Digital Cinema Package (DCP)
Creation & Distribution

2K DCP Encoding

Price per minute to encode video file to 2K DCP – 5, 3 or 1 Day Turnaround

$150 minimum purchase

1 Day turnaround must be pre-approved to ensure delivery.

You will receive an email on how to upload your video file.

You may also send your video to us on a hard drive or drop it off in person.

Please enter: Venue Name, Contact Person, Email for download link, Phone of Venue or Contact Person
Name of Contact, Venue Name, Address, Email of Venue or Contact Person, Phone of Venue or Contact Person
Product total
Options total
Grand total
PureDCP - Product - DCP Encoding - 2K

FAQ

A DCP (Digital Cinema Package) is a standardized digital file format used for storing and delivering digital cinema content to movie theaters for projection. It’s the digital equivalent of a traditional 35mm film print. DCPs contain all the audio, video, subtitle, and metadata elements necessary for the presentation of a movie in a theater.

Here are some key features of DCPs:

  1. High-Quality Content: DCPs typically contain high-resolution video and audio files, ensuring excellent picture and sound quality for theatrical projection.
  2. Standardized Format: DCPs adhere to specific technical standards established by organizations like the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), ensuring compatibility with digital cinema projectors and servers worldwide.
  3. Security: DCPs often include encryption to prevent unauthorized access and piracy. Key Delivery Messages (KDMs) are used to unlock encrypted content for playback in authorized theaters.
  4. Flexibility: DCPs can accommodate various aspect ratios, frame rates, and audio configurations, allowing filmmakers to deliver their content in different formats for international distribution or special screenings.
  5. Metadata: DCPs contain metadata that provides essential information about the movie, such as title, runtime, aspect ratio, audio format, subtitles, and encryption keys.

 

Overall, DCPs have become the standard format for distributing movies digitally to theaters worldwide, offering improved efficiency, consistency, and quality compared to traditional film prints.

No, “DCP” typically stands for Digital Cinema Package, which is not a video format but rather a set of digital files used to store and convey digital cinema (movie) content. A DCP includes files for video, audio, subtitles, and metadata. It’s the standard format for distributing movies to cinemas digitally, providing high-quality playback for theatrical presentations.
DCI stands for Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC. It’s a joint venture of major motion picture studios (such as Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal, and Warner Bros.) created to establish and define digital cinema specifications and standards. The DCI was formed to ensure interoperability and security across digital cinema systems, including the creation of the Digital Cinema Package (DCP) format, which is used for distributing digital movies to theaters. These standards help maintain consistent quality and security in digital cinema presentations worldwide.

“Interop” is short for “interoperability,” which refers to the ability of different systems, devices, or software to work together smoothly and effectively. In the context of digital cinema, “Interop” often refers to the Interop DCP (Digital Cinema Package) format.

Interop DCP (or simply “Interop”) is one of the two main types of DCP formats used in digital cinema, alongside SMPTE DCP. Interop DCP was developed initially as a transitional format before the adoption of SMPTE DCP. It follows slightly different specifications and is primarily used in older digital cinema installations or in regions where Interop DCP is still prevalent.

In essence, Interop DCP ensures that digital cinema equipment from different manufacturers can communicate and play back content consistently, maintaining interoperability across various systems within the digital cinema ecosystem.

Ultimately, whether your film’s image needs to be cropped for the DCP will depend on factors such as the aspect ratio of your original footage, the desired aspect ratio for theatrical projection, and any specific requirements or standards for DCP creation. It’s advisable to work closely with a post-production facility experienced in DCP creation to ensure that your film is properly formatted for digital cinema exhibition while preserving your creative vision.

KDM stands for Key Delivery Message. In the context of digital cinema, a KDM is a digital encryption key used to unlock encrypted content within a Digital Cinema Package (DCP).

Here’s how it works:

  1. Content Encryption: The content of a movie, stored in a DCP, is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access or piracy.

  2. Key Generation: A unique encryption key is generated for each DCP. This key is necessary to decrypt and access the content.

  3. Key Delivery Message (KDM): The KDM contains the necessary decryption keys and associated information. It is sent securely from the content distributor (such as a film studio) to the exhibition site (such as a movie theater).

  4. Unlocking Content: When the DCP arrives at the movie theater, the KDM is used by the digital cinema server to decrypt the content for playback. The KDM typically specifies which screens or playback devices are authorized to play the content and for how long.

In summary, a KDM is a critical component in the secure delivery and playback of encrypted digital cinema content, ensuring that only authorized theaters can access and exhibit the movies they have been licensed to show.

A Distribution Key Delivery Message (DKDM) is a type of Key Delivery Message (KDM) specifically used in the digital cinema distribution process.

In the context of digital cinema, a KDM is a digital encryption key used to unlock encrypted content within a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) for playback in a theater. The KDM ensures that only authorized cinemas or playback devices can access and play the content, and it often contains information about which screens or devices are authorized to play the content and for how long.

A DKDM is essentially a master key that authorizes the creation of KDMs for a particular DCP. It is typically generated by the content distributor (such as a film studio or distribution company) and sent securely to the facility responsible for generating KDMs, such as a digital cinema mastering facility or a trusted third-party service provider.

Once the DKDM is received, the facility can use it to generate individual KDMs for each theater or playback device where the DCP will be shown. These individual KDMs are then sent to the respective theaters or devices, allowing them to decrypt and play the content securely.

In summary, a Distribution Key Delivery Message (DKDM) is a master key used to authorize the creation of individual Key Delivery Messages (KDMs) for decrypting and playing encrypted digital cinema content in theaters or playback devices.

SMPTE stands for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. It is a professional organization that develops and publishes technical standards for the motion imaging industry, encompassing both film and television.

SMPTE standards cover a wide range of topics, including video compression, digital cinema, audio synchronization, color representation, and file formats, among others. These standards are crucial for ensuring interoperability, consistency, and quality across various aspects of the motion imaging workflow, from content creation to distribution and playback.

The organization, founded in 1916, is composed of engineers, technologists, researchers, and professionals from the film, television, and related industries. SMPTE standards are widely adopted internationally and play a significant role in shaping the evolution of motion imaging technologies.

A DCDM (Digital Cinema Distribution Master) is a high-quality, uncompressed digital version of a movie created specifically for distribution to theaters in the digital cinema ecosystem. It serves as the source material for generating the Digital Cinema Package (DCP), which is the standardized format used for distributing movies to cinemas digitally.

A DCDM typically contains the film’s audio and video elements in their highest quality, often in formats like JPEG 2000 for video and PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation) for audio. Unlike the DCP, which may undergo compression and other modifications for distribution, the DCDM retains the original, pristine quality of the movie.

The DCDM is used as the basis for creating the various versions and formats required for distribution, ensuring consistency and preserving the integrity of the content throughout the digital cinema distribution process. It serves as a master copy from which DCPs are created for exhibition in theaters.

In the context of Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs), the X’Y’Z’ color space is significant primarily because it is one of the color spaces commonly used for encoding the color information of the digital cinema content.

When a movie is mastered for digital cinema distribution, it undergoes a process where its color information is converted into a digital format suitable for projection in theaters. During this process, the color space used for encoding the movie’s color information is often X’Y’Z’.

Here’s how X’Y’Z’ relates to DCPs:

  1. Color Encoding: The color information of the movie is encoded in the X’Y’Z’ color space within the Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) or Digital Cinema Package (DCP). This encoding ensures that the colors are represented accurately and consistently across different digital cinema projectors and theaters.
  2. Playback: When a DCP is ingested by a digital cinema server at a movie theater, the color information encoded in X’Y’Z’ is decoded and used for projection. The projector in the theater interprets the X’Y’Z’ color data to reproduce the colors as intended by the filmmakers.
  3. Consistency: By using a standardized color space like X’Y’Z’, DCPs ensure consistent color reproduction across different theaters and digital cinema systems. This consistency is crucial for maintaining the artistic integrity of the movie and providing audiences with a high-quality viewing experience.

Overall, the X’Y’Z’ color space plays a vital role in the color encoding and playback of digital cinema content distributed via DCPs, contributing to accurate and consistent color reproduction in theaters.