Kodak is positioning itself for the digital exhibition market with a new
projection and theater management system it hopes to have installed
on six public screens by early next year. "We want to be in the
networked cinema business," said Robert Mayson, general manager
of cinema operations for the Entertainment Imaging division of
Eastman Kodak. "We see a role to play, and we want to step up
now." Kodak's new Digital Cinema system combines a proprietary
projector and operating system that includes server, storage and
networking capabilities. The software application runs on a Sun
Microsystems platform. Essentially a scheduling and
asset-management system for theater owners, the operating system
provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface that allows the
loading, programming and playback of features, trailers and other
preshow content across multiple digital screens. "This is the first
complete digital theater system developed specifically with
exhibitors in mind," Kodak Digital Cinema program manager Glenn
Kennel said. (Competing team Qualcomm and Technicolor are
developing their own "theater management systems" but have been
using the pre-existing QuVis QuBit video server for their demos.)

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Perception versus Reality

What is digital cinema? Why digital cinema?
What does it mean to the movie-going
consumer? The debate over digital cinema
has not only those in the entertainment
industry buzzing, but it has begun to seep its
way into the mainstream. The result? The
entertainment industry and moviegoers alike are discussing a term, which
has different meanings to different people.

Here's a crash course in digital cinema that will align the perception with
reality:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/digital/reality.shtml

Kodak Imaging Technology Center

The Kodak Imaging Technology Center
(ITC) located in Kodak's facilities in Los
Angeles is Kodak's 'laboratory in the
marketplace,' connected to the
company's extensive capabilities of
imaging research worldwide. In the ITC,
Kodak is working with customers and
best-in-class suppliers to develop digital
cinema solutions intended to surpass the
quality of film projection and meet the
needs of creatives, distributors,
exhibitors, and consumers. The digital
cinema system Kodak is developing will
improve the moviegoing experience for
consumers, project movies the way the
filmmakers intended with consistent
quality on-screen, and provide more
cost-effective systems for studios and
exhibitors alike:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/digital/itc.shtml

A Talk About the Kodak Digital Cinema
System

The Kodak Entertainment Imaging division is
testing and demonstrating an early prototype
of a Kodak Digital Cinema system. The
system includes a cinema operating system,
proprietary color management technology,
and a prototype 2K digital cinema projector.
The company is also developing anti-piracy
safeguards. In addition, they are testing
best-in-class technology components
provided by other companies including the
new JVC 2048 x 1536 (2K) pixel D-ILA
microchips and a SUN Microsystem platform
for networked storage. The prototype system
in being tested and demonstrated at the
Kodak Imaging Technology Center (ITC) in
Los Angeles. The ITC is an extension of Kodak Research Labs. Following
are excerpts of an interview with Digital Cinema Program Manager Glenn
Kennel:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/digital/kennel.shtml

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Kodak Digital Cinema Program Manager Glenn Kennel said:

"We need to provide a superior moviegoing experience because we
believe that's what the cinema will need to offer audiences in order
to succeed in the future,...We believe audiences and
filmmakers deserve at least 2K resolution although we should strive
for more, and most decidedly we should not settle for digital
technology that is 'good enough' to satisfy today's expectations."

"We need to
demonstrate that we can really offer better image quality while
retaining a cinematic look with all of its subtleties and nuances, in
addition to providing a system that offers other opportunities and
efficiencies,...Those are ambitious goals but this industry
should not and must not settle for anything less."

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

For now, the near-term goals are:

"...better image quality while
retaining a cinematic look with all of its subtleties and nuances, in
addition to providing a system that offers other opportunities and
efficiencies..."

I am not sure, but I think just about all motion picture film is trashed in landfills rather then recycled. With 3000 copies of each 12000 ft feature and maybe 100 to 200 features produced each year, this is alot of film going to the landfill. About 36 to 72 million feet of it. With outtakes and redos the trash rate may even be twice to three times that.

Film is also very messy in production with big processing machines and all those millions of gallons of toxic chemistry. So, I think it's more of a green earth issue rather then "good as film" quality issue.

Digital itself means NOTHING, but if good practiced, it will simple surpass normal film. And the price? of course it's way to expensive today, but that is the case with all computer related stuff (compare the prices of LCD's, processors, beamers 5 years ago with te prices nowadays...)

I have heard someone saying that CD's didn't impress him at the introduction. I say: go listining to tapes and LP's with their degrading quality and noise ratio crips cracks etc...

Digital projection will be sooner standard than many expect!

Environmental responsibility is important for BOTH the film and electronics industry. Landfills are also filled with obsolete ELECTRONIC equipment and recording media that contain "nasties" like chromium, cadmium, mercury, lead, etc., and required toxic chemicals in their manufacture. Satellite distribution? -- launching satellites has a significant environmental impact, and all satellites eventually become "space junk".

FYI, Once the theater run is finished, most of the movie prints are destroyed to
prevent piracy and the film is recycled. Last year, FPC, a Kodak subsidiary,
recycled more than 3 billion feet of movie film.
http://www.fpcfilm.com/US/en/motion/FPC/fsc/fsc_main.html

With Kodak's help, film labs have become very efficient in their reuse and recycling of processing chemicals, and recover almost all of the silver in the film.

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/environment/index.shtml

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

"It's much easier to make digital copies of a masterfilm, easier to distribute, less dificulties playing the movie, easier to convert to DVD..."

But it seems like these benefits are only benefits for the distributor. I understand that it would benefit them. I just don't get how it will help the people that have to pay for it. Namely the theater owners. As far as it being easier to play, I suppose that could be the case if you just had to push a button or something, but I wouldn't think that it would be worth all that money to for a easier "automation system". In a post elsewhere it was stated that the new digital systems would still need projectionists. If that's the case then it would seem that it might not be any easier than what now exists.
I just keep thinking of myself standing there with $100K in one hand and this new 'lectro projector sitting on the showroom floor and I can't think of any good reasons why I would want to trade one for the other. Maybe if I could no longer sell tickets to the film theater? Maybe if the 'lectro projector was so much more noticably better than the film projector that I was affraid for my livelyhood? But I don't believe I'd let go of the dough just so the film distrbutor could make more money. It just keeps coming back to "how is spending all this money going to make ME money?"

I can see my estimates for distroyed film is way under the actual footage of 3000 million vs my 500 million feet. Not sure what the stack gas content of all this burning of millions of feet of film might be. Something tells me that it's not all pure air. I do know it takes about 1 oz of chemistry per 1 ft of film for processing. Maybe I am off again some but still, it's alot of chemistry to get rid of.

If you really think about it, it's like Kodak producing film as fast as they can and then pumping it all through a big furnace. The film just so happens to make short stops at the studios and theaters.

As far as enviromental concerns as long as you have manufacturing you have waiste...so you can stop making film but you still have to make all the equipment that will be needed to replace film. So you are still filling the environment with waiste...all those projectores and platters have to go somewhere....in a dump or melted down.

My feelings are that digital cinema needs to be implemented slowly to allow for improvements yet still be able to get the word out to the public...all major cities should have at least two or three screens didicated to the process. let the public decide if this is what they want...and get the bugs ironed out...Once standereds are set and the best can be achieved then start implementing full scale...this could take 10 to 15 years...