• A breakthrough for alternative content and event screenings as well as interactive pre-show advertisements
• Live cinema pilot reveals positive response by cinema goers to ‘life-like ambiance’
• LED light fixtures and large LED media panels provide palette of options for the cinema space

Las Vegas, USA – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), the global leader in lighting, the development of Philips LightVibes™, a lighting solution that creates immersive light shows in cinema theatres.

With cinema exhibitors needing to reach broader audiences while creating engaging entertainment experiences, Philips LightVibes helps them enhance, differentiate and repurpose their cinema spaces. This results in access to new revenue streams and better use of their assets, for example the ability to tap into the projected $1 billion by 2018 market[1] for alternative content. The solution enables this by creating life-like in-hall experiences for viewers of alternative content and event screenings – from live operas to rock concerts and sporting fixtures. For the artists and sports clubs, the ability to have their event screened simultaneously in thousands of theatres across the globe means they can reach more fans and grow their event revenues.

The solution also helps exhibitors make more money from on-screen advertising by creating dynamic and engaging pre-show theatre ambiances. With recent interactive advertisement concepts offering exhibitors a way to increase cinema advertising viewer recall, the LightVibes system enables them to offer advertisers an interactive connected platform. This allows for ‘second screen’ and completely new ‘third screen’ immersive advertising concepts, in addition to the benefits of traditional media screens.

“Just like the audience at a sell-out gig being immersed in the energy of the band’s live performance, Philips LightVibes brings the drama and emotion of a fantastic light show to the cinema theatre-setting, complementing the content on the silver screen,” said Ronald Maandonks, Business Development Director, at Philips Lighting.

Philips is announcing the development of LightVibes at the CinemaCon trade show, taking place in Las Vegas (24th-27th March 2014), following a successful pilot installation in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Initial consumer response has been very welcoming:

• 81% of viewers at a screening said that LightVibes had significantly improved their experience of a concert event in cinema
• On average those polled said they would be six times more likely to attend a concert in a cinema with LightVibes available
• If seeking out a concert screening in cinema, 65% of the viewers would prefer a cinema venue with LightVibes over a cinema without LightVibes
• 58% of viewers would be willing to pay €1 as a premium for attending content enhanced with LightVibes

“As our consumer research shows, the added life-like ambiance is the key missing ingredient for viewers of alternative content. LightVibes, with its dynamic lighting effects, can help create a more sensory overall experience for the audience,” continued Ronald Maandonks. “We think that it could have some very exciting implications for the movie industry as well, as LightVibes can amplify the ‘wow’ moment of special effects. We look forward to exploring the possibilities with the film industry.”

Notes to editors:

• With the transition to Digital Cinema, together with the integration of live broadcast reception, the cinema industry is now primed to create an entertainment paradigm shift for cinema goers and music fans world-wide
• It is already possible for cinema goers to be ‘present during a live concert taking place on the other side of the globe, irrespective of their own geographic location and with the comfort of their home town
• [1] According to Screendigest, by 2018 global box office takings for alternative content are forecasted to exceed $1 billion
• The Philips LightVibes solution consists of light fixtures running automatic and scripted light shows that provide a palette of options for the cinema space synchronized with the screen content. The system combines LED ceiling lighting, moving light spots, back lighting and low resolution large LED wall panels that can host dynamic media