Wellington, New Zealand -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/25/2012 -- Christie® has signed a technology co-operation agreement with Park Road Post Production Ltd. (“Park Road”) and Weta Digital Ltd. (“Weta”) to work together to advance the state of the art of digital cinema production and projection, with an emphasis on high frame rate (HFR) delivery – the industry's most exciting new technology. For its part, Christie will supply a combination of ‘direct to engineering’ technical support, Christie Solaria® Series DLP Cinema® projectors and early access to prototype projection technologies, including laser projectors, that Christie is developing.

As part of the agreement, Park Road and Weta will upgrade their current facilities with Christie projectors and provide Christie with review, testing and feedback on new hardware and software developments related to high-bandwidth interfaces and HFR technology, as well as sample movie content (consistent with the content owner’s permission) for Christie to use in testing its projectors and integrated media block (IMB) units.

“The team at Park Road has a strong and long-standing relationship with Christie and we are delighted that this will continue into the future,” said Cameron Harland, General Manager, Park Road. “We hope that our joint research and knowledge exchange on high frame rates in particular will benefit filmmakers, studios, exhibitors and most importantly the movie-going audience.”

Kathy Gruzas, Chief Information Officer, Weta Digital Ltd said, “Christie shares a common vision with our facility and Park Road – that is, to be on the leading-edge of world-class developments in digital cinema – and we look forward to combining the sum total of our collective experience and knowledge to thrill cinema audiences in the upcoming, new world of 3D and HFR.”

“We are delighted to be teaming up with these two legends in the post production and visual effects world,” said Don Shaw, senior director, Product Management, Christie Entertainment Solutions, “and look forward to pushing the envelope with Park Road and Weta on this exciting endeavor.”

Park Road
Park Road is a premier post production facility located in Wellington, New Zealand. Visit http://www.parkroadpost.co.nz/.

Weta Digital
Weta Digital is a five-time Academy Award® winning visual effects facility based in Wellington, New Zealand. Visit http://www.wetafx.co.nz/.

Christie’s Commitment to HFR
The two main goals of Christie’s HFR activities are to help the industry develop the best HFR content and the best delivery system for HFR content. The first goal involves assisting leading-edge filmmakers and post-production companies in perfecting HFR movie creation, so the industry has the most engaging, entertaining content possible. The second goal is to assist exhibitors in showing these 3D HFR movies in all their glory. To these ends, Christie is helping create the standards for 3D HFR movies through formal and informal technology-development alliances with major producers and directors, post production facilities, studios and technology partners. On the exhibitor’s front, Christie provides one stop shopping for all the hardware, software and services that enable exhibitors to deliver a filmmaker's vision in stunning 3D HFR quality. For more information visit http://www.info.christiedigital.com/lp/higher-frame-rates

About Christie®
Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. is a global visual technologies company and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ushio, Inc., Japan, (JP:6925). Consistently setting the standards by being the first to market some of the world’s most advanced projectors and complete system displays, Christie is recognized as one of the most innovative visual technology companies in the world. From retail displays to Hollywood, mission critical command centers to classrooms and training simulators, Christie display solutions and projectors capture the attention of audiences around the world with dynamic and stunning images. Visit http://www.christiedigital.com for more information.