DTS and LTC partner to provide digital subtitling and access technology for France and Belgium

DTS has reached a distribution and services agreement with France-based LTC to provide subtitling, captioning and audio description capabilities to exhibitors in France and Belgium.
In connection with this agreement, a small number of sites already have been installed with the XD10 Cinema Media Player in Belgium and more systems are in the process of being installed in France. The XD10 players are equipped with DTS-CSS functionality, which enables films to be presented with subtitling, captioning and audio description. ‘Films such as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King’, ‘Michel Vaillant’ and ‘Ghosts of the Abyss’ have already been released with DTS-CSS functionality. Over the coming months, LTC will work to significantly expand the number of screens that offer digital subtitling and access capability in these territories, as well as develop its service offerings for film distributors.
The agreement follows the demonstration of the DTS-CSS Cinema Subtitling System by LTC at last year’s Deauville Congress, which attracted considerable interest among exhibitors. At the time, Gerard Dassonville, commercial director of LTC, confirmed that the company was seeking to diversify with CSS. He said: “When DTS showed us the first video subtitling demonstration, we immediately saw the potential.”
Jean-Robert Gibard, CEO of LTC, said: “A European directive has been established to enable access for sight and hearing impaired in the cinema. Furthermore, certain exhibitors, for example those situated in winter sports resorts, would like to be able to project French films with English subtitles at certain showings for their English speaking audience. LTC has taken the commercialisation of the process upon itself, ensuring that the cost will be supported by other interventions rather than by the exhibitors alone.”
(GB)