Web development and digital cinema were center stage at ShowEast International Day. An interested, but restrained audience of exhibitors from around the world gathered in the grand ballroom at the Orlando World Center Marriott, International Day, October 15, 2007, to hear speakers address the latest developments in the rollout of digital cinema.

Some of the issues that keep the North American adoption of digital cinema in first gear are also present in the exhibition community in foreign countries. Still, providers of digital solutions are finding a robust interest in their products and services, particularly in parts of Europe.

At the opening of the annual exhibitor gathering in Florida, Doremi Cinema announced its DCP-2000 cinema server is now in 4,000 installations worldwide. The U.S. company, with offices in France and Japan, sited the server’s reliability as a key factor in making the unit the leading server overseas with over 11,000 units installed worldwide. The DCP-2000 is used in post-production houses and broadcast applications, in addition to digital theaters.

Rajesh Ramachandran, President of Qube Cinema, was also in attendance. His company sponsored the opening breakfast event. Prior to the opening of the ShowEast International Day, Qube announced an aggressive sales effort in Europe and elsewhere was paying dividends for the company.

An extensive Web 2.0 development effort was highlighted by Cinépolis, the operating arm of Mexico-based Organization Ramirez Cinema. They are the largest exhibitor in Latin America with nearly 800 theaters. Cinepolis’ web effort - Cineticket.com.mx - is an impressive online ticketing site.

The company’s effort, while it easily competes favorably on a design and technology level with the best North American offerings, is hampered by economic and cultural biases of South America. Low credit card penetration and slower technology adoption in Mexico and other markets served by Cinépolis have resulted in less than two percent of the audience purchasing tickets online.

In one particularly innovative technology twist, Cinépolis shared photos of its cell phone barcode system that enables audience members to purchase tickets online then send a barcode to their cell phone. Once they arrive at the theater, the bar code on the screen of the cell phone is scanned by theater staff, just as they would with a printed ticket.

Fox Interactive presented details of their Web 2.0 effort in Latin America. Branded as Bloggerscut, the online effort in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, gives local bloggers early access to movie content. These bloggers, of course, share this content with their audiences. Fox carries this concept a bit further by inviting these bloggers to contribute their suggestions to the development of various projects.

Early returns indicate that Bloggerscut.com is a success, generating two to five million page views for projects such as the Simpsons and Fantastic Four.