Kodak Will Continue Supplying Film Stock to Hollywood Studios

Kodak announced yesterday that it has secured new supply agreements with the six major Hollywood studios to continue providing motion picture film. Following discussions with production companies, the studios, and film processors — in addition to the lobbying efforts of prominent filmmakers including Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino — Kodak will now continue to supply film stock to 20th Century Fox, Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros. Entertainment. Continue reading Kodak Will Continue Supplying Film Stock to Hollywood Studios

Kodak Exec Unveils Plans to Keep Film Product in Hollywood

Kodak emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week and has a plan to keep its product in Hollywood, despite a market that favors digital imaging. While more than 75 percent of the world’s cinema screens currently support digital projection, Kodak has commitments to provide film to the major studios for production needs and distribution, deals that run through 2014 or 2015 (depending on the studio). Filmmakers such as J.J. Abrams and Christopher Nolan are using celluloid for their movie projects. Continue reading Kodak Exec Unveils Plans to Keep Film Product in Hollywood

First Commercial Installation of Laser Projector Scheduled

The first commercial installation of a laser movie projector is scheduled for early next year at Seattle Cinerama, a theater owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The theater will be the first to acquire Christie Digital’s laser projector, as the technology has just been approved by the FDA. While laser projectors are more expensive than current systems, they are expected to improve 3D projection and eliminate the need to replace bulbs and cool projection booths. Continue reading First Commercial Installation of Laser Projector Scheduled

DOTS Technology Could Solve Hollywood Archiving Challenges

Digital Optical Tape System (DOTS) could be the answer to the film industry’s digital archiving problem. Group 47, a startup of several Hollywood technology veterans, is getting ready to build an engineering model, and hopes to have the technology available in the next 18 months. The company proposes DOTS as a robust, secure, inexpensive digital archiving format that could last more than 100 years. The plan is to further develop the technology and license it to manufacturers.  Continue reading DOTS Technology Could Solve Hollywood Archiving Challenges

Distribution of Film Prints May Soon End in North America

The end of celluloid film distribution in North America may come as soon as the end of this year, as the transition from film to digital continues. Michael Karagosian, president of MKPE Consulting, said that by the end of last year, 75 percent of worldwide cinema screens had already made the digital transition. This is expected to be an important topic this week at the annual CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas. Continue reading Distribution of Film Prints May Soon End in North America

Kodak to Sell Scanning Business to Brother for $210 Million

Eastman Kodak announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement with Brother Industries for the proposed sale of its Document Imaging business. The deal includes a cash purchase price of approximately $210 million and about $67 million in deferred service revenue liability. If a better deal is not offered by another company, Brother will likely take control of Kodak’s scanning hardware and software products. Continue reading Kodak to Sell Scanning Business to Brother for $210 Million

Kodak Sells 1,100 Digital Camera Patents to Group of Tech Giants

Eastman Kodak announced on Wednesday that a group of leading tech firms has teamed together to acquire 1,100 digital imaging and processing patents from the company for $525 million. “Once a thriving camera and photo company, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 in early 2012, hoping to restructure,” reports Wired. “Intellectual property aggregators Intellectual Ventures and RPX organized a consortium of 12 tech companies — Adobe, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Fujifilm, Google, HTC, Huawei, Microsoft, RIM, Samsung and Shutterfly — to make the purchase.” Continue reading Kodak Sells 1,100 Digital Camera Patents to Group of Tech Giants

Cisco Pulls the Plug on Flip Camcorder Division

Wired comments on the demise of the Flip camcorder and questions what could have been done to possibly revive Cisco’s $590 million investment in the no-frills digital video camera (Cisco purchased Flip-maker Pure Digital in March 2009). Wired reports that in the wake of company earnings falling 18 percent in the second quarter of 2011, Cisco will pull the plug on Flip.

In related news, The Wall Street Journal reports Cisco CEO John Chambers has announced a strategic shift at the company that will involve stepping away from consumer-targeted brands and returning to a focus on corporate customers and service providers.

Flip cameras were all the rage in their heyday and spawned a number of similar products from the likes of Kodak and Sony geared toward consumers who wanted to shoot simple video and easily upload clips to the Internet. An unanticipated result of the camera’s portability and durability included uses such as capturing extreme sports footage and gathering b-roll for broadcast news. Affordable mounts for helmets and motorcycles soon emerged, as well as waterproof casings for recording underwater footage, increasing the line’s popularity. So what happened?

Wired suggests that once iPhones and Android phones started offering improved camera capabilities, including HD video recording, the Flip cameras started down a path of redundancy. Second, came the shift to real-time social networking — and without an Internet connection, Flip had trouble competing with other connected portable devices. Consumers began to expect immediacy in terms of media interaction and the ability to post their own content on-the-go.

A Wi-Fi or 3G connection may have been the first step in keeping the Flip alive, but in today’s market it would probably also need a touchscreen with apps to compete.

Related Story: David Pogue offers a different take on the camera line — “The Tragic Death of the Flip” (4/14/11)

UPDATE: Related press release — “Cisco Announces Streamlined Operating Model” (5/5/11)