World's Largest Video Calibration Rollout

August 19, 2009  -  For Immediate Release World's Largest Video Calibration Rollout (São Paulo, Brazil) When SKY Brazil rolled out high definition television across Brazil this week, it also offered subscribers the premium of having their HDTVs precision calibrated. Three U.S. companies worked together to provide the calibration tools and training in the largest rollout of video calibration services ever:  THX Ltd. a developer of audio visual technologies and certification programs, SpectralCal, a developer of home theatre calibration software, and X-Rite, the world leader in color management, measurement and communication technologies. THX Ltd., the entertainment technology company founded by filmmaker George Lucas, provided video calibration training to Sky Brazil’s team. THX is synonymous with the design and certification of world-class home audio and video products, and has partnered with major HDTV manufacturers to integrate THX display certification into the world’s highest rated plasmas, LCDs and projectors. The company’s professional calibration training has been hailed by critics as the most hands-on and in-depth in the world today. "THX is setting the world standard for video calibration training," explains Eduardo Belham, Service Innovation Director at SKY Brazil.   "We were extremely pleased to be able to get THX trainers in São Paulo to teach our teachers," Belham said.

A small software company named SpectraCal, based in Mukilteo, WA provided the software the calibrators will use. "SKY has a very demanding set of requirements, and no off-the-shelf software would do what they need," explained THX Director of Education John Dahl. SKY intends to train some 1,000 calibrators who have little previous technical experience.   Lengthy training sessions for each calibrator were out of the question.  So the software had to not only be very simple to operate, but also essentially take control of the task and lead the calibrator through the whole process. "We were highly impressed that SpectraCal was able to put together a custom version that did exactly what we needed so quickly," Belham said. The custom SKY THX software was based on SpectraCal's product CalMAN.  Introduced to the professional video calibration market less than a year ago, CalMAN quickly became the best selling product in the video calibration market. For the calibration program X-Rite, SpectraCal and THX, SKY will be deploying thousands of the award-winning i1Display2 systems from X-Rite, the world leader in color management, measurement and communication technologies. Designed to quickly and easily calibrate and profile all types of LCD and CRT monitors, i1Display2 delivers unparalleled professional calibration to obtain accurate color on every TV screen. "Our software works with essentially every color meter in the world, so we had a huge array of choices," explained SpectraCal's CEO Derek Smith.  "Only X-rite's i1Display2 offered accurate enough readings at the affordable price SKY needed," Smith said. X-Rite’s i1Display2 is sold both to consumers, and to professionals in industries where color is mission-critical for use in calibrating all types of monitors.  "But it has become our biggest seller for calibrating televisions," Smith said.   "We're thrilled to see our hardware recognized for its precision and selected for what is essentially the largest video calibration project in the world," said Dr. Iris Mangelschots, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at X-Rite. “We believe that video calibration is attractive throughout the customer base of high definition service because it offers tangible benefits such as improving the experience of watching TV, extending the useful life of equipment, and energy saving (for an LCD TV Video Calibration receiving on average 30% reduced their consumption of energy, which is R$80,00 per year savings). The viewer will have the best visual experience that can bring your TV and see the images exactly as created in the studio”, Belham said. Even in a time of global economic contraction, professional video calibration remains a rapidly expanding field. "Most consumers have no idea that their HDTV experience could be greatly improved by professional calibration," says THX's Dahl. But enough people are discovering the benefits every day to keep thousands of professional video calibrators increasingly busy, going from home to home, and business to business. "People think the main benefit will come from getting accurate colors," Smith says.  But he explains that video calibration can make details in the very dark or very light areas of the picture visible that could not be seen at all before. Several studies have been published recently that also show calibration can improve the energy efficiency of a video display and give the owner appreciable savings on an electric bill. About SKY SKY is the largest High Definition Pay TV operator in Latin America. Only SKY offers HD signals for the entire national territory. It has approximately 1,800,000 customers that represent one third of all Pay TV subscribers in Brazil. SKY pioneered the launch of all the key features of Brazilian TV today, bringing unprecedented services to the country such as digital TV, interactivity, DVR (SKY+) and the largest amount of high definition content on the market, SKY HDTV. About X-Rite (NASDAQ: XRIT) X-Rite is the global leader in color science and technology. The company, which now includes design industry color leader Pantone, Inc., develops, manufactures, markets and supports innovative color solutions through measurement systems, software, color standards and services. X-Rite’s expertise in inspiring, selecting, measuring, formulating, communicating and matching color helps users get color right the first time and every time, which translates to better quality and reduced costs. X-Rite serves a range of industries, including printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles, dental and medical.  For further information, please visit www.xrite.com For more information, contact: Veronique Froment, Highrez PR veronique@highrezpr.com.  +1 603-537-9248 About THX Ltd. From the big screen to your screen, THX ignites your passion for exciting entertainment experiences. Recognized by audiences around the globe, THX is synonymous with the design and certification of world-class cinemas, premium audio systems, HDTVs, and blockbuster movies and games. Products featuring THX defy convention and define quality in their class, whether in the cinema, home or on the road. For more information, visit www.thx.com. About SpectraCal SpectraCal is the leading software vendor to the video calibration industry.  SpectraCal’s software CalMAN is used by nearly all professional video calibrators today, and is also available in a version designed for video enthusiasts who want to calibrate their own home theaters.   For more information, contact: Joshua Quain, joshua@spectracal.com. +1 (425) 471-3003