Cinemas get digital technology

New technology is to be introduced in Irish cinemas which will lead to sharper images and a greater variety of films, it was claimed today.

An American company, Avica, is installing digital projectors in 500 cinemas nationwide to replace the traditional 35mm film projectors.

The Irish Film Board said it would lead to a “pretty amazing” picture quality for cinemagoers.

“We’re very excited about it. It’s pure digital projection and picture perfect quality,” said spokeswoman Moira Horgan.

The project will make Ireland the world’s first entirely digital cinema nation.

It will allow cinemas to download new films to a computer server via satellite at the press of a button. Along with a much higher picture quality, the digital format promises to eliminate the flickers and scratches which develop when 35mm film degrades with age.

The cost to cinemas of getting a film in digital format will also be much lower than the current price of up to 2,000 euro (£1,400) for a single 35mm print.

Ms Horgan said this would be positive news for small Irish films.

“We don’t have big Hollywood budgets to market those films so any way we can save money on distribution costs and actually spend it on promotion and advertising can only be a good thing,” she said.

The reduced cost will also allow Irish films and foreign films to be distributed more widely to cinemas across the country.

Minister for Sports, Arts and Tourism John O’Donoghue has said that it will ensure that a “cinema in Tralee has the same immediate access to films as a cinema in Dublin”.

The introduction of digital projectors is being supported and paid for by all the main cinema distributors.

Avica was in discussion with the Irish Film Board for more than two years about its plans to digitalise every cinema in both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

It set up its European headquarters in Thurles, County Tipperary last year.

Ms Horgan said the company wanted a springboard to the European cinema market and had selected Ireland because of the manageable number of cinema screens and the level of cinema attendance.

Irish cinemagoers have the second highest level of cinema attendance in Europe, with an average of 4.5 visits each per year.

However, an Arts Council report last year on cultural and economic trends in Irish and Welsh cinema found that regional cinemas were being replaced, rather than supplemented by multiplex venues in major cities.

Although the number of screens in Ireland increased by 72% between 1991 and 2001, the number of cinemas fell by 15% over the same period.