Hughes-JVC Rewrites Cinema History with the Digital Release of Not One But Two Films... and Audiences Applaud on Both Coasts

Hughes-JVC Technology Corporation is adding a new chapter to the history of cinema by ushering in the digital age at two movie theaters in the New York area and two in Los Angeles. General audiences are eagerly standing in line and paying to see a true digital cinema experience, and their response has been extraordinary.

On June 18, Hughes-JVC,s ILA-12K Cinema projector began exhibiting two of the summer's best films, each for a four-week run. Lucasfilm's summer blockbuster "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace" is showing digitally in the Los Angeles area at Pacific's Winnetka Theater in Chatsworth and in Paramus, New Jersey at Lowe's Cineplex Odeon. Already shaping up to be the summer's critical favorite, "An Ideal Husband" from Miramax Films plays digitally in LA at Laemmle's Sunset 5 and in New York at the Clearview Chelsea 9. For these screenings only, Miramax is adding a bonus, a special 20th Anniversary compilation of Miramax films.

"Perfecting an Electronic Cinema projector that exceeds the quality of the 35mm film shown at commercial movie theaters has been our goal from day one," said Jack Faiman, Hughes-JVC Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "I am excited to say that we have finally reached that goal. I attended the first night's screening of 'An Ideal Husband' in Los Angeles, and the response wasjust overwhelmingly positive. The industry experts commented knowledgeably on the outstanding brightness, color reproduction, contrast and resolution. But even to the untrained eyes of the regular movie-going public, the difference was apparent. They commented consistently that the images were sharp and clean without dirt or scratches, that the picture seemed richer and more three-dimensional."

Exit surveys confirm these comments: nine out of ten people asked to rate the quality of the Hughes-JVC digitally projected image found it to be as good as or better than traditional film. And the opening weekend's box office receipts revealed that for both "Phantom Menace" and "Ideal Husband" the per screen grosses at the digital theaters exceeded the average grosses at the conventional film theaters. The Digital Revolution has truly arrived.

The projector behind this revolution in Cinema, the ILA-12K, is a production model based on the Image Light Amplifier, or ILA© device. Invented by Dr. William Bleha, Hughes-JVC Vice President of Engineering, this liquid crystal light valve technology is the key to the 12K's unique ability to exceed 35mm motion picture film in every area of image quality, on theater-sized screens. True, lifelike colors and contrast levels exceeding 1500:1 ensure a depth and richness missing with other digital technologies. With over 12,000 lumens of light output and a display resolution of 2000x 1280, the 12K produces a sharp, dazzling, non-pixelized image with the authentic look and feel of film.

Dr. Bleha noted, "The showings of these two totally different films were an outstanding test for the ILA- 12K. 'Ideal Husband' has many closeups of faces and dark scenes where excellent contrast is critical. The 12K's 1500:1 contrast ratio far exceeds not only the limitations of other digital technologies, but also 35mm release prints as well, which are typically in the 1000: I to 1200:1 range. In 'Phantom Menace,' the many highly detailed animations and special effects required extremely high resolution and clarity. In both films, details previously hidden in the projected film version now spring to life on the ILA-12K. We've raised digital projection to a completely new level. And our technology, and the movie-going experience, will only get better in the future. Our next challenge is to exceed the quality of 70mm film."

Hughes-JVC Technology Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Victor Company (JVC) is located in Carlsbad, California. For more information on Digital Cinema and the ILA-12K projector, visit the Hughes-JVC website at www.hjt.com.


Contact:
Patricia Booher
Hughes-JVC Technology Corporation
23 10 Camino Vida Roble
Carlsbad, CA 92009
Phone:760-929-5365, Fax: 760-929-5410, Email: [email protected]