Amazingly, drive-in theaters have survived even the home video age, but now they face a potentially bigger challenge: The death of traditional 35mm prints and the rise of digital projection.

The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch reported this week that digital projection leader Cinedigm has teamed with the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) to bring its successful digital conversion to drive-in theaters.

Accoding to a Los Angeles Times report last month, there are 368 drive-in movie theaters still in existence across the United States, making up only 1.5 percent of all movie screens. Hugely popular in the late 1950's and even into the '60s and '70s, drive-in theaters numbered more than 4,000 at their peak.

As traditional indoor movie theaters have now embraced digital projection after 110 years of film-based projection, the costs for outdoor theater conversion -- said to be $70,000 or more -- have been deemed too expensive for most owners.

Thanks to Cinedigm and NATO, that could all change. Currently, only 10 percent of drive-in theaters have converted to digital, a number the partnership expects to expand dramatically in the years to come.

"As someone who grew up going to drive-ins, I'm thrilled that we are in the position to usher them into the digital age," said Alison Choppelas, Vice President/Business Affairs for Cinedigm's Media Services Group. "By providing drive-in theaters digital content, including studio feature films, indie films, concerts and cultural events, this important piece of Americana will be an even more engaging gathering spot for the communities they serve."

Cinedigm's program was successfully used in more than 12,000 indoor movie screens in the U.S. and Canada with over 276 different exhibitors, and facilitates the funding, installation and operations support for its clients.

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