KENNESAW, GA, (July 19, 2000) - Digital Projection, Inc. (DPI) – a wholly owned subsidiary of Imax Corporation (Nasdaq:IMAX; TSE:IMX) –  today announced several of its ultra-bright LIGHTNING 15sx digital projectors will be used as the exclusive on-set display technology for NBC's Olympic 2000 studios in Sydney, Australia.

According to Jeremy Conway, NBC's production designer, whose renowned credits include the Today Show and MTV, two newly constructed studios will utilize the projectors as primary visual elements during the televised broadcasts that will air on NBC September 15 through October 1. “Both studios are designed to support over 400 hours of broadcasting to 200 million USA viewers during the games period,” said Conway.  “With this in mind, the most important design criteria is to be able to introduce a number of different looks in the studio throughout the broadcast.  One of the visual solutions director Bucky Gunts and our design team is employing is the creative use of projection elements in all studios.  They are able to successfully overcome a number of technical obstacles with the high output Digital Projection LIGHTNING 15sx's.”

The distinctive projection design elements include a 15-ft. (high) x 22-ft. (diameter) “cylindrical” shaped screen in Studio 1 with a LIGHTNING 15sx projecting directly over the anchor desk.  Studio 2 will feature an irregularly shaped screen 24-ft. wide x 12-ft. high in an “abstract design that allows a number of lighting and projection looks.”

Digital Projection's 12,000 ANSI lumen, SXGA LIGHTNING 15sx's will be displaying video, graphics, satellite and edited elements from NBC's on-site control room. The SXGA (1280 x 1024 native resolution) imaging platform represents the most advanced “off the shelf” DLPä technology by Texas Instruments.

“After researching the projection market, DPI's projectors were chosen to be used in the NBC Olympic studios in Sydney due to the outstanding clarity of image and support-based options available to the design team,” added Conway.  “The LIGHTNING 15sx projectors represent the leap in technology to create sharp images in the studios.  The compact design and impressive output allows us more flexibility in studio lighting and, therefore, camera technique.”

 Mike Levi, president of Digital Projection, Inc., added, “The Olympics represent the pinnacle of televised sports entertainment.  Understandably, tremendous technical and artistic effort goes into the design of the NBC broadcast anchor sets.  The intense demands of live set lighting and ‘on camera' color matching make Digital Projection's Emmy© award-winning LIGHTNING Displays the perfect complement to NBC's brilliant Olympic sets.  We are, of course, thrilled to have been selected by NBC as their exclusive projection supplier for the 2000 games.”

Digital Projection is the only projector manufacturer to be honored with two Emmy© Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS©).

The company's POWER, LIGHTNING and HIGHlite Displays are currently installed at the studios of NBC's Nightly News, Dateline, Later Today, ABC's World News Tonight, CNBC, America's Funniest Home Videos and New Hollywood Squares.

NBC Design Team
Director: Bucky Gunts
Production Designer: Jeremy Conway
Art Director: Kim Jennings
Staging Supplier: Performance AV, Lanham, MD

Emmy is a registered trademark of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
DLP is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments.

About Digital Projection International

Founded in 1989, Digital Projection International (DPI) has been instrumental in the development and application of Digital Light Processing™ technology by Texas Instruments for projection systems. DPI introduced the world’s first 3-chip DLP™ projector in 1997, and has since delivered expert system engineering and world-class customer services, thus maintaining its position as a digital imaging pioneer.