Grauman’s Chinese Pioneers New Format
TI Establishes First Commercial U.S. 2K

HOLLYWOOD – A December screening of Warner Bros.’ “The Last Samurai” at Graumans’ Chinese Theatre in Hollywood marked the first commercial use in the United States of a Texas Instruments’ 2K DLP system.

The 2K system, introduced at ShoWest ‘03, utilizes millions of microscopic, hinge-mounted mirrors, in rows of 2,048 horizontally and 1,080 vertically. DLP’s 1.3K systems have already been installed at dozens of cinemas worldwide.

The 2K Christie projector using the TI tech was purchased for the cinema by TI, said Christie Digital Systems public relations representative Mario Almonte.

Almonte said TI is “trying to show people how it works in the real world,” noting also that USC’s Entertainment Technology Center accepted a similar device about a month earlier.

According to Digital Cinema Magazine, 2K projectors have also been installed in Taiwan and Thailand, with multiple installations set for early 2004 in Singapore, China and Belgium.