BEIJING - Hong Kong-based Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment (Holdings) Limited (OSGH) announced Friday that it will upgrade 80 percent of its cinema screens in China with 4K digital projection systems by next March through a partnership with SONY.

The term "4K" refers to a screen image with a resolution of 4096 by 2160 pixels, or four times the quality of the widely used 2K system that can only support images up to 2048 by 1080 pixels.

"SONY's 4K digital cinema projection system provides a more detailed image quality and richer colors. Its perfect visual effects will make film-watching experiences more stunning," Andrew Mao, executive director and CEO of OSGH, said Friday at a news conference.

Recent blockbusters such as "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" released 4K versions overseas, but were shown in 2K in the Chinese mainland due to technology limitations.

According to OSGH, the company has so far bought 136 4K cinema projectors from SONY and, the total number of such projectors it owns will amount to around 1,000 by 2015.

"We look forward to cooperating with SONY to build more cinemas with state-of-the-art technology and further boost China's film industry in the new digital era," Mao said.

OSGH, which currently operates 26 cinemas in the mainland, first announced its strategic partnership with SONY on the 4K projection system in September.