The Tamil Nadu police have closed down more than three theatres in Tiruvannamalai district, and seized their QUBE digital projecting systems. The police say that theatre operators were caught pirating the film.
Swasthik theatre in Tindivanam, Kanniyappa, Chellam Paradise, and VAB theatre in Cheyyaru, have all been closed down following independent raids and investigations into piracy. All theatres had been projecting films using the QUBE digital projecting system, which retrieves the films from a central server, over a satellite network, and projects it on the screen. A strict control is maintained on the projection, and theatre owners are allowed to project the film only during approved time-slots. The system also maintains a time log and a count of the number of times a particular film has been screened.
According to the report from Times of India, Swasthik theatre operator screened the film Kavan outside of the approved slot, and captured the entire screening on a video camera. The data recorded on the central server allowed the police to make the identification and take action.
Police have seized all projecting equipment, including the QUBE drives, and arrested the operator and managers of the theatres.