DCP Creation & Delivery
for Filmmakers, Trusted by Film Festivals
DCP Creation & Delivery
for Filmmakers, Trusted by Film Festivals
If you came here looking for Wraptor DCP in Premiere Pro — it’s gone. Adobe removed the Wraptor DCP export plugin from recent versions of Premiere Pro, and there is no replacement built into the application. If you are trying to create a DCP directly from Premiere Pro, that workflow no longer exists.
The good news is that you do not need to create the DCP inside Premiere Pro. The better workflow — and the one used by professional DCP houses — is to export a high-quality master file from Premiere and have the DCP created from that master. This is actually the more reliable approach: you stay in the tool you know, export a clean file, and a professional service handles the technical complexity of DCP packaging.
This page covers exactly what to export from Premiere Pro, what frame rate settings matter, and the one mistake that will make your DCP unplayable at most cinemas — along with how to avoid it.
Wraptor DCP was a third-party plugin integrated into Premiere Pro that allowed direct DCP export from the Deliver page. Adobe discontinued it in recent versions. If you are running Premiere Pro 25.x or later, Wraptor is not available and cannot be added back.
This leaves Premiere Pro users with two options for getting a DCP from their timeline:
Both start with the same step: exporting a clean master file from Premiere Pro with the correct settings. That is what the rest of this page covers.
These are the settings to use when exporting your master file for DCP delivery. Whether you are sending the file to Pure DCP or processing it yourself, these settings give you the cleanest possible source to work from.
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Setting
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Recommended value
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Notes
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|---|---|---|
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Format
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QuickTime
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Use the QuickTime container for ProRes output
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Codec
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Apple ProRes 422 HQ
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The preferred format. ProRes 4444 is also fine. Avoid H.264 or H.265 if you have a choice — use the highest quality version you have.
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Frame Size
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1920 x 1080
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Frame Rate
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23.98fps or 29.97fps
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Pure DCP converts 23.98fps to 24fps and 29.97fps to 30fps for the final DCP automatically. See the frame rate section below if your timeline is 60fps.
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Field order
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Progressive
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Always progressive for cinema delivery — never interlaced.
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Color Space
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Rec. 709
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Standard color space for HD. If your timeline is in a log or HDR color space, discuss with your DCP provider before exporting.
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Audio
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48kHz / 24-bit PCM
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Render at maximum depth
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Yes (check the box)
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Found under Video settings. Maximizes color bit depth in the output.
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A note on H.264: If ProRes is not an option and H.264 is the only version you have, it can still be used for DCP creation — just set the bitrate to 30 Mbps or higher. A ProRes file will always give better results, but a high-bitrate H.264 is workable.
Frame rate is the single most important technical decision in your Premiere export for DCP delivery, and the most common source of serious problems. Getting this wrong can result in a DCP that will not play on cinema servers, or one that plays with visible motion problems.
We have seen filmmakers edit their entire film in a 60fps timeline — often because they shot on a mirrorless camera with 60fps as the default, or wanted slow-motion flexibility in the edit. They then export at 60fps and submit that file for DCP creation.
A 60fps DCP will not play on most cinema servers. Cinema projection systems are built around 24fps and 30fps. A 60fps package is outside the standard and will either fail to ingest entirely or play incorrectly. On one occasion a filmmaker submitted a 60fps file to a DCP vendor who simply created the 60fps DCP without flagging the issue — the film could not be screened anywhere.
!
A 60fps DCP will not play on most cinema projection systems. If your timeline is 60fps, you must convert the frame rate before creating a DCP.
If you edited in 60fps, you have two options:
A small number of very modern digital cinema servers do support 60fps playback as a High Frame Rate (HFR) DCP. However this is not a standard festival delivery format — most venues do not have HFR-capable servers, and a 60fps DCP submitted to a festival without prior confirmation of HFR support will likely be unplayable. Unless you have specifically confirmed with the venue that HFR projection is available and they have requested a 60fps DCP, always deliver at 30fps.
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Timeline Frame Rate
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Export at
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Notes
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|---|---|---|
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23.98 fps
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23.98 fps
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✓ Pure DCP converts to 24fps for the final DCP automatically
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24 fps
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24 fps
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✓ DCI cinema standard — delivers as 24fps DCP
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25 fps
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25 fps
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✓ PAL standard — fine for European festival delivery, delivers as 25fps DCP
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29.97 / 30 fps
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29.97 / 30 fps
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✓ Pure DCP converts to 30fps for the final DCP automatically
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60.0 fps
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30.0 fps
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⚠ Export at exactly 30.0fps — do NOT deliver at 60fps. Or submit to Pure DCP and we handle the conversion.
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Here is the complete export process in Premiere Pro:
DCP-o-Matic is a free, open-source application that can create a DCP from your exported master file. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. If you are comfortable with technical software and want to create your own DCP, it is a capable tool that many filmmakers use successfully.
That said, creating a DCP with DCP-o-Matic requires understanding cinema color space conversion, audio channel mapping, aspect ratio container selection, and packaging standards — all of which have to be configured correctly for the DCP to work properly. A misconfigured DCP can look or sound wrong in the theater, and there is no easy way to test it at home before the screening.
If your film is heading to a significant festival and you want certainty that the technical delivery is correct, a professional DCP service removes that risk entirely.
Adobe discontinued the Wraptor DCP plugin in recent versions of Premiere Pro. There is no built-in replacement. The standard workflow now is to export a high-quality ProRes master from Premiere and either use DCP-o-Matic to create the DCP yourself, or send the file to a professional DCP service.
Not in recent versions. Wraptor DCP was the only way to export a DCP directly from Premiere, and it has been removed. The current workflow is to export a ProRes master file and create the DCP from that master using either DCP-o-Matic or a professional DCP service.
Apple ProRes 422 HQ in a QuickTime container, at 1920×1080 (or 3840×2160 for 4K), 23.98fps or 24fps, progressive, with 48kHz/24-bit audio. This gives a DCP service or DCP-o-Matic the cleanest possible source to work from.
Export at 30.0fps if your timeline is exactly 60.0fps. A 30fps DCP is fully supported on modern cinema servers and is a clean delivery format. Do not export at 60fps — a 60fps DCP will not play on most cinema projection systems. Pure DCP can also handle this conversion for you — if you submit a 60.0fps file we will create the DCP at 30fps after confirming with you.
Yes, H.264 is accepted by Pure DCP. If H.264 is the only version you have, set the bitrate to 30 Mbps or higher for best results. A ProRes file will always produce a cleaner DCP since it gives more color information to work with, so use ProRes if you have the option.
Pure DCP starts at $5/minute for a 2K DCP on 5-day turnaround, with a $150 minimum. Digital cloud delivery and 6 months of storage are included with every order. See our DCP pricing page for the full breakdown including short film and feature costs at each turnaround tier.
Export your master file using the settings above and upload it at puredcp.com/order-dcp. Starting at $5/minute for 2K, with digital delivery and 6 months cloud storage included. If you have questions about your export before ordering, contact us at info@puredcp.com or 818-843-1262 — we are happy to take a look at your specifications before you commit.
Digital delivery and 6 months cloud storage included with every order.
