SI DC conf: Afternoon business panel

Chuck Goldwater (AccessIT), Tom Cotton (Technicolor), Kevin Wakeford (Sony), Paul Collard (Technicolor).

Chuck reviews what Christie/AIX has been doing. Lots! LOTS! From digital roll out to faith-based movies for Fox. Discusses options for rolling out internationally. Doesn't mention any territories specifically. Paul - Ascent are global content service provider, he tells us. Doesn't give practical examples of experience in this field (or mention that Ascent have a 'For Sale' sign on its front lawn), but Paul is a nice guy and I've always had a lot of respect for him. Tom talks about three main areas: roll out, content preparation and screen advertising solution (in the US). His role is mainly in the roll out. Kevin represents manufacturing arm of Sony, he makes clear, not Sony Pictures.

Q from Mike - why is Europe lagging and what are the problems. Paul: in one word, "fragmentation". Mike semi-baited Chuck with a question about US-centric approaches to digital conversions in Europe. Chuck gives a good reply that each country needs its own approach. Tom, "we're not trying to rail road anything through." It will take more time to move in Europe, adressing specificities of the European market. Kevin: everyone is looking to economies of scale for driving prices down, hence need for a single standard.

Tom: we've been testing all the equipment since January in a controlled environment, now moving it into beta phase in the US (but says nothing about Europe or Kinepolis deal). Paul talks about small and independent cinemas being sqieezed in the digital future, citing Anders Gertsen's statistics on a small number of cinemas accounting for 90-95 per cent of box occfice revenue. Chuck talks about dealing with problems and communicating with exhibitors. Tom: our model doesn't exclude anyone. Paul: we need to reduce the unpredictability of the process. Kevin, stressing the importance of testing.

Q from GE Capital points out that financial markets have been under writing the roll out, based primarily on cash flow, which won't be the same in Europe. Tom thinks that it's still doable. Chuck: it's not an impediment but another issue in the pay-for-play model. Kevin talks about the importance of 4K, particularly in the long term.

Jason Powers (Dolby) asks about the significance of the Kinepolis announcement of converting all of its cinemas. Tom thinks that this is a good move.