BARCO Participates in First Ever Transmission and Screening of Digital Cinema over the Internet

Atlanta, GA - BARCO announced its support of the digital screening of Titan A.E., the first motion picture to be transmitted and screened using broadband Internet technologies. Sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc., and Twentieth Century Fox, Titan A.E. will premiere digitally June 6, 2000 during the SuperComm Trade Show. It will be transmitted via an end-to-end Internet Protocol (IP) Cisco-based network from Twentieth Century Fox's CyberCenter in Los Angeles to the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta.

A forthcoming summer blockbuster, Titan A.E. represents a new generation of filmed animation, blending new technologies, cutting-edge computer imagery and classic animation. Titan A.E. features the vocal talent of Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, Drew Barrymore, Nathan Lane, John Leguizamo and Janeane Garofalo. The film opens nationwide on June 16.

After Titan A.E. was produced and digitally mastered in Los Angeles, Twentieth Century Fox captured and encoded the picture and soundtrack of the completed master into a digital cinema file. The digital file will be delivered via an encrypted and secure Cisco-based Virtual Private Network to a local area network in Atlanta at the Woodruff Arts Center. There the film will be projected digitally using a DLP Cinema™ prototype projector setup by BARCO and Texas Instruments, and will be displayed on a 50' x 21' Tørus Compound Curved Screen provided by Sigma Design Associates. Thanks to the advanced digital architecture of the entire system, viewers will enjoy a cinematic experience of unprecedented contrast, clarity and color fidelity.

"The premiere of Titan A.E. using an all digital network and TI's DLP Cinemaä projection system will show audiences that digital projection is a reality today," said Wendy Bosley, market manager for BARCO Digital Cinema, "As more and more of the 100,000 cinema screens around the world convert from traditional film to digitally based projection systems, movie-goers around the world will see movies as they were intended, with higher-quality images, better color, and contrast. We are pleased to be working with Cisco and Twentieth Century Fox on this historic event."

"This groundbreaking premiere of Titan A.E. is an example of the kind of New World application Cisco is working with companies such as BARCO and Texas Instruments to bring to customers," said Larry Lang, vice president of service provider marketing at Cisco. "Digital Cinema provides benefits over traditional film distribution methods such as lower costs and shorter time to market, as well as higher picture quality which brings a better movie-going experience to customers. We are pleased to be working with BARCO and Texas Instruments to bring the vision of all-digital movies to reality."

TI's DLP Cinema™ prototype projector employs cutting-edge Digital Light ProcessingTM technology and has been specifically tailored to meet the unique demands of theatrical presentation of digitally released motion picture films. In March of this year, BARCO signed an agreement with Texas Instruments to become a DLP CinemaTM licensee. Under the terms of this agreement, BARCO will manufacture and distribute projection systems using DLP CinemaTM technology on a worldwide basis. BARCO's DLPTM-based projectors have recently been seen at such prestigious events as the 72nd Annual Academy Awards Ceremony and the 53rd International Cannes Film Festival.

BARCO Background

The BARCO Group, headquartered in Kuurne, Belgium, operates five major lines of business: Projection Systems, Display Systems, Vision, Graphics, and Communications. BARCO Projection Systems is an ISO 9001 registered world leader in developing and manufacturing large screen projection systems for a broad range of applications, from entertainment, presentations and training to process control and simulation. Its U.S. subsidiary, BARCO Projection Systems America, is based in Kennesaw, Georgia.

For more information, please contact:

Ellyce Entrekin, Public Relations Manager

Tel. (770) 218-3200
Fax (770) 218-3250
E-mail: ellyce.entrekin@barco.com

Wendy Bosley, Market Manager, Digital Cinema

Tel. (770) 218-3274
Fax (770) 218-3250
E-mail: wendy.bosley@barco.com

http://www.barco.com