China Film Group Selects Ballantyne/Strong to Provide and Install 100 Digital Cinema Projectors in Mainland China

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ballantyne of Omaha, Inc. (NYSE Alternext US: BTN), a provider of cinema equipment and services, announced today that its Strong Westrex Company, Asia subsidiary has been selected to provide and install 100 NEC STARUS™ NC1600 Digital Cinema projectors for China Film Group Corp. Initial shipments are slated for Q1 2009, with the bulk of the order targeted for Q2 2009. Strong Westrex will install the projectors for China Film Group in locations across China.

John P. Wilmers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ballantyne, commented, “We are pleased to extend our longstanding relationship with China Film Group into the digital realm with this initial digital projection equipment and installation contract. We are also excited that China Film Group recognizes the high quality and performance of the NEC Starus digital projector systems, as well as the value Strong Westrex brings in managing the sales, installation and logistics processes. We look forward to working closely with China Film Group and their partners in the coming years to support them in the adoption of digital cinema as well as 3-D cinema projection technology.”

Ballantyne executed an agreement with NEC Display Solutions Japan in Q3 2008, granting Strong Westrex distribution rights to NEC’s Starus line of digital cinema projectors for the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). In conjunction with the PRC distribution agreement, Strong Westrex opened a sales and service office in Beijing. The PRC represents a very attractive, rapidly growing cinema market both in terms of screens and ticket sales. The country currently has approximately 6,000 cinema screens and that base is anticipated to grow in the coming years.

About China Film Group

China Film Group Corporation (“CFG”) is China’s largest and most influential state-run film enterprise and the sole importer of foreign films in China. CFG's scope of business spans film and television production, film distribution and exhibition, film importation and exportation, cinema circuit management, digital cinema construction, movie channel, print developing and processing, film equipment management, digital film production, film and TV compact disc production, ancillary products, advertising, property management as well as real estate.

About Ballantyne of Omaha

Ballantyne is a provider of motion picture projection, digital cinema projection, cinema screen technology and specialty lighting equipment and services. The Company supplies major theater chains, top arenas, television and motion picture production studios, theme parks and architectural sites around the world. For more information visit www.ballantyne-omaha.com.

Except for the historical information in this press release, it includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, quarterly fluctuations in results; customer demand for the Company’s products; the development of new technology for alternate means of motion picture presentation; domestic and international economic conditions; the management of growth; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Actual results may differ materially from management’s expectations. Ballantyne assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.