These days movies come in several versions, with soundtracks in different languages and even differing content to cater to a variety of cultural sensitivities. Aircraft maker Boeing, which is already working on transmitting movies to cinemas via satellite, is patenting a system that will allow individual cinemas to “stitch” together the version that best suits them (US patent application 2004/19901).
While the movie is edited, the director will flag and index the speech tracks and any sexually explicit or violent scenes. At the cinema a receiving server downloads only those sections that are needed, seamlessly stitching them together.
