QSC and Moving iMage Technologies (MiT) announced an agreement Friday in which MiT will assume manufacturing, sales, distribution, and servicing of the USL Accessibility line of products from QSC.
QSC accessibility products include infrared-based assistive listening and closed caption devices for cinema patrons. Since 2018, movie theatres in the U.S. are required to make assistive listening and closed captioning equipment available for patrons, as mandated by Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. QSC first began offering these products in 2017 after acquiring Ultra-Stereo Labs (USL), a leading supplier of assistive listening technologies for cinemas.
As of April, 22, 2022, QSC is no longer accepting new purchase orders for these products and will work with customers on a case-by-case basis to make deliveries of existing orders by May 13, 2022. For orders not fulfilled by May 13, QSC and MiT will work together to ensure a successful transition for customers.
“As cinemas evolve to multipurpose, multi-venue entertainment centers, there is a need to take a holistic view of the audio, video, and control needs of each site,” QSC’s President and Chief Operating Officer Jatan Shah said in a press release. “Since the Q-SYS Platform offers this capability and more, our business strategy has also evolved to consider the whole technology ecosystem for today’s cinema. MiT assuming the USL Accessibility products line will enable QSC to focus on delivering the Q-SYS Platform solution and work with other suppliers as technology partners to better serve the changing needs of our customers.”
“Acquiring this technology reinforces MiT’s commitment to enabling a whole host of underserved communities to enjoy the moviegoing experience,” said Joe Delgado, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at MiT. “In conjunction with the soon-to-be-released MiTranslator, which will allow non-English proficient moviegoers to enjoy the cinema in their native language, adding the QSC USL line of accessibility products and services eliminates barriers for the hearing- and vision-impaired. Additionally, providing these valuable tools to our exhibition partners will only add to their success in reaching out to previously untapped markets.”
“Over the years, MiT has proven itself as a valued QSC sales partner,” says Barry Ferrell, Senior Director of Cinema Product Development, QSC. “We’re confident that MiT is the right fit to continue providing this very important accessibility technology to moviegoers.”
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