Streaming Service Announcements 'Imminent' for Imax Enhanced, Says CEO

Imax is in discussions with key streaming services for introducing the Imax Enhanced solution it launched last year with DTS (see 1809040055), said CEO Richard Gelfond on a Q1 call. The companies cooperated on a certification and licensing program for home viewing of remastered content on high-end CE products (see 1901080039). Initial focus was on physical media, and the first Blu-ray titles, A Beautiful Planet and Journey to the South Pacific, released in December. At CES, DTS demonstrated Marvel's Spider-Man: Homecoming and Sony's Venom and Alpha on Blu-ray, and a spokesperson said the Sony titles would also be available for streaming. Also at CES, DTS, Imax Enhanced and MediaTek said they're collaborating on an SoC solution incorporating a streaming codec for 4K Imax Enhanced movies for delivery in second half. The DTS:X TV, designed for single- and dual-core TV SoC architectures, is backward-compatible with all DTS-encoded content such as DTS:X and DTS:HD Master Audio Blu-rays, they said. China-based Tencent Video, FandangoNow in the U.S. and Rakuten TV in Europe said they'll begin streaming Imax Enhanced content to certified devices this year, and Privilege 4K in the U.S. is due to begin streaming Imax Enhanced content to select Sony Bravia TVs this year. "Only digital retailers that meet the highest standards for 4K HDR streaming will be authorized to distribute Imax Enhanced content," said the companies. Though content companies' strategies for streaming services are "still developing" and are "relatively young" in development, "announcements are imminent," said Imax Entertainment President Megan Colligan on Friday's call.