Christie®, a world leading visual technologies company, announced that, pursuant to a filing in 2018, the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), has issued Christie a U.S. patent under US10783282B2 on September 22, 2020, which enables exhibitors to stream movies directly to the home using their current technologies in a way that supplements their existing business model.
Working with Christie’s integrated media block (IMB), which is used by theatres around the world, the patented hardware and software package combines with the capabilities of Christie’s suite of streaming and networking products to enable Christie’s partners to deliver content over IP networks to those at home in real time, directly from the cinema to the sofa.
“We all love the cinema, and there is nothing quite like the in-person, big-screen experience at your local theatre,” says Brian Claypool, executive vice president, Cinema, Christie. “It has been exciting to see how adaptable exhibitors have been in getting people back into many theatres around the world, and we hope to see more and more people returning to their local cinemas. However, we are under no illusions as to the many challenges that exhibitors face. This technology enables exhibitors to securely show customers premium cinematic content on their own terms, opening an additional potential revenue stream, in these difficult times. We are always looking at ways to improve the cinema experience and support our exhibitors with the latest innovations, and this patent is another example of that. Offering premium content direct to consumers is now a reality and Christie’s patented approach places the dynamics of when, how and for how much that content is made available to consumers directly in the hands of exhibitors to decide.”
The system will distribute high-value content to streaming devices that comply with Christie’s strict security and quality specifications. Built on Christie’s networked content distribution and switching technologies, it will support a wide range of content delivery options, from compressed H.265 streams at 4Mbps to uncompressed 8K at 120Hz at 100Gbps, with unprecedented performance and zero latency over affordable Ethernet components.
The patent was also issued in Europe and is pending in other regions.
