The Entertainment Technology Center at
University of Southern California (ETC-USC) is moving its digital cinema
research and testing initiative, the Digital Cinema Lab (DCL), to
state-of-the-art facilities on the USC campus, it was announced today by Bob
Lambert, corporate senior VP, worldwide technology strategy, The Walt Disney
Company and current chair of the ETC-USC executive board. The DCL’s new home
is the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ (formerly School of Cinema-Television)
premier auditorium, the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre. The Lab will be housed
in Norris beginning late this fall, and will remain there until it
transitions with the School of Cinematic Arts to its new complex, which
opens in 2008.
“Over the past four years, the DCL has played a central role in the digital
cinema transition, enabling neutral evaluation of technologies and practices
and previewing the latest innovations,” said Lambert. “We will continue and
build on these activities at our new location, supported by even more
equipment and a dedicated staff.”

The Digital Cinema Lab at Norris Theatre will organize events that explore
key digital cinema issues and host visual analyses, equipment testing,
configuration and interoperability assessments, compliance reviews and more.
Clients will have access to the projectors, servers and other digital gear
previously housed at the Pacific Theater in Hollywood, along with additional
top-of-the-line equipment already at Norris. The Norris facility supports
Dolby and DTS and is THX certified.

The ETC-USC board is currently reviewing candidates to fill the executive
director’s chair vacated by Charles S. Swartz, who retired in July 2006.

About the Entertainment Technology Center at USC

The Entertainment Technology Center at University of Southern California
(ETC-USC) is a neutral, non-partisan research organization in the School of
Cinematic Arts that studies entertainment technology developments that are
critical to the creative community; production companies; content owners,
distributors and exhibitors; and technology companies. ETC-USC's sponsors
include USC-SCA; Hollywood’s major studios: Sony Pictures Entertainment,
Twentieth Century Fox, MGM, Universal Pictures, Viacom/Paramount Studios,
The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.; Lucasfilm; Cisco Systems; Deluxe
Laboratories; Laser Pacific Media Corporation, a Kodak company; Panasonic;
and Thomson. For more information, visit www.etcenter.org.