Digital cinema pioneer Barco is proud to announce that Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), the world's second largest motion picture exhibitor, has entered into an exclusive agreement with Barco. As part of this agreement, Cinemark is also partnering with the DLP Cinema® product group from Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN) and media server provider Doremi to secure the industry's best-in-class and brightest digital cinema solution. This group of partners, representing more than 100 years in combined cinema expertise, will employ the full spectrum of Barco's upcoming new family of enhanced DLP Cinema next generation 4K projectors.

Cinemark plans to deploy digital cinema as part of the DCIP initiative. More than 3,000 digital projectors are to be installed in nearly 300 theater sites throughout the US, which include Cinemark's Century, Cine Arts and Tinseltown brands. Every theater will show the industry's biggest and brightest images, projected from Barco DLP powered projectors and driven by Doremi's 4K integrated media block. The agreement also includes plans for Cinemark's international locations in Latin America, which would bring the overall deployment to more than 4,600 screens.

“Cinemark has selected Barco not only for the quality of their projectors, but because they have the ability to partner with our team throughout the conversion process from 35mm to digital,” said Alan Stock, CEO of Cinemark Holdings, Inc. “We strongly support the DLP technology brought by our partners Barco and Texas Instruments as we believe it is the best in the industry in terms of quality, reliability and value. This will provide our customers the best viewing experience available.”

“We are thrilled in delivering the world's first Barco DLP Cinema 4K solution to Cinemark” says Wim Buyens, VP business development for Barco Digital Cinema. Cinemark's best-in-class solution will be based upon the marriage of proven DLP digital micro-mirror chipsets, in conjunction with Barco's modular projector design, lighting up the biggest screens in the industry as large as 100 feet.

“Barco's proven track record and commitment to digital cinema is a message that has resonated with Cinemark. Their team rigorously tested our projectors as well as our organization for service, training and long-term support,” noted Scott Freidberg, VP of Sales for Barco in North America. “We wanted to redefine the standard buyer/supplier model, and as we move forward with this world-class exhibitor, our mandate is to continue providing customers the best viewing experience and customer service possible.”

“The scope of this new partnership with Cinemark is impressive, both in quality and quantity, and we are honored to be selected as their exclusive digital cinema projection provider,” said Eric Van Zele, CEO of Barco. “The partnership perfectly underscores the principles by which we operate — the quality and reliability of our core technology, and the remarkable relationships that we build with our customers. These are the key reasons why we were selected by Cinemark, and in fact they are the fundamental qualities we uphold towards all of our customers.”

http://www.barco.com/digitalcinema/en/pressreleases/show.asp?index=2348