Christie obtains European patent for streaming home cinema technology for cinema exhibitors

Christie's proposal will allow exhibitors to supplement their theatrical income by streaming movies directly to the consumer's home.

The European Patent Office (EPO) just granted to Christie the patent EP3477952B1 that will allow displays supplement your income in theaters by directly sending movies by streaming to home of the consumer.

Using the integrated media block (IMB) used by multiple theaters around the world, the patented hardware and software package is combined with the capabilities of Christie's network and streaming products so that Christie partners can bring movies projected in their theaters in real time to the viewer sitting comfortably on the couch at home.

Brian Claypool, executive vice president for cinema at Christie, comments that "we all love cinema, and there is nothing like enjoying it in person on the big screen of your favorite cinema. Seeing how exhibitors adapt to bring viewers around the world back to theaters has been exciting, a return that we hope will increase and accelerate. However, the enormous challenges facing the exhibition sector lead us to not let our guard down. New technology allows the exhibitor to organize themselves to show their viewers premium content in their own homes, opening up an extra source of income that can be very profitable in such a difficult time as the current one. The new patent is an example of our constant efforts to improve the experience of watching movies and to support our exhibitors with the latest innovations. The possibility of offering premium content live to viewers in their homes is now a reality.

The system will deliver high-value content to streaming devices that support Christie's strict security and quality standards. Built on Christie's network content distribution and switching technologies, the system will support a wide range of distribution options of content, from compressed images with the H.265 codec at 4Mbps, to uncompressed 8K at 120Hz and 100Gbps, with unprecedented performance and zero latency on very affordable Ethernet components.

The patent has also been granted to Christie in the United States by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) and is pending granting in other areas of the world.