think it is not just for green reasons but also for infrastructure for dealing with the prints.

Posted by Gunnar Johansson (Member # 1661) on 09-11-2011, 11:22 AM:

Most of the theatres in Norway are owned by the municipality, i.e. the government. The (swedish) company I work for has some screens in Norway, but most are governmental.

So, yes, socialistic in a way, but it enabled them to do this, for better or for worse. This also means a larger second hand market in the nordic countries, since some of them upgraded their equipment as well.

In Sweden, where almost all of the "Hollywood movies" market is dominated by one company, we are making the transition as we speak, and they say that it will all be done within a year. Though I still work at some places that show archival prints, so not all screens will be digital, the big company will probably keep some 35 equipment. And there is faster releases, and some small owners who are shutting down due to the cost of converting.

Posted by David Torres (Member # 6353) on 09-24-2011, 02:38 AM:

It seems like China also. Most of movies are local, almost of 90%. The government controls that under the table, but it is really efficient to develop the digital cinema market there. [Smile]