NEW YORK & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) and audio leader DTS®, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xperi Corporation (Nasdaq: XPER), today announced a significant expansion of the IMAX® Enhanced ecosystem spanning new streaming platforms, blockbuster movies, and device partners throughout the United States, Europe, and China. Launched a year ago today, IMAX Enhanced is a premier, immersive at-home entertainment experience — combining exclusive, digitally remastered 4K HDR content with high-end consumer electronics to offer a new level of sight, sound, and scale.
Today’s announcements include:
- New Streaming Platforms: As IMAX Enhanced continues to expand across platforms, FandangoNOW is expected to begin streaming IMAX Enhanced content in the U.S. in September 2019, while Rakuten TV will follow with increased content ready for streaming to European markets over the coming months. FandangoNOW and Rakuten TV meet the high standard for 4K HDR streaming for IMAX Enhanced to certified devices across the ecosystem.
- New Blockbuster Movies: “Bumblebee” will be Paramount Pictures’ first addition to the expanding collection of IMAX Enhanced titles for streaming platforms, followed by “Crawl,” “Pet Sematary” (2019), and “Rocketman,” all of which will include IMAX signature sound. Additionally, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (which includes 45 minutes of IMAX’s exclusive expanded aspect ratio), “The Angry Birds Movie 2,” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” join the list of top titles for IMAX Enhanced. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment also will release a series of new titles on IMAX Enhanced physical 4K Ultra HD disc, beginning with “The Angry Birds Movie 2.” This is in addition to IMAX Entertainment’s release of “Space Station” on IMAX Enhanced UHD Blu-ray in July 2019, which is available for purchase through Amazon and other major retailers. Through its expanding and committed studio relationships, IMAX Enhanced plans to add an ever-increasing number of blockbuster titles to deliver uniquely differentiated content in 2019 and beyond.
- New Device Partners: Anthem and StormAudio joined IMAX Enhanced’s growing roster of 14 device partners across A/V receivers and televisions. Additionally, IMAX Enhanced has certified select Sony BRAVIA TVs in targeted European territories, as well as TCL’s all-new X10 TV in China. IMAX Enhanced device partners also include Arcam, AudioControl, Denon, Elite, Integra, Lexicon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, Sony Corporation, TCL, and Trinnov — all of which have met performance requirements set by IMAX, DTS, and leading technical specialists throughout Hollywood.
“IMAX Enhanced continues to build on its growing momentum, as new companies throughout the ecosystem seek to offer their consumers the most immersive at-home entertainment experience in the world,” said Francisco Navarro-Sertich, senior vice president of strategy at IMAX Corporation and global head of IMAX Enhanced. “By bringing together two pioneering entertainment technology companies in IMAX and DTS, IMAX Enhanced is pushing boundaries and fundamentally changing what consumers expect and demand from home entertainment.”
“The IMAX Enhanced ecosystem continues to accelerate as IMAX and DTS work together to add high-caliber collaborations from across the studio, streaming, and device landscape,” said Geir Skaaden, Xperi executive vice president and chief products and services officer. “By delivering truly immersive content to premium devices, we expect the unique and compelling value proposition of IMAX Enhanced to drive further program acceleration and expansion into additional growth markets around the globe.”
About IMAX Enhanced
IMAX Enhanced brings the world’s most immersive entertainment experience into the home. Combining exclusive, digitally remastered 4K HDR content and DTS audio technologies with the highest-end consumer electronics products, IMAX Enhanced offers consumers a new level of immersive sight, sound and scale. Premium televisions, projectors, and A/V receivers form an ever-expanding line-up of IMAX device partners. Participating studios include Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.
IMAX Enhanced uses the newest, proprietary digital remastering technology developed by IMAX to deliver ultra-vivid 4K HDR picture with more vibrant colors. Select IMAX Enhanced content features its signature expanded aspect ratio—enabling viewers the full scope and scale of the picture. IMAX and DTS have also partnered with award-winning Hollywood sound mixers to use a special variant of the DTS:X codec technology integrated in home audio equipment to deliver an IMAX signature sound experience with more immersive, powerful sound. To ensure optimized playback of fully immersive IMAX Enhanced content, the two companies are designing an IMAX Mode—meticulously calibrated to deliver the best viewing and listening experience in the home.
For more information about IMAX Enhanced, please visit www.IMAXenhanced.com.
About IMAX Corporation
IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture, and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you have never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theaters to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe. IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with additional offices in London, Dublin, Tokyo, and Shanghai. As of June 30, 2019, there were 1,541 IMAX theater systems (1,445 commercial multiplexes, 15 commercial destinations, 81 institutional) operating in 81 countries. On Oct. 8, 2015, shares of IMAX China, a subsidiary of IMAX Corp., began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "HK.1970." More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).
IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience®, IMAX Is Believing® and IMAX nXos® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation.
About Xperi Corporation
Xperi Corporation (Nasdaq: XPER) and its brands, DTS, FotoNation, HD Radio, Invensas, and Tessera, are dedicated to creating innovative technology solutions that enable extraordinary experiences for people around the world. Xperi’s solutions are licensed by hundreds of leading global partners and have shipped in billions of products in areas including premium audio, broadcast, automotive, computational imaging, computer vision, mobile computing and communications, memory, data storage, and 3D semiconductor interconnect and packaging. For more information, please call 408-321-6000 or visit www.xperi.com.
Xperi, DTS, Invensas, FotoNation, Tessera and their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of affiliated companies of Xperi Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other Company, brand, and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those projected, particularly with respect to the IMAX and DTS partnership and the expected features, benefits, characteristics and launch of IMAX Enhanced titles and partnerships. Material factors that may cause results to differ from the statements made include the plans or operations relating to the businesses of Xperi; market or industry conditions; changes in patent laws, regulation or enforcement, or other factors that might affect Xperi's ability to protect or realize the value of its intellectual property; the expiration of license agreements and the cessation of related royalty income; the failure, inability or refusal of licensees to pay royalties; initiation, delays, setbacks or losses relating to Xperi's intellectual property or intellectual property litigations, or invalidation or limitation of key patents; fluctuations in operating results due to the timing of new license agreements and royalties, or due to legal costs; the risk of a decline in demand for semiconductors and products utilizing our audio and imaging technologies; failure by the industry to use technologies covered by Xperi's patents; the expiration of Xperi's patents; Xperi's ability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions of businesses; the risk of loss of, or decreases in production orders from, customers of acquired businesses; financial and regulatory risks associated with the international nature of Xperi's businesses; failure of Xperi's products to achieve technological feasibility or profitability; failure to successfully commercialize Xperi's products; changes in demand for the products of Xperi's customers; limited opportunities to license technologies due to high concentration in applicable markets for such technologies; the impact of competing technologies on the demand for Xperi's technologies; pricing trends, including Xperi's ability to achieve economies of scale; and other developments in the markets in which Xperi operates, as well as management's response to any of the aforementioned factors. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release.
The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the Risk Factors included in Xperi's recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other documents of Xperi on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Xperi's SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statements made or incorporated by reference herein are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by Xperi will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Xperi or its business or operations. Except to the extent required by applicable law, Xperi undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
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