Real Image was among the first to initiate a transition to new technologies and processes when India’s film industry still relied on traditional methods. A strategic partnership with Avid Technology – which had recently introduced Media Composer, a computer-based non-linear editing system – led to the company being the first to introduce the technique to India’s film fraternity. It also trained editors and helped modify workflows to enable the use of non-linear editing. This was a key change in the Indian film industry, allowing for more spontaneity and creativity in the post production process, and dramatically enhancing the quality of the edit.
The company’s next advance came in 1995, when it allied itself with Digital Theater Systems (DTS), then a small US company that had created a digital sound format that competed with the established audio experts, Dolby; DTS handed over the reins of the Indian market to Real Image, while it focused on the American and European markets. Indian cinema persisted with outdated technology like mono sound, and was reeling under competition from numerous tech-savvy satellite television channels that had mushroomed in the country, keeping audiences at home. The switch to DTS sound helped revive the movie market, and Real Image’s offerings took the spotlight. The company’s experience in film, audio, video and computer technology and its familiarity with production, post-production and exhibition enabled the launch of its own digital cinema system in 2001, Qube Cinema.
The Qube system leverages the developments in the computer industry to bring cinemas a cost-effective, professional product that combines flexibility, security and ease-of-use. It marked the foray of the company into international markets, and is now a full-fledged subsidiary of Real Image. Qube Cinema now wholly represents Real Image in the digital cinema business in Hollywood and Europe, offering flexible end-to-end solutions. Its innovative products and technology have brought some of the biggest names in the movie business worldwide into its fold, including Odeon/UCI Cinemas, IMAX, ARRI, Technicolor, Sony and Dreamworks. Closer home, Qube is a part of the digital strategy of almost all the multiplex chains and theatrical consolidators in India, apart from hundreds of independent cinemas.