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Spotlight: Prince Concert Distributed In HDTV

By Staff Writer | April 5, 2004

      Opening night of a recent Prince concert was turned into a major digital cinema event via satellite with the use of a new high-definition television (HDTV) encoder.

      The Tandberg Television [TAT] E5788 HD encoder was used by Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Coastal Satellite, an uplink-services provider, to deliver the concert to 43 theatres nationwide to help kick off the release of the musician Prince’s new album, “Musicology.” The concert was delivered “live” last Monday to selected theaters operated by Regal Entertainment Group, the world’s largest movie theater chain.

      The concert from Los Angeles’ Staples Center arena was sent via satellite from Coastal’s Truck 1 to the theaters, where ticket holders enjoyed a large-screen HDTV concert from their own communities. The “one night only” event also featured use of the Tandberg Television TT1280 professional HD receiver, scheduled for unveiling at April’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference.

      Bob Adler, the owner of Coastal Satellite, said he believed digital cinema and HD productions, including both network and closed-circuit sporting events, would become a large market for his company.

      The delivery of live events and concerts to cinemas via satellite is a growing entertainment trend, said Eric Cooney, U.K.-based Tandberg’s president and CEO. Tandberg creates products and systems for the delivery of live video and on-demand content across cable, DSL, fiber, IP, satellite and terrestrial networks. The company also provides systems integration and global support capabilities through its sales and 24-hour support operations in the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe.

      –Paul Dykewicz

      (Lisa Hobbs, Tandberg Television, 407/736-8462)