Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 27, 1994 TAG: 9403230155
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY TOM STEINERT-THRELKELD DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Pacific Bell announced last week at the National Association of Broadcasters Show that it will begin to test the transmission of movies to theaters on telephone networks that use fiber-optic equipment.
If successful, the technology could spell the end of copying and delivering cans of film to theaters. Digital transmission by phone lines also could convert movie theaters into arenas for live viewing of sports, musical performances, news events and business conferences.
"It's the mustard seed," said Dale Cripps, editor and publisher of Electronic Cinema Letter in Alsea, Ore. "This is proof of the concept that electronic distribution of motion pictures not only can be cheaper, better, faster," but will make the theater a destination for other programming as well.
The test will begin in summer and will involve an AMC Theater in Burbank, Calif., and one screen in San Francisco. Although the test may last only six months, it could be years before the replacement of films by electronically transmitted digits is widespread.
"The question is how willing Hollywood will be to change," said Richard Mizer, technical manager for advanced video services for Pacific Bell. "They've been doing it their way for a hundred years."
In fact, Hollywood rejected at least one highly publicized attempt in the 1950s to distribute movies and other fare electronically. The process at the time involved a device called the kinescope, which received microwave transmissions and exposed film at theaters. The development and drying process took just seven minutes, allowing boxing and other events to appear almost as they happened. But the quality of the images limited their appeal, particularly in the face of the arrival of television.
Pacific Bell, for instance, had not signed up any major Hollywood studio to supply movies for the test. Mizer said he was hopeful that Sony Pictures, which was involved in two demonstrations of the basic technology, would participate.
But the various studios ultimately would have to settle on technical standards for creation and transmission of the digital movies - a daunting challenge. Beyond that, the studios generally are run by executives who want to maximize the appeal of the product and are set in their ways.
"Is Hollywood interested in changing? The answer is seldom," Cripps said.
The new technology should make the quality issue as forgotten as the kinescope, advocates say. With digital transmission, each copy will be as good as the original, said Howard Gunn, vice president of marketing for Alcatel Network Systems, the Richardson, Texas, company supplying the switching, scheduling and archiving equipment for the test.
As with compact discs, there is no degradation of sound or pictures over time. By contrast, films in widespread release often are plagued by flecks and dirt from repeat showings.
The movies should have at least as much resolution as film. Pictures either will be shot with high-definition video cameras or converted from film to high-definition versions.
Electronic distribution also should save studios millions of dollars a year in copying and delivery. With compression techniques and constantly falling prices on electronic storage devices, movies can be stored and shipped more economically on telephone networks, Pac Bell believes.
Compression may wind up being the key. Without it, transmitting a movie will occupy the same amount of space on the telephone network as 18,750 phone calls. With compression, that can be reduced to 650 calls, for however long the movie lasts, Gunn said.
There are technical obstacles to overcome. Digital projection systems are still not up to snuff, although microscopic mirrors being refined by Texas Instruments Inc. are one candidate for solving the problem, Mizer said. Commercially usable systems are at least two years away.
Once in place, the new technology can open up new businesses for theaters. After theaters have invested in the required decoding and projection equipment, the transmission network in effect would allow live broadcasting to theaters of all kinds of programming, Cripps notes. The cost of the equipment: About $75,000 to $100,000 per eight-screen theater vs. about $50,000 for current equipment, by some estimates.
AMC Entertainment Inc., which operates 239 theaters in 22 states, is moving to expand the nature of its business already. Chief operating officer Philip Singleton said the design of many of its large new theaters will allow them to be used as sites for audio and visual teleconferences.
But directors and producers still must decide whether the result is an improvement on film, or whether it more resembles high-definition television on a really wide screen.
As Cripps puts it, "This is really the same as a television network designed for group viewing."
by CNB