Thursday June 15, 7:37 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Technicolor and QUALCOMM Form Joint Venture To Offer Global End-To-End Digital Cinema Services
Technicolor Digital Cinema, LLC To Provide Open System For Digital Motion Picture Delivery
CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 15, 2000-- Technicolor Digital Cinema Inc. (Technicolor) and QUALCOMM Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM - news) Thursday announced the formation of a joint venture that will provide open, end-to-end distribution technology and support services for the delivery of digital cinema to theaters worldwide.
Jointly managed by the two companies, the new venture -- Technicolor Digital Cinema, LLC -- will work with the motion picture industry as a technology enabler and service provider while supporting open standards for the digital delivery of movies and the existing studio-to-theater business model. Both Technicolor and QUALCOMM will take an active role in the initial management of the entity's day-to-day operations. Technicolor will maintain a majority ownership of the entity.
``This new entity will combine the two companies' complementary strengths to create an open, standards-based end-to-end distribution solution for digital cinema,'' said Lanny Raimondo, Technicolor's chief executive officer. ``Bringing together Technicolor's 80-plus year legacy as the guardians of color and quality for the motion picture industry with QUALCOMM's digital technology expertise, the joint venture is committed to taking a leading role in safeguarding a movie's image and audio quality to enhance the overall movie-going experience.''
``Technicolor's experience providing distribution service solutions and content management to the entertainment industry, coupled with QUALCOMM's proven compression and encryption technology and expertise in digital communications and network system integration, will enable a service unparalleled in the industry,'' said Kimberly Haile, president of QUALCOMM Digital Media. ``We are creating an enabling technology and service while continuing to work with the industry to provide the options they need to enter into the digital age of motion picture delivery.''
Based in Studio City, Calif., Technicolor Digital Cinema, LLC will work with the worldwide motion picture industry to provide a consistent delivery format for movies. The entity will initially target the U.S. market and is seeking potential strategic partners to become part of the joint venture as it expands into global digital distribution markets.
Technicolor Digital Cinema, LLC will provide a complete range of capabilities based on an open standard that covers all of the stages for taking a motion picture from a studio master to a theater's digital projection system. This includes compressing, encrypting and transferring the master onto a deliverable media, delivering the content to the theater -- either by physical distribution such as DVD-ROM or via satellite -- for storage, scheduling and playback, and providing a comprehensive in-theater management system also being developed by QUALCOMM.
Along with its strong ties to Hollywood and the entertainment industry, Technicolor brings an extensive and proven track record in providing distribution solutions for numerous media platforms, including film, videocassette, CD and DVD. For the emerging digital cinema distribution market, this experience provides a natural complement to QUALCOMM's extensive and proven track record with digital technology, including communications networking and systems expertise.
QUALCOMM's encryption and compression technology will provide an efficient and secure means for transferring motion pictures to a digital delivery medium while preserving image quality. This advanced system will include mechanisms to help protect digitally distributed movies from counterfeiting and piracy. As part of the commitment to create open standards for global use, QUALCOMM will make the technology available to other service providers and equipment manufacturers.
Technicolor and QUALCOMM anticipate trials of the prototype end-to-end digital cinema delivery system to begin in early 2001, with production equipment expected to be available in mid-to-late-2001. The existing global digital cinema program that Technicolor is working on with exhibitors, studios and projectionists will be expanded this Fall to include more than 30 individual sites.
A leading innovator in motion picture technology since bringing color to the movies more than 80 years ago, Camarillo-based Technicolor is the world's number one processor of motion picture film and the world's largest independent manufacturer of DVDs, CDs and Videocassettes. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlton Communications Plc (Nasdaq: CCTVY - news).
QUALCOMM Inc. (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the company's CDMA digital technology. The company's business areas include integrated CDMA chipsets and system software; technology licensing; Eudora© email software for Windows© and Macintosh© computing platforms; satellite-based systems including portions of the Globalstar(TM) system and wireless fleet management systems, OmniTRACS© and OmniExpress(TM).
QUALCOMM owns patents which are essential to all of the CDMA wireless telecommunications standards that have been adopted or proposed for adoption by standards-setting bodies worldwide. QUALCOMM has licensed its essential CDMA patent portfolio to more than 75 telecommunications equipment manufacturers worldwide. With headquarters in San Diego, QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2000 FORTUNE 500© company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market© under the ticker symbol QCOM.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including timely product development, QUALCOMM's ability to successfully manufacture significant quantities of CDMA or other equipment on a timely and profitable basis, and those related to performance guarantees, change in economic conditions of the various markets QUALCOMM serves, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in QUALCOMM's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended Sept. 26, 1999, and most recent Form 10-Q.
QUALCOMM, OmniTRACS and Eudora are registered trademarks and OmniExpress is a trademark of QUALCOMM Inc. Globalstar is a trademark of Loral QUALCOMM Satellite Services Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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Contact:
Technicolor Digital Cinema Inc., Camarillo
Carrie Bissell, 805/445-4286
carrie.bissell@technicolor.com
or
QUALCOMM Inc., San Diego
Diana Baldwin, 858/651-4239, Fax 858/651-2590
dbaldwin@qualcomm.com
or
Julie Cunningham, (Investor Relations), 858/658-4224,
Fax 858/651-9303
jcunningham@qualcomm.com
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