Hollywood, January 9, 2002—At a panel discussion January 9th at the ITEA conference in Los Angeles, several major studios expressed strong support for the planned changeover of 35 mm analog soundtracks to the new non-silvered cyan dye format.

In opening remarks, Ioan Allen of Dolby Laboratories, who moderated the session, summarized the benefits of the cyan dye track – for the environment, the laboratory, and the theatre. He announced that 55 percent of US screens are now equipped with red light analog readers, essential for playback of cyan dye tracks. The purpose of this panel discussion was to find out how the conversion of the remaining screens could be expedited.

Alan Masson of Eastman Kodak highlighted the environmental benefits of conversion to the dye soundtrack. "In one year," he said, "this would stop use of 1.25 million pounds of hazardous chemicals, and save 20 million gallons of water. This would be enough drinking water to support a community of 75,000 people."

Jeff Miller from Disney expressed support for the program, reminding the audience of previous environmental efforts his company had been involved in. "As soon as the theatres have converted, Disney will issue 100 percent dye track analog releases." He asked NATO and ITEA to maximize efforts in persuading the remaining screens to convert, pointing out that hardware costs could be as little as $500 per screen.

Bruce Markoe from MGM and Schawn Belston from Fox, both sitting on the panel, endorsed the same position. Allen then read statements from Warner Brothers and Miramax. Warner Brothers said that they would progress to cyan as soon as enough theatres were equipped, and pointed out that they were the first company to adopt the interim high-magenta format.

The Miramax statement confirmed their strong support for the program—they had released two titles with a limited number of cyan dye-track prints – Get Over It and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. In both cases the prints had played perfectly on red light readers, with no problems in the laboratory or in the theatre. Their future support in spreading their views would include putting fliers in shipping cases, announcing the forthcoming adoption of a 100 percent cyan release program. Miramax felt that the program could be completed by the end of 2002.

Mary Ann Grasso, Vice-President and Executive Director of NATO, confirmed the organization's wholehearted support for the conversion, noting that information regarding studio support of the changeover, along with conversion dates and information about the red light readers needed for this process, would be widely disseminated to the NATO membership.