Global Digital Cinema Installations Top 5,000

The march of digital cinema has begun with news that Christie, a global leader in visual solutions for entertainment, business and industry, has surpassed the 5,000 digital cinema milestone, posting a record 5,197 completed installations worldwide.
Just three years after launching the world's largest digital cinema deployment plan the US-based company is continuing to drive innovation and growth opportunity.
"Surpassing the 5,000 milestone is a remarkable achievement, not only for Christie, but for the cinema industry itself as in 2005, there were only a handful of installations in the entire world and many people questioned the long-term viability of the move to digital,” remarked Jack Kline, President of Christie Digital Systems USA.
"As the market faces more competition, it's helping to drive innovation and we're seeing interesting growth opportunity around the world. The long term prospects are strong and we look forward to maintaining a steady pace of installations for years to come."
Kline noted that Christie digital cinema contracts are marked by deployments on a large-scale, the first of which was the launch of the largest deployment in history – the 4,000-installation contract with Access Integrated Technologies.
It was carried out through the groundbreaking Christie/AIX funding plan, an agreement that led to the fourth largest exhibitor in the United States to go digital in all of its screens, Carmike Cinemas, with its 2,300 screens.
"Christie/AIX was a landmark achievement for the industry," recalled Bud Mayo, Chairman of AccessIT.
"With Christie's strong product line, service and support, our server partner, and AccessIT's software and network technology, we provided the world with the first viable network technology and business model for the successful deployment of digital cinema.
"The Christie/AIX deployment plan is recognised today as having sparked the digital cinema revolution," he continued.
In addition to Christie/AIX, other major digital cinema deployments for Christie, often marked by 100% conversion of the contracted circuits include 180 screens for Arts Alliance Digital Cinema (AADC), which selected Christie DLP projectors for the roll-out of the digital screen network for the UK Film Council.
This digital screen network marked the world's first digital cinema deployment on a large scale.
Christie also continues to set the pace of installations internationally, most recently with the major sale of its DLP Cinema projectors for use at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games and eventual installation throughout China.
Christie was also part of Canada's largest digital cinema conversion of 25 theatres across the country for Cineplex Entertainment, the country's leading operator of movie theatres.
In the United States, Christie was the exclusive DLP Cinema provider for Warren Theatres' spectacular new 14-screen multiplex in Moore, Oklahoma.
The Moore Warren Theatre, the most expensive in the history of the state, is also one of the largest, with luxury accommodations and screens up to 80 feet wide and four stories tall.
Christie is a wholly owned subsidiary of USHIO, Inc. Japan and a leader in visual solutions for world-class organizations, offering diverse applications for business, entertainment, and industry.
See: Last Picture Show For Many As Cinemas Go Digital
(BMcC)