Hollywood (CA) - A new partnership has emerged between Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, and Digital Cinema Implementation, to create a technology that would allow studios to beam movies directly to theater screens via broadband.

In addition to cutting down on the costs of production for physical copies of their films, Universal and Warner say it will help increase theater flexibility. If a movie screening is sold out, for example, the theater could open up an unoccupied screen and set up the movie there almost instantly.

"Our goal really is to have the easiest, fastest, most reliable, most cost-effective content delivery technique possible to the theaters we represent," said Travis Reid, CEO of Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP), in an AP story.

DCIP is a relatively new company founded and owned by a collection of movie theaters that are trying to move to digital delivery of movies. The group says about 2200 US theater screens currently show digital films.

The new technology, which would encrypt the movie file as it’s being transferred, could also cut down on piracy. Many cases of leaked movies before they’re released on home formats have been traced to copies that were sent to theaters. As more and more theaters go digital, it’s easier to copy and share movies.

The joint partnership says that initial testing will begin later this year.