Qube Cinema announced the appointment of Lewis Thorne as their official Level 2 technical support specialist for Australia and New Zealand. Thorne brings many years of experience in the digital cinema industry to his new position, strengthening Qube’s presence in the region. Users of Qube Cinema’s digital cinema servers, Integrated Media Blocks (IMBs), and postproduction mastering and distribution products now have full local technical support.

Qube Cinema will provide its XP-I server and Xi 4K Integrated Media Block (IMB), with Quad 3G inputs, to Canon U.S.A., a leader in digital imaging solutions, for its 4K Digital Intermediate (DI) theater at NAB 2013. The 4K DI theater will demonstrate a seamless pipeline from reviewing uncompressed 4K image files from the Canon EOS C500 4K digital camera, through the Quantel Pablo Rio high-end color and finishing suite with new 4K output, to the Qube Xi 4K IMB and projected via Barco’s new DP4K-P postproduction projector.

Qube Cinema will present the new version of QubeMaster Xport at the National Association of Broadcasters trade show in Las Vegas, April 8-11. QubeMaster Xport 2.0 offers powerful multithreaded CPU optimization with Qube’s proven 64-bit encoding pipeline and support for SMPTE DCPs on the Mac OS X platform. With QubeMaster Xport 2.0, Apple Compressor users can now experience faster than real-time encoding of 2K DCPs and greatly accelerate the speed of 4K DCP mastering.

Qube Cinema will be demonstrating its system for integrated 4K DCP review and playback at the NAB Show in Las Vegas in April. The Qube XP-I server, Xi 4K Integrated Media Block (IMB) and the Quad 3G interface for digital cinema projectors allow integrated postproduction and digital cinema mastering workflows. Postproduction facilities with 4K DI suites are now able to use one projector setup for both HD-4K uncompressed color grading and 2K-4K digital cinema playback providing comprehensive review and quality control with this one Qube system.

Qube Cinema installed its single-server 4K 3D system at Moody Gardens in advance of the GSCA Film Expo and Digital Symposium happening now in Galveston, Texas. The single Qube XP-I server delivers 4K stereoscopic imagery to two Barco 4K projectors each with its own embedded Qube Xi 4K Integrated Media Block (IMB). Moody Gardens now joins the ranks of giant screen theaters in North America with 4K 3D capabilities, offering visitors stunning stereo digital imagery.

Qube Cinema continues to work with the Italian digital cinema service provider, Microcinema, to supply its D-cinema servers and Integrated Media Blocks (IMBs) to theaters throughout Italy. Since 2008, the partners have installed the Qube XP-D and XP-I servers in over 250 theaters. Due to this ongoing collaboration, cinema owners in Italy have equipment providing them with access to a wide array of digital content, including Microcinema’s vast library of movies, as well as live and recorded events.

Qube Cinema provided the High Frame Rate (HFR) server technology for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), on the Titan XC screen at the Reading Courtenay theater in Wellington, NZ on Nov. 28. The Qube equipment was also used for the London premiere at the Empire Leicester Square on Dec. 12. The Qube XP-I server was chosen to stream a high bit rate DCP at 48 fps stereoscopic 3D to two Qube Xi Integrated Media Blocks (IMBs). The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first film to be distributed at this new higher frame rate, among all of the standard formats.

Qube Cinema announced that its XP-I digital cinema server and Xi 4K Integrated Media Block (IMB) have passed the DCI Compliance Test Plan (CTP). The high performance, security and reliability of the XP-I and Xi IMB have been confirmed by these tests. This server-IMB combination accommodates 4K resolution and is the ultimate setup for high frame rate (HFR) exhibition, making it essential for today’s digital cinema.

Qube Cinema will introduce QubeTouch, a new graphical user interface (GUI) that works with all of its digital cinema servers, at ShowEast next week. QubeTouch is an interactive server interface that uses either a web-based or Android app. As a result, theatre managers and projectionists now have a reliable, intuitive and interactive way to monitor their shows.

Qube Cinema recently supplied its XP-I server and Xi 4K Integrated Media Blocks (IMBs) for Global Immersion’s first GSX giant flat screen theater installed at the Peoria Riverfront Museum (PRM) in Illinois. This 4K 3D system brings the world’s highest resolution digital giant screen display to the newly opened theater. This is the first installation of the 4K by 3K GSX giant screen cinema system, providing visitors to the museum with the immersive experience afforded by stunning 3D digital imagery.