Barco Unveils Open Theatre Management Systems For Digital Cinema

Digital cinema pioneer Barco has announced the release of a new platform for end-to-end theatre management.
Barco's Theatre Management System (TMS) fully integrates with Barco's digital cinema projection systems, while remaining compatible with all leading playback server brands, thus creating a truly 'open' asset management platform for digital cinema multiplexes.
Wim Buyens, Senior Vice President of Barco's Entertainment division, said: "The introduction of our brand-new Theatre Management Systems is the result of more than five years of intensive R&D. This vast expertise has developed into a TMS platform that is not only highly dependable but also very intuitive to use. But what really sets our system apart is its smooth interoperability with all leading playback server brands and its easy integration with a wide range of content delivery solutions and ticketing systems."
Investments in a Theatre Management System are usually driven by a need for improved cost efficiency and operational performance. This is exactly what Barco's TMS achieves. The system enables operators to manage each screen and every piece of content from a central location in a cinema multiplex.
Jerome Delvaux, Product Development Director at Barco, said: "As a operator, you have full remote control to schedule or start shows, ingest content, and manage your keys. In the day-to-day practice, this means that you no longer need to go inside each individual projector booth all of the time, which is a huge time saver."
Besides these extensive remote capabilities, the new Barco TMS also supports sophisticated media ingest. The system can easily be connected to external mass storage devices and is fully equipped to receive content through broadband communication or via satellite connection.
In addition, Barco's TMS features advanced key ingest and management, which simplify exhibitors' operating processes and facilitate show playout. Key ingest is made easy, as the system automatically selects the relevant keys for a theatre. Advanced key management also saves shows by notifying missing keys or time mismatches between show schedules and key time windows.
Finally, the Barco TMS offers an easy-to-use solution for large-screen digital advertising. Exhibitors who have an agreement with an advertising agency can simply use the platform to transfer their advertising content automatically to their central content library.
The new Barco TMS will be on display at CineEurope, which is held from June 27 to 30 at the RAI in Amsterdam.
(KMcA/GK)