28/06/2011

Danish major Nordisk Film, will soon digitise its entire cinema circuit - 17 theatres, 120 screens - which will become Denmark's first chain that's fully equipped with the new technology.

Nordisk Film Cinemas Managing Director John Tønnes has signed Belgian digital cinema service company XDC to install the hardware; XDC will cover 80% of the investment, against a vpf (virtual print fee) on the films shown in the theatres.

Currently 30 auditoria in Nordisk's national circuit are furnished for digital projection, which are mainly used for 3D productions; renovation of the remaining theatres will start after the summer holiday, and during the course of 2012, all 120 screens will be rendered as '100% Digital Biograf".

"Competing with high-quality BluRays in comfortable 'home cinemas', we wanted to set new standards for the film experience the consumers will find," said Tønnes.

35mm prints will thus soon be history: a digital server will receive the film and transfer the picture to the digital projector and the sound to a digital, multi-loudspeaker system which, according to Tønnes, will guarantee audiences optimal conditions for watching a movie.

Besides cinema-goers, the distributors will benefit from the digital roll out - while the price of a 35mm print is €1,500-€2,000, the expense for a digital print is about the tenth, and it does not need any storage space as it is saved on a server.

The Danish Film Institute has recently implemented a support scheme for the digitisation of cinemas, to secure a national coverage of theatres with a specialised repertoire (art cinemas). Each cinema can apply for a €2,700 subsidy.

According to the Association of Danish Cinemas, the number of digital screens totalled 47 as of June 1. Audiences love 3D: with the choice of watching new releases, such as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in 3D or 2D, some 88% chose the 3D version.