Having established a dominance in the North American market with remote monitoring and servicing of more than 2,500 locations and 110,000 devices, Christie® Managed Services is now expanding upon the world stage. Using its growing international cinema partnerships, it will bring the Network Operations Center (NOC) and its proven technology and solutions-driven service to the global exhibition community.
Initial partnership announcements include Time Antaeus Media Group, a digital cinema industry leader with whom Christie launched China’s largest commercial d-cinema deployment in 2010; DOR International, a Christie certified reseller that designs, installs and maintains cinemas and professional audio video systems throughout Mexico; and the Independent Cinema Association of Australia (ICAA), the association of record for Australian independent cinemas.
The Christie NOC is a 24/7/365 facility where experienced Christie technicians remotely monitor clients’ visual display systems, making sure they are running smoothly, getting timely maintenance and receiving any necessary software upgrades. Christie Managed Services and its new NOC partners will provide the same network operations center services that are currently offered in North America to China, Mexico and Australasia. These NOC services include comprehensive remote monitoring and management of devices, along with technical phone support solutions to local exhibitors around the world. Christie will accomplish this by extending the core functionalities of its NOC to support customers and systems in the local languages, utilizing Christie’s proven suite of tools.
“As the world goes digital, the need for comprehensive technical support becomes more critical,” observed Jack Kline, president and COO of Christie Digital Systems, USA. “The NOC is a Christie innovation that anticipated the needs of the market in the early stages of the digital cinema revolution to ensure that our customers received, not just the latest, quality products, but also expert technical support for those products. Now we are ready to bring it to our customers worldwide.”
“The Christie NOC has been the backbone of service for the exhibition industry in North America,” noted Kathryn Cress, vice president, global & corporate marketing, Christie. “With Christie commanding more than 50 percent of the world’s digital cinema installations, it is a logical evolution to bring our technical expertise to our customers regardless of location. This includes providing them with the same high standards of service and commitment to our customers that helped us dominate the North American digital cinema market.”
Time Antaeus and Christie Form Universal Cinema Services (UCS) in China
A collaboration that began at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, when Time Antaeus purchased 120 Christie CP2000-ZX models to power the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies, the Christie and Time Antaeus relationship has blossomed into a highly productive partnership, now working together to lead China’s cinema revolution that has seen the market grow dramatically in recent years.
The new Network Operations Center joint venture with Universal Cinema Services will be the country’s first service center modeled upon the North America-based NOC. It will offer hardware, software, remote monitoring, and local parts availability, making the partnership one of the most efficient and reliable in the region.
“Working with a partner you can trust is very important in a rapidly evolving marketplace like digital cinema,” says Mr. Zhang Baoquan, Chairman of the Board for Time Antaeus Media Group. “Our relationship with Christie has been a long and highly rewarding one. The introduction of the NOC in China shows they stand behind the products they sell, and further proves their loyalty in helping us better serve our digital cinema customers.”
“We are pleased to work with Time Antaeus to introduce China’s first NOC fully modeled on the proven technology of our North American facility. This unique new partnership will further increase the diversity and depth of services we can provide our customers in the Asia/Pacific region,” said Sean James, vice president, managed services at Christie.
Mexico’s DOR Internacional and Christie
In business for more than 14 years, DOR Internacional, headquartered in Guadalajara, is at the vanguard of design, sales, installation and maintenance of cinemas and professional audio video systems throughout Mexico. Along with its partners, it has installed more than 300 Christie digital cinema systems. Now, through its partnership with Christie, DOR Internacional will develop a Network Operations Center in Mexico City, following the North American model.
“Christie has provided us with the equipment and conducted training; and now, we are completing the installation of permanent connectivity in order to open the facility and provide the full range of tools, technical support and functionality to current customers as well as all the new ones,” said Jacques Dornbierer Hogan, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, DOR Internacional SA DE C.V.
Independent Cinema Association of Australia and Christie (ICAA)
ICAA members toured the Christie NOC in Los Angeles during CinemaCon, entering into the final phase to establish a node of the facility in Australia to support its members’ digital cinemas installations in Australia and New Zealand.
As part of the partnership, Christie has provide ICAA with extensive training and additional services through Christie Managed Services to take the benefits they provide members to the next level.
“The Christie NOC is a cutting edge facility that allows Christie technicians to spot potential trouble and solve it with the utmost speed and competency,” noted ICAA chief executive officer, Adrianne Pecotic. “We are pleased to join in partnership with Christie because their cinema expertise is essential in helping our members make the transition to digital as seamless and painless as possible.”
“ICAA is a visionary organization whose digital cinema solutions embrace all independent exhibitors in Australia seeking to transition from 35mm film to digital cinema technology,” continued James. “It is a testament to their commitment to their members that they have now stepped up to address the critical need of making the digital transition as efficiently and as cost effectively as possible, and to be ready to support that transition with the highest level of service available anywhere.”
Added James: “We are looking forward to creating many new partnerships, and to working with the tens of thousands of exhibitors across the globe that recognize the importance of having a rock-solid foundation of technical support beneath them as they launch their next phase of service to moviegoers in the digital cinema frontier.”
