[Update] Sony may prompt next video format war (not really, oops)

Posted October 3, 2008 at 06:35 AM by Shawn Ingram

Section: Video, Video Providers

Sony announced Thursday that it has teamed up with Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures to promote the new Sony-developed digital projection setup.  This came only a day after five major studios including Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures as well as Walt Disney Motion Pictures, Universal Studios and Lionsgate Films were announced to be part of a deal with Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (“DCIP”) to expand digital screens.  The DCIP deal would try to upgrade 20,000 screens across the U.S. and Canada, while the Sony deal has plans to use put its system into 9,000 screen across North America, Europe and Asia.

According the to most recent MPAA numbers from 2007, just under 5,000 screens across the U.S. use digital systems, with 6,455 screens worldwide.  Both deals want to increase that number.

The number of digitally equipped screens in the U.S. is depressingly low when you consider the fact that there are about 37,000 screens in the country.  That’s 32,000 screens without digital projection equipment.  That’s 32,000 screens that had to show Wall•E in not DLP, and that is depressing.  The number of 3D screens is even lower, with only 1,300 screen across the U.S.  According to the Reuters report, that number should increase by 1,000 within the next year.  That’s a decent upgrade, but there still should be more.

[Update: Sorry about the confusion.  I wasn’t trying to cause any problems.  That was how I read the Reuters article that was given.  There is no “format war,“ in cinemas that is apparent.  I apologize for any confusion or issues with this post.]

Read [Reuters] More [DCIP Press Release] (PDF link) More [MPAA stats] (PDF link) Image from [wow3d.de]