Kabali's unprecedented world release was made possible by this Chennai film-tech company Published on Fri, 2016-07-29 02:00
Qube Cinema helped release Kabali in 3500 screens across the globe
TheNewsMinute.com Wednesday, July 27, 2016
That's the best thing about movies, says Senthil Kumar, co-founder of Qube Cinema, that you watch them but don't have to bother about the kind of technology which goes into it.
Senthil, however, has to bother about it, for his Chennai-based company has spearheaded the revolution in film production and distribution technology not just in India, but also the world. And with the success of Kabali, which was released on a massive scale across the globe with the help of a new distribution platform created by Qube, the company is now reaching new frontiers.
Gone are the days of the film-reels and huge screen projectors, it is all digital now. But even digital technologies have come a long way.
Qube is the only company in India, which has created digital cinema technologies and among the four or five in the world, says Senthil. And they did it for Kabali with a new innovation called Qube Wire, and on an unprecedented scale.
So how are films distributed in the 21st century?
Any film, after it has been edited to a particular story line and has been audio-mixed, is still raw'.
This raw' film could hold anywhere between 4 to 12 terabytes of data, for an average Indian film, and isn't yet ready to be displayed on the cinema screens. It has to be mastered' and compressed'.
The mastering process includes, for instance, making the audio of the movie customized for a cinema hall with a surround system.
The compression, of course, would be to reduce the size of the movie so it occupies the least digital space. After compression, a movie usually comes down to about 250 to 300 GBs.
This compressed, mastered and encrypted movie is called a Digital Cinema Package (DCP).
This DCP is now put in a physical hard-drive and sent to cinema theaters across the world. Movies are also transferred through satellite and high bandwidth data lines.
Now, that's not all.
The DCP's are protected by a key', which is like a password specific to each version of a movie and the digital cinema player in each theatre. Only if you have the key, will the movie play out. And the key will have an expiry date too. So after cineplexes get the hard-drive with the movie, they get a key, usually on email, which they have to enter to play the movie. The movie industry refers to these keys as Key Delivery Messages (KDMs).
Using Qube Wire, you don't have to send emails and track key distribution manually. We created a dashboard of sorts, and the system takes care of everything, you just have to enter the name of the cinema theatre you want to give a key to, says Senthil, adding that this has never been done before.
Soon, using Qube Wire, producers will also be able to transfer the movie online, instead of sending it across on physical hard-drives or via satellite.
We handled the entire overseas distribution of Kabali, and took it to 3500 screens in the world including India. In many countries, you need multiple keys for cineplexes, so we generated and distributed about 18,000 keys, adds Senthil.
The technology doesn't just make it an easier process, but also reduces costs, says Senthil.
They have filed for patents in India, US and Europe, and other patent-pending features include the ability to assign movie rights to specific territories too that is, a particular key would work only in a cinema theater in Chennai, not in Mumbai.
Kabali producer, Kalaipuli S Thanu, is evidently impressed. I was amazed at the ease of use of Qube Wire and how well it has handled the scale of this movie's release, he says, adding that it was a revolutionary product.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Kabali's unprecedented world release was made possible by this Chennai film-tech company Published on Fri, 2016-07-29 02:00
