Yelmo Cineplex installs 2K Barco digital cinema system as winner of MEDIA Salles' DigiTraining Plus 2006
Kortrijk, Belgium, 25 September, 2006 – As a leading manufacturer of Digital Cinema solutions, Barco is delighted to be part of the MEDIA Salles training program, which allows three European exhibitors to obtain digital cinema hands-on experience in their own theater. Yelmo Cineplex Madrid is the first exhibitor to have the system installed. Installing digital projection is a significant step forward as it will enable cinemas to maximize their return on investment by using the cinemas for alternative content, such as the Gaming, a rapidly growing trend.
As the market leader in Europe, Barco has been working for three years with MEDIA Salles to help train the European exhibitors on digital cinema. Barco prides itself on supporting partners and helping them maximize the benefits from their equipment and achieve the highest possible return on investment. This is achieved with high level communication, training and extensive pre and after sales support. During the last MEDIA Salles DigiTraining Plus, exhibitors learned about the digital industry, the business models, the financing, the technology and the alternate content.
Nico Vernieuwe, VP Events and Digital Cinema of Barco’s Media and Entertainment division stated “It seemed logical that Barco would step up the plate and fulfill its role as a responsible manufacturer, together with their partners XDC and Kodak to sponsor this project which allows three exhibitors to familiarize with the equipment and test-run their business ideas in real-life day-to-day business operation.”
According to Enrique Martinez del Molino, Technical Director of Yelmo Cineplex, “We will have a great opportunity to learn more about this fantastic digital equipment for theaters, and obviously the opportunity to offer to our patrons a wider movie going experience, impossible to show with traditional 35mm projectors. For example next September 14 we will project the live event Red Bull X-Fighters, the free style motorbike competition that Red Bull celebrates every year at Madrid Las Ventas bullring. “
Jens Rykær, President of MEDIA Salles, comments: “One of the main objectives of the MEDIA Salles DigiTraining Plus course is to provide European exhibitors with the tools to understand the impact of the digital transition in their daily work and their long term strategy. We are particularly grateful to Barco, together with their partners Kodak and XDC, in providing this opportunity for exhibitors to get hands on experience with digital projection. We congratulate Yelmo for their intention to take advantage of this opportunity and give their audience a wider range of entertainment offerings”.
Following more than 10 years of pioneering market development, Barco is one of only three projector manufacturers to be awarded the license for Texas Instruments DLP Cinema® display technology. Since its award in 2000 Barco has developed the industry's widest range of projection solutions for digital cinema including its state-of-the-art 'D-Cine Premiere' 2k projectors, 'Communicator' software control and 'ACSAR' alternative content processors now installed in leading Post facilities and Digital Cinemas worldwide.
About Yelmo Cineplex
Yelmo Cineplex is a Spanish Cinematographic exhibition company with a 25 years experience under the Yelmo brand. In 1998 a joint venture is constituted with American exhibitor Loews Cineplex (at present joint with AMC). Yelmo is the third exhibition company by number of screens in Spain (330 screens in 30 theatres) and it is characterized by owning the most advanced technology and high degree of comfort and quality in theatres, always betting for innovation.
About MEDIA Salles
The MEDIA Salles project operates within the framework of the European Union's MEDIA Plus Programme, with the support of the Italian Government. The end objective of MEDIA Salles is to foster theatrical distribution of European audiovisual products. This aim is pursued both by high profile campaigns involving Europe's cinema exhibitors and by initiatives to raise the visibility of European productions with industry players and potential audiences, creating specialized information channels on a global scale. Thus the current initiatives from MEDIA Salles dovetail in a program with a triple focus – training, promotion and information – and maximum combined effect.
For more information on MEDIA Salles, refer to www.mediasalles.it
About Barco
Barco, a global technology company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. For fiscal year 2005, Barco posted net sales of euro 712.0 million.
Barco’s ordinary shares are listed on the Brussels/Euronext stock exchange. Barco is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company. Share information may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbol BAR BB and on Reuters under BARBt.BR.
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For more information, please contact
Inge
Govaerts
Public Relations Manager
Barco - Media & Entertainment
Telephone
+32 56 36 8052
inge.govaerts@barco.com
