BWI: Barco Further Strengthens its Leading Position in Indian Digital Cinema Industry

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Barco Electronic Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 11:31 AM IST (06:01 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment; Business: Business services, Electronic appliances & components, Information technology, Media & entertainment; Technology
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Barco Further Strengthens its Leading Position in Indian Digital Cinema Industry


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Tuesday, July 24, 2012 -- (Business Wire India) -- Global visualization leader Barco has been recently selected by Indian cinema chains Inox Leisure and Fame India to deploy its latest digital cinema projectors through GDC Tech. Earlier this year, Real Image Media Technologies, India's leading provider of film, video and audio technology, confirmed an order for 300 DCI-compliant Barco projectors while its subsidiary Qube Cinema equipped 39 screens of Kuwait National Cinema Company (KNCC) with Barco solutions. These deals have catapulted Barco to the top of the country's digital cinema industry, with an install base of 500 digital projectors by end 2012 and about 700 by the end of 2013.

Upon assuming management control of multiplex operator Fame India Ltd, in January last, Inox Leisure Limited ('INOX') became the largest theater chain in India. All INOX 68 multiplexes boast state-of-the-art technology. When INOX decided to convert all of its cinemas to digital, it carefully prepared the transition and organized thorough selection rounds to ensure they would team up with the best technology partner. The group chose Barco and its partner GDC Tech. Around 300 High Frame Rate (HFR) READY digital projection systems have been installed now, featuring Barco DCI projectors and GDC's Integrated Mediablock ('IMB').

Setting foot ashore in the Middle East

The deal confirms Barco as the No. 1 provider of digital cinema projectors in India. Earlier this year, Barco signed a contract with Real Image for the provision of digital cinema projectors. In April, Real Image's subsidiary Qube Cinema - specializing in digital cinema - announced the installation of 39 screens owned by Kuwait National Cinema Company (KNCC). To successfully take on this turnkey project, Qube turned to Barco to provide the DCI projectors, and Masterimage for the 3D systems.

"We studied several digital systems before adopting Qube, Barco and Masterimage," said Mr. Hisham Al Ghanim, General Manager of KNCC. "We are very pleased with the systems and support offered."

"It was clear to us, upon completion of our earliest deployments, that Barco projectors ensure the lowest TCO and, thanks to their modular design, are also easy to maintain. These are major benefits of the Barco technology. On top of that, Real Image, like Barco, understands product support like no other and has a long-term vision focused on technology sustainability. It seemed only logical to expand our relationship," said Arvind Rangnathan, CEO of Real Image. "It has been a pleasure for us to work with Barco. They perfectly combine world-class products with outstanding support. By offering our Qube server together with Barco projectors as a cutting-edge, all-in-one solution, we can offer India's theaters the very best quality and flexibility available in today's market."

Strengthening leadership position

"We are proud to be the DCI-compliant projector partner for this digital cinema rollout at INOX as well as KNCC cinemas. Through these recent successful deals with leading players in the Indian entertainment industry, Barco further confirms its position as digital cinema market leader," said Abel Garamhegyi, Vice President Growth Markets EMEAI and Managing Director for India at Barco.

"Barco's wide portfolio of projectors and projector packages with IMB are a perfect match for the Indian market. Highest ease of use and reliability, combined with lowest TCO is what exhibitors are looking for when going through such a rapid digitization as India's cinema industry" comments Tim Sinnaeve, Market Director, Digital Cinema at Barco.

About Barco

Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops visualization products for a variety of selected professional markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with about 3,700 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 1,041 million euro in 2011.

About INOX Leisure Limited and FAME India Limited www.inoxmovies.com/ (www.famecinemas.com)

INOX Leisure Limited, along with its subsidiary FAME India Limited, is the largest multiplex chain in India with 68 multiplexes and 257 screens in 34 cities. INOX (founded in 1999) is the diversification venture of the INOX Group into entertainment and is a subsidiary of Gujarat Flurochemicals Ltd. INOX recently acquired FAME (founded in 1999), one of India's highly respected and premier multiplex chains. The mission of both INOX and FAME is to sustain the leadership position in the cinema exhibition industry, in every aspect - from the quality and choices of cinema right through to the varied services offered.

About Kuwait National Cinema Company (KNCC)


KNCC (Cinescape) has been the sole exhibitor in Kuwait since it was founded in 1954. Cinescape has pioneered the distribution and exhibition of Arabic, English and Indian movies in the Middle East. Cinescape's investment in digital cinema continues to make it the leading entertainment provider in the region. In 2007, Cinescape theatres showed Taimour and Shafika, the first digital Arabic films to be released.

About Qube Cinema

A subsidiary of India-based Real Image Media Technologies, Qube Cinema can draw on decades of domain expertise in the media and entertainment space as well as long-standing relationships with key technology leaders. Real Image, a pioneer in media technology, has proven expertise in managing complex technology transformations. Qube Cinema is equipped with a dedicated and efficient team as well as world-class technology and software - a winning combination that will help realize the organization's vision of being a global leader in digital cinema technology.

© Copyright 2012 by Barco


CONTACT DETAILS
Eti Gupta, Marketing Manager, Barco Electronic Systems Pvt. Ltd., +91 9818252262, eti.gupta@barco.com
Inge Govaerts, Corporate Public Relations Manager, Barco Electronic Systems Pvt. Ltd., +32 56 36 8052, inge.govaerts@barco.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, BUSINESS SERVICES, ELECTRONICS, IT, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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