Real Image Granted Key Patent in Digital Media and Advertising

Patent granted both in India and the United States

Chennai, September 17, 2008: Real Image Media Technologies (P) Ltd., a leading digital technology provider in the film, video and audio industries, is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued Patent 7,353,270 B2 for the company's Media and Advertisement Distribution and Tracking System. This patent, filed in the year 2001, covers the concept and technology of audio-visual playout devices that are installed at different places and media is downloaded from a central server and scheduled for playout as required. The Government of India issued Patent Nos. 202969 and 202980 for this system earlier.

This patented technology is a key part of Real Image’s Out-of-Home Digital advertising solutions that are marketed under the brand name, QMedia. The patented technology is already in use in nearly 300 movie theaters as QCine digital cinema advertising and over a hundred screens across shopping malls as QSign digital signage. QMedia effectively uses this technology for the central control of advertising with local control of feature film and other content through its media and advertisement distribution, tracking and operating system. The company already has some big brands in its fold like Nokia, Parley, Reliance, BPCL, Tata, Dabur, Cadburys, Colgate, etc. among others.

Speaking about the patent, Mr. Jayendra Panchapakesan, Director – Real Image said, “This is a significant patent for us as digital technology, both in cinema and signage, is spreading rapidly and several service providers will feel the need to use this technology, which offers tremendous benefits to advertisers and media buyers. This revolutionary technology makes advertising more customized and accountable now.”

Issued Patent Details

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)         Patent No. 7,353,270B2

Government of India - Patent Office                                    Patent Nos. 202969 and 202980

Conceptually, the patent covers all distributed media playout situations where the playout devices could be individually installed at geographically widespread locations, across countries and networked to a central server. The connectivity could be through wired lines, wireless connections, satellite or the Internet. All the content for playout, including advertisements are stored centrally in the central server and as per requirements, the advertisements are downloaded to individual media players and played out in the chosen locations as per a planned schedule. The central computer is capable of retrieving the data from the locations, thereby tracking and logging the advertisements, based on various parameters and criteria. The patent applies to most Out-of-Home advertising applications including signage, cinema halls, kiosks, etc. wherever advertising is distributed across multiple locations as files and centrally controlled with logs being collected and centrally consolidated.

About Real Image Media Technologies

Real Image Media Technologies is India’s leading provider of technology in the film, video and audio domains and has pioneered several technology revolutions over the last 20 years. Established in 1986, the company was instrumental in bringing computer-based digital non-linear editing to India with Avid Technology, transforming the industry and forever changing the way Indian film and television programs were edited. Real Image subsequently brought digital cinema sound to India with DTS and helped Indian cinema leapfrog a generation, form mono sound directly to digital. With its Qube Cinema end-to-end digital cinema product line, Real Image has made an impact worldwide with over 700 systems installed in 18 countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Asia. It is the only Indian company – and amongst a handful worldwide – with DCI compliant digital cinema technology. For further information on the Company, please visit www.realimage.com.

Posted on Wed, 09/17/2008 - 16:42