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Qube Cinema Technologies
IndustryFilm, TV Technology
PredecessorReal Image Media Technologies
Founded1986 Edit this on Wikidata
FounderSenthil Kumar, Jayendra Panchapakesan
Headquarters
India
ProductsQube XP, Qube Wire, QubeMaster Pro
Number of employees
650
SubsidiariesQube Cinema, Inc.
WebsiteOfficial website

Qube Cinema Technologies (formerly Real Image Media Technologies) is an Indian company operating in film and television technology. It provided digital non-linear editing and digital cinema sound to the Indian market in the 1990s. The company then began work in digital cinema products and deployment during the early years of the century.

History

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Started in 1986 as Media Artists Pvt. Ltd. in Chennai (then Madras), India, the company was renamed to Real Image Media Technologies Pvt. Ltd. in the early 2000s after the merger of Real Image Pvt. Ltd. and JS Films into Media Artists Pvt. Ltd. Media Artists continued to be a brand of the company's audio post-production facilities until early 2017 but the primary focus of the company then moved to digital cinema and as of January 2018, the company's Qube digital cinema systems were installed in about 3760 screens in India.[1] In 2017, the company was renamed to Qube Cinema Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and in November 2017, it announced the signing of a definitive agreement to merge with UFO Moviez Ltd.[2] but after significant procedural roadblocks in the process at the NCLT Mumbai, the merger was called off in early 2019.[3]

The first technology the company brought to India was computer-based non-linear editing with the Media Composer editing system from Avid Technology in 1993.[4] Subsequently, the company brought digital cinema sound to India in a partnership with DTS in 1995.[4]

In 2005, the company launched its own digital cinema system under the brand name Qube.[5] Qube Cinema, Inc. was set up in the US as a subsidiary of Real Image Media Technologies and markets the digital cinema technology of the parent company worldwide.[6]

Qube Cinema was originally founded by Jayendra Panchapakesan and Senthil Kumar to sell and support technology products for the broadcast and cinema industries in India.[7] Qube Cinema has 7 offices across India and a subsidiary in Los Angeles, Qube Cinema, Inc. The Qube product line is established globally, with about 7,000 installations across 48 countries so far and has digital cinema operations in 4,000 cinema screens across India. In August 2011, Qube provided servers and technical support for the fourth year to the Venice Film Festival.[8]

In March 2011, Qube introduced a 4K integrated media block (IMB) that is Ethernet-based, allowing exhibitors to have their storage servers within or outside of their theater.[9] It allows for central storage in multiplex theatres and is designed to work with any digital projection system that supports an IMB. In September 2011, Qube introduced QubeMaster Xpress 2, for digital cinema mastering.[10]

Starting in 2012, Qube Cinema began installing its d-cinema servers and IMBs in Giant Screen theatres. In January 2012, Qube held the first public demonstration of 4K 3D streaming from a single server when they installed a d-cinema system at the Moody Gardens MG 3D Theater in Galveston, Texas.[11][12][13] The transition of the Moody Gardens theater from 70 mm film to digital 3D used a Barco NV projector and Qube XP-I server and Xi IMBs. This installation was followed, in March 2012, by one at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which became the first commercial installation of the Qube Cinema single-server 4K 3D system when it upgraded the museum's Giant Screen Theatre from 70 mm film to digital cinema.[14] And, in October, Qube Cinema partnered with Global Immersion to install its d-cinema system at the Giant Screen theatre of the Peoria Riverfront Museum.[15] In May 2012, Qube introduced server software capable of synchronizing multiple IMBs, making 4K 3D projection possible for theatre owners.[16] In August 2013, Qube partnered with D3D Cinema to install its single-server True 4K 3D system at the newly renovated Air Force Museum Theater at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.[17] In January 2014, Qube Cinema released software updates that added support for Dolby Atmos surround sound [18] as well as Barco Auro 11.1 sound[19] to its flagship XP-I and XP-D servers.

In November 2014, the company was listed by iSPIRIT (Indian Software Product Industry Roundtable), a non-profit think tank, in its top 30 index of Indian software product companies.[20]

Apart from providing digital cinema in India and selling the Qube digital cinema technology worldwide, the company also masters Indian feature films into the digital cinema format.[21]

Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel Corporation,[22] Nomura, the Japanese bank,[23] and StreetEdge Capital, a U.S. based investment partnership, are investors in Qube Cinema Technologies.

Products

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EPIQ

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EPIQ, launched in 2019, is a premium large-screen format that competes with IMAX. The screen has an aspect ratio of 1.89. The system uses Barco RGB laser projection.[24] The first EPIQ screen was launched on 29 August 2019 at the V EPIQ Theatre at Sullurpet, Andhra Pradesh, India.[25] The second EPIQ screen in India was launched in July 2023 in Broadway Cinema, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Qube Indian Theatre List". Qube Cinema. January 2018.
  2. ^ "PE-backed UFO Moviez, Qube Cinema to merge". VC Circle. 2 November 2017.
  3. ^ Laghate, Gaurav; Das, Saikat (17 February 2019). "UFO Moviez, Qube Cinema merger hits NCLT roadblock". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  4. ^ a b Menon, Jaya (19 September 2005). "Cinema of the future is here, now". Indian Express. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  5. ^ Real Image Media Technologies Unveils Digital Cinema - Screen
  6. ^ When Every Show Feels Like a Premiere - Span Magazine Archived 2011-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ When Every Show Feels Like a Premiere - "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Qube Cinema Serving the Venice Film Festival - http://www.live-production.tv/news/cultural-events/qube-cinema-serving-venice-film-festival%C2%A0.html
  9. ^ Dager, Nick (13 April 2011). "Getting Down to Business: CinemaCon 2011". Digital Cinema Report. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  10. ^ Debra Kaufman, Creative Cow - http://magazine.creativecow.net/article/qube-cinema-showcases-digital-cinema-products-at-ibc
  11. ^ "Laser Focus", by Andreas Fuchs in Film Journal International - http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/content_display/news-and-features/features/technology/e3i7cfb89cd186864c3e7d84318f2b402f9
  12. ^ Caranicas, Peter (24 January 2012). "Tech news and notes". Variety. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Biz wide-eyed over narrowcasting". Variety. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  14. ^ Qube Cinema Delivers 4K 3D from a Single Server - "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ CreativeCOW
  16. ^ Qube Cinema Demos Multi-IMB Synchronization - [1]
  17. ^ Qube Cinema True 4K 3D System Installed for Giant Screen at Air Force Museum Theater - http://news.creativecow.net/story/872234
  18. ^ Qube Cinema Servers to Add Dolby Atmos Support - http://www.btlnews.com/news/qube-cinema-servers-to-add-dolby-atmos-support/
  19. ^ Qube Cinema Adds Support for Auro 11.1 by Barco Sound System - http://www.broadcastbeat.com/index.php/qube-cinema-adds-support-auro-11-1-barco-sound-system/
  20. ^ Top 30 Indian B2B software product companies with total market cap over $6 billion
  21. ^ Growth in India’s Digital Cinema Industry – Part 2
  22. ^ Intel arm buys stake in Chennai’s Real Image - The Economic Times
  23. ^ Real Image sees funds from Nomura - Variety
  24. ^ "Products: EPIQ". Qube Cinema Technologies. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  25. ^ "Chennai company comes up with large-screen format to rival IMAX". The Times of India. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  26. ^ Gowtham, G (7 July 2023). "India's 2nd Largest Screen Opened in Tamil Nadu". India Herald. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
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