Digital Transmission to Theaters Moves Forward by Daniel Fort The Internet movie experience – for most people, it means patiently waiting for long periods to see a postage stamp-sized image play erratically on their computer screen. But times are changing and with increasing bandwidth things are looking better. How much better? Good enough to deliver feature films to theaters. A test run of 'Titan A.E.' at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta. Video was sent to the theater over a high-speed Internet link and projected digitally. photo courtesy of Cisco Systems This isn’t a prediction. On June 6, Fox’s 'Titan A.E.' screened using a digital projector at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The show was delivered from Los Angeles to Atlanta via the Internet. The demonstration, a joint effort of Twentieth Century Fox and Cisco Systems, used a special system set up by Cisco at the Supercomm trade show. The file was transmitted via Cisco’s Internet routers over a DS-3 high-speed fiber backbone via a ‘virtual private network’ from Qwest Communication’s ‘CyberCenter’ in Burbank. The 42-Gigabyte file started its trip on a QuVIS QuBit server and ended up at the other end of the line on another QuBit server. The transfer took a bit longer than real time. The screening took place using a Barco/Texas Instruments DLP Cinema Projector. DS-3 lines are actually fairly common, according to Erica Schroeder of Cisco systems. Faster lines are available, but Cisco wanted to demonstrate a delivery system that could be practical and affordable (there was no mention of price or who would pay for it). Cisco also wanted to demonstrate the system’s security, which is a critical issue to producers and distributors. The company says that the virtual private network is nearly impossible to tap into, and even if someone could, the file was double encrypted before delivery. The QuBit servers were protected behind firewalls and once the transfer was complete, there was no way to access the data from outside sources. Of course, the big question is whether it looked as good as film. "It was amazing…hard to describe in words…the steadiness and clarity of the image," were some of the comments from Erica Schroeder of Cisco and Flo Grace of Twentieth Century Fox. Fox representatives didn’t want to address financial savings, but the advantages for distributors are obvi-ous – no more rushing thousands of prints through the lab and delivering them to theaters. Once the movie file is on the server it can be transmitted to all theaters simultaneously. The new system doesn’t look so rosy to theater owners, however. They are already looking at the cost of installing expensive new digital systems to replace their film projectors. To use this system they must also add high speed Internet access, fast file servers and many gigabytes of storage. Until audiences start demanding digital exhibition, theater owners have little incentive to save the studios’ money. The Barco/Texas Instruments projector used in the demonstration. photo courtesy of Cisco Systems There is no question that this is a game for big players. Companies involved include Cisco Systems, JVC, Texas Instruments, Lucas Digital (THX), Digital Projection (owned by IMAX), Barco, NEC, Qualcomm, Christie Digital, Panasonic, Sony and Eastman Kodak. Sales figures are difficult to pin down, partially because the technology is still evolving. The projectors that will actually be delivered to theaters will probably all have higher resolution imaging systems than the prototypes we’ve seen so far. When they will be available isn’t clear because the companies are keeping a tight lid on their competitive plans, but one technical writer estimated that JVC will have their system ready this summer and Texas Instruments is still two years away from final delivery. How will this technology affect Local 700 members? It will obviously affect projectionists. If such a system takes off, projection booths are going to become high-tech places and projectionists will need considerable knowledge in order to handle all the gear that they find there. It will increase the pressure on release schedules, allowing distributors to change their strategy at the last minute. Pictures that don’t succeed will be pulled more quickly and films will have even less time to find an audience. As a result, pressure on post-production, in general, will probably be increased, as well. How far it will go is anyone’s guess, but maybe we’ll see a return to live theater – coming soon to a cinema near you.   Daniel Fort is an assistant editor. He is currently working on a second cable movie being cut using Final Cut Pro. He can be reached via email   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine Vol. 21, No. 4 - July/August 2000   Guild Home | Magazine Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700