22/12/2005

Jean-Luc Moullet, vice president of software & technology solutions at the Thomson group, whose American branch of Technicolor Digital Cinema has signed an agreement with seven Hollywood studios to provide 5,000 cinemas with a system of digital production in three or four year's time, paints the current picture of the digital breakthrough. The disadvantages however should not be ignored. In fact, where screening is concerned, there is increasing complexity surrounding the possibilities offered by digital cinema generating a tide of images more difficult to generate in post-production. Lastly, what digital cinema brings in terms of making creation easier does the same for encouraging piracy. Regarding exploitation, the specialist at Thomson stressed the recommendations released last July by DCI which regroups seven American players defining the terms and conditions of the digital project of DSM (Digital Source Master) through to the distribution in cinemas with, among others, the JPEG 2000 norm for the compression of images, the MXF-Interop format for the interoperability and the minimum of the 2K technology for projectors. He also detailed the different steps in secure digital distribution of films in theatres, the compression of all original files from post production, regrouping of files and encryption, the sending of different mediums such as satellite on hard disks in cinema theatres, decryption by theatres who will have the keys transmitted specifically, without forgetting the "tattoos" (confidential information such as the date of projection, for example). According to Jean-Luc Mollet, there are three fears at the moment: fear of the black screen, the issue of the security of decryption keys and especially the economic difficulties concerning exhibitors and distributors with the spectrum of a digital fracture.