Cypress, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/25/2011 -- Advancing its leadership position in addressing the exhibition industry’s transition to 4K and high frame rate (HFR) projection standards, Christie will preview a fully integrated media block (IMB) solution with 4K and HFR capabilities, designed to meet Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC (DCI) specifications, at ShowEast.

Designed and manufactured by Christie, the world’s leading provider of digital cinema projectors, the Christie IMB works with all of Christie’s Solaria™ Series 2 projectors to provide an integrated solution from a single, trusted equipment supplier. A key feature of the Christie IMB is that it utilizes industry-standard, off-the-shelf storage devices, unlike other media blocks that typically require expensive, proprietary storage solutions.

Also, featuring complete MPEG2 and H.264 support, the Christie IMB allows exhibitors to display a larger variety of alternative and advertising content, fully streamed from the same storage device that holds the packaged cinema content. The complete, all-in-one projection system that results will provide unparalleled value, will be more reliable than third party solutions, and will give exhibitors ultimate confidence in their long-term investment decision.

“Most current digital projector installations utilize a media block in an external server that is linked by cables to the projector. This creates bandwidth limitations that impact picture quality and inhibit the overall system’s ability to maintain and display video at higher frame rates and increased pixel resolution,” observed Don Shaw, Director, Product Management, Christie Entertainment Solutions. “The Christie IMB overcomes this challenge by physically operating within the projector. It becomes an integral part of the display device, creating a secure connection that can manage the high bandwidth required for HFR and 4K content without compromising image quality.”

Shaw noted that the IMB design reduces complexity because it eliminates the need for an exhibitor to support varied servers and IMBs currently on the market from different manufacturers, on their different screens. Christie achieves further integration by embedding its Screen Management System – the control interface for the projection system – directly into the IMB.

“Christie now offers a groundbreaking, single projection solution that converts and delivers packaged feature film content within a secure, DCI-compliant environment, while providing the option to upgrade to full HFR capabilities. And because we also manufacture the projector that forms the keystone of our advanced digital cinema solution, we eliminate compatibility issues that could potentially occur in media blocks from third party suppliers, especially following regular software upgrade cycles,” observed Shaw.

Designed for Exhibitors by the Engineers That Know Our Projectors Best
The design of Christie’s IMB is grounded in a solid understanding of a projector’s software, thermals, vibrations and internal power supply; the type of knowledge one would expect from the world’s largest sole-source supplier of digital cinema projectors. It comes in three versions to suit your particular needs – a 2K/2D/3D standard frame rate model, that can be easily upgraded to support 2K/2D/3D high frame rates and, beyond that, an all-inclusive upgrade that adds 4K support.

The Christie IMB, designed to work with all Christie Solaria Series 2K and 4K projectors, plays perfectly with Christie Previsto™ HFR, a technology that enables the upcoming Lord of the Rings prequels and Avatar sequels to be played by exhibitors on single projector systems, exactly as intended by the filmmakers. Choosing a Christie IMB today ensures that, with a simple license key upgrade, an exhibitor is ready when the first HFR feature film, The Hobbit, is released in December 2012.

For more information on higher frame rates, visit http://www.higherframerates.com .

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

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 www.christiedigital.com for more information.

For more information contact:
Dave Paolini
1 519-749-3127
david.paolini@christiedigital.com

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Christie® is a registered trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.
Christie Solaria™ is a registered trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.