Cinema exhibition is going digital as certainly as is television. Readers who want to get caught up on the latest in digital cinema can do so by attending the fourth annual Digital Cinema Summit, jointly presented by NAB , SMPTE , and the Entertainment Technology Center at USC. The Summit will happen on the Saturday before the NAB convention opens.
The all-day session will be hosted by Ed Hobson of National TeleConsultants; Peter Symes of Grass Valley/Thomson--SMPTE Engineering vice president--and Wendy Aylesworth of Warner Brothers--chairman of SMPTE DC 28 digital cinema standards committee.
The morning will feature tutorials dealing with the technical aspects of digital cinema, including the new 4K projection systems. The afternoon will include reports on the digital cinema standards process, presentations from people involved in digital cinema in Europe and Asia, and a panel discussion on the political and regulatory landscape. Sign up for the Digital Cinema Summit by visiting NAB Show Web site .
Digital projection has a number of advantages over film projection for both exhibitors and viewers. It features a rock-steady picture, free of the bob and weave of a film projector. Further, the digital copy of the feature does not deteriorate with time as does a film print. For the producer and exhibitor, the bulky and expensive film print may be eliminated in favor of delivery on a handful of DVDs or even via satellite.
