IMAX and DTS have announced a new partnership with the launch of the IMAX Enhanced program for home entertainment. The new certification and licensing program combines the highest-end consumer electronics products with IMAX digitally re-mastered 4K HDR content and DTS audio technologies to offer consumers a new level of quality in immersive sight and sound experiences for the home.
The companies also announced launch partners for the initiative include Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Sound United brands Denon and Marantz.
IMAX and DTS say they developed the program out of their decades of combined expertise in image and sound science to make it easier for consumers to select the products and content that will deliver the highest quality, sharpest 4K HDR images and powerful, immersive sound at home.
Few details were unveiled in the announcement of the program, but the companies are designing an 'IMAX Mode' for the enhanced devices that will be “meticulously optimized to play digitally re-mastered content as the filmmaker intended in the home,” according to the announcement.
Consumers can access content from Hollywood studios as well as select IMAX documentaries through its IMAX Home Entertainment division.
The company will also work with its global studio and other content partners to make available a steady stream of enhanced versions of blockbuster movies and additional programming.
“While the IMAX theatrical experience continues to be the gold standard in blockbuster movie-going, today we are launching an exciting new program that applies components of IMAX’s and DTS’ technology and expertise to deliver consumers a level of quality never before experienced at home,” says IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond.
“This is a natural extension of our core business in experiential entertainment. By partnering with a well-established consumer electronics licensing leader, we can leverage both our brand and key technology innovations through DTS’ global licensing platform, without having to make the direct investments often necessary to build a new revenue stream,” Gelfond says.
“DTS will build that new business and we will share in the benefits from the program. We’re encouraged by the strong interest from our launch partner companies and look forward to working with DTS to grow the program further over time.”
The announcement did not mention any tie-in with IMAX's previous home theater endeavor, the IMAX Private Theatre, that began rolling out from select integrators five years ago.
Products Must Meet Certification Committee Standards
“DTS has a rich history in delivering premium entertainment experiences to the theater and at home, and the IMAX Enhanced program is an exciting opportunity to stay at the forefront of home entertainment,” says Jon Kirchner, CEO of DTS' parent Xperi.
“Through the combined engineering and licensing efforts of the DTS and IMAX teams, as well as support from a number of the world’s leading device and content partners, the IMAX Enhanced program will bring a completely new, enhanced experience to the home while also supporting the continued penetration of DTS decoders, bringing premium sound to consumers’ devices.”
To be accepted into the program, consumer electronics manufacturers must design 4K HDR televisions, A/V receivers, sound systems and other home theater equipment to meet a carefully prescribed set of the highest audio and video performance standards, set by a certification committee of IMAX and DTS engineers and Hollywood’s leading technical specialists.
The program will use the newest, proprietary post-production process developed by IMAX to digitally re-master content to produce more vibrant colors, greater contrast and sharper clarity.
The companies will also partner with award-winning Hollywood sound mixers to use a special variant of its DTS:X codec technology integrated in home audio equipment to deliver an IMAX signature sound experience.
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