Learn about our additional services, preparing your files, delivering your ready-to-go-DCP, and more from the options below.

We have special prices for DCP creation through DigitalDCP and their partner festivals.

If you need add-on services, prices are below.

• 10+ Day Turnaround – No Additional Charges
• 3-10 Day Turnaround – you need it now. $50
• 24-72 Hour Turnaround – $100

Add-Ons (with New DCPs Only)

• 4K DCP Upgrade – $150
• Stereo Upmix to 3 channel (L/R and Center) – $150
• Add Subtitles – $150

Add-Ons (can be ordered after DCP is created)

• DCP Validation Report for Theatrical Playback – $40
• Add a USB 3.0 Linux formatted external hard drive – $200 (5 Day Service with Standard FedEx Shipping)
• Blu-Ray Master (No Menu) Backup – $200
• Additional Blu-Ray Copies after Master is made – $25

Turnaround time takes effect once invoices are paid and assets are received.

All prices are based on “ready-to-go” files. If your file does not pass quality control, we will let you know what the issues/concerns are before proceeding.

All pricing models include a digital download link and USPS priority mail shipping within the US if ordering a hard drive. If you need overnight shipping or courier delivery, additional fees will apply.

Your countdown begins, once we have verified your master file and received payment! We ship and deliver digital downloads by the final day.

Already received your DCP from us? Read more “About Your DCP” here.

We can provide the following:

• Complete 2K and 4K Digital Cinema Packages (DCP)
• We do a quality control evaluation both the submitted file and the final DCP
• 6-month download access for your DCP through Dropbox
• Linux DCP formatted hard drive USB 3.0 or a theatre ready CRU-DX115 drive.
• Priority mail delivery (2-3 days) of your hard drive (if ordered)
• We can communicate with a festival or theatre technician to insure compatibility

What you provide:

• A master file –
  • Preferred: HD ProRes 4:2:2 or 4:2:2 HQ with stereo or 5.1 sound
  • We can take most standard formats such s MP4 or MOV.
  • Contact us if you have a different file format
  • Do not have countdowns, color bars or anything extra. We process your DCP “as is” when delivered.
  • REMEMBER: Your DCP will only be as good as the file you submit to us. Errors on the big screen or more likely to be accented rather than diminished.
• Multichannel audio (5.1) must be one (1) track of audio (with 6 channels), not 6 tracks of individual mono channels;  also do not provide a stereo pair on channels 7/8 or any additional wild tracks.

The process:

• Deliver your master file digitally or send it via mail
  • We prefer you use our file server to upload directly to us.
  • Digital files can  easily be sent via Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer, etc.
• Once we receive and verify your file, we will send an invoice
• When the invoice is paid, we will begin making your DCP
• In most cases it takes us 5-7 business days
• You will then receive a link where festivals/theatres/you can download your DCP
• We will send the hard drive to one location within the USA if you order a drive.

Please follow these guidelines when creating a file for your DCP

The Quick Hit

Send your movie as an MOV or MP4, with the audio embedded, in the native aspect ratio (no letterbox). 2K is preferred (anything with a width of 1920-2048 is 2K).

Detailed Guidelines

FILE NAME

• Name your file the name of the movie. That’s it.
• Do not include version numbers, dates, abbreviations – just the title of your movie.

FILE TYPE

• We can work with just about any file type but prefer 4:2:2 or 4:2:2 HQ MOV files.
• We can easily work with MP4 and other files; however, it is a matter of visual quality. The better the file, the better the DCP.

Video

• Acceptable Frame Rates:
  • InterOp DCPs – 24 FPS
  • SMPTE DCPs – 24, 25, 30 FPS
  • If your movie is 23.98 or 29.98, we will conform to 24 or 30 FPS
• All presentations must fit inside an acceptable container size
  • For 2K FLAT content – 1920×1080, 1998×1080, 2048×1080
  • For 2K SCOPE content – 2048×858
  • For 4K FLAT content – 3840×2160, 3996×2160, 4096×2160
  • For 4K SCOPE content – 4096×1716
• DCPs must be formatted to DCI XYZ’ color space
• Maximum bit-rate: 250Mbps
• No 3D, HFR, or High Bit Rate content please
• If you submit a 1920×1080 or 3840×2160 file, the image will not go edge to edge.
• Do not letterbox or crop your image to try to adjust the aspect ratio.

AUDIO

• A DCP can be created with 1, 2, or 3 channels or in 5.1 o r 7.1.
• One or Two channel DCPs might sound odd in a theatre designed for surround.
• A simulated surround can be created with three channels by adding sound to the Center for a L/R/Center mix.
• For ideal theatrical playback 5.1, 7.1 or 3 channel (L/R/C) is recommended.
• Multichannel audio (5.1) must be one (1) track of audio (with 6 channels), not 6 tracks of individual mono channels;  also do not provide a stereo pair on channels 7/8 or any additional wild tracks.
• 5.1 should be laid out as follows:
  • Left — Music & Effects
  • Right — Music & Effects
  • Center — Dialog
  • Low Frequency Effects (LFE) — Subwoofer
  • Left Surround — Surround Effects
  • Right Surround — Surround Effects

EXHIBITION READY

• Your movie should be ready-to-go when submitted.
• There should not be extra frames, color bars, countdowns, pops, etc.
• We will create your DCP as is from the file we receive.
• Once your DCP is created, changes qualify as a new order.
• Your project should meet the above requirements. For Example, if you submit a file that is 30fps, it may play on one system, but not another. It is your responsibility to submit the most ideal framerate for your project.

CAPTION & SUBTITLE REQUIREMENTS

If you need captions or subtitles, we can add them in your DCP.  We require them in the XML file format in accordance with one of the following standards:

• Texas Instruments CineCanvas subtitles, used in Interop DCPs
• SMPTE 428-7 “SubtitleReel” subtitles, used in SMPTE DCPs
• W3C TTML (IMSC profiles), used in IMF packages

If you are uploading a DCP for validation or for festival curation, please be sure your DCP follows the guidelines below.

DCPs that do not adhere to the following guidelines WILL NOT be accepted.

We cannot accept Adobe Premiere Wraptor DCPs — these will be rejected by most theaters and they are not valid Digital Cinema Packages.

DCPs that do not follow DCI naming conventions may be rejected. Your DCP must be DCI compliant. You can find out more about DCI standards here. Professional DCP houses will do this for you.

All DCPs MUST be received within five days of the festival start (not your screening day, but the actual start of the festival); otherwise we will not have time to properly curate your DCP.

Video

• Acceptable Frame Rates:
  • InterOp DCPs – 24 FPS only
  • SMPTE DCPs – 24, 25, 30 FPS
• All presentations must fit inside an acceptable container size
  • For 2K FLAT content – 1920×1080, 1998×1080, 2048×1080
  • For 2K SCOPE content – 2048×858
  • For 4K FLAT content – 3840×2160, 3996×2160, 4096×2160
  • For 4K SCOPE content – 4096×1716
• DCPs must be formatted to DCI XYZ’ color space
• Maximum bit-rate: 250Mbps
• No 3D, HFR, or High Bit Rate content please

Audio

• 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 mixes only
• 24 bits – 48kHz Linear PCM audio
• Multichannel mixes must use standard SMPTE channel assignments (L/R/C/LFE/Ls/Rs)
• Matrixed stereo mixes (LtRt, Dolby E, etc.) will NOT be decoded to multichannel

Subtitles

• In most cases for festival, subtitles should be burned in to the video.
• 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 mixes only
• 24 bits – 48kHz Linear PCM audio
• Multichannel mixes must use standard SMPTE channel assignments (L/R/C/LFE/Ls/Rs)
• Matrixed stereo mixes (LtRt, Dolby E, etc.) will NOT be decoded to multichannel

Drive Formatting

• All Drives should be formatted with and MBR Partition to Linux EXT2/3 with INODE SIZE: 128 bits
• Please test your DCP drive in a digital cinema server prior to submission!

Naming Convention

• All DCPs must be labeled per DCI Naming Conventions – https://registry-page.isdcf.com/illustratedguide/ 
• Labeling must follow this convention for the XML tag ContentTitleText in your DCPs CPL file.

Can you tell me more about my DCP?
Already received your DCP from us? Read more “About Your DCP” here.

What is a DCP?
DCP stands for Digital Cinema Package and it is a series of files that fulfill the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) to have playback as universally compatible as possible in theatrical venues.

Are DCPs compatible with all theatrical playback systems?
Our DCPs are created to have the most compatibility possible with existing playback systems.

What if there is ever a theatre that cannot play my DCP?
If a theatre has an issue, please let us know, so we can check compatibility.

I am having issues uploading and/or downloading. What should I do?
Download speeds are usually much faster than residential upload speeds. If your file is extremely large, you may find this could take days to complete on slow Internet. Let us know if you’re having issues and we will work with you to come up with a solution.  Also, if a service offers an app, that may work faster than a browser.

What can I do with a digital DCP?
A digital DCP can be used for storage and transport to a festival or theatre. If a festival requests digital assets they will be handling the rest most likely.

If I need a physical copy, why does a DCP need its own hard drive?
Digital cinema playback systems use open source software making them ideal for universal playback.  They operate from older Linux file formats and hard drives must be formatted to accommodate these systems. Windows and Mac formatted drives will not work.

What should I avoid doing with a DCP?
Never zip/compress/stuff the files. This will corrupt them. If you have a DCI-ready hard drive (formatted with Linux), never try to open the drive with a Windows or Mac or you will corrupt the drive.

Can I just copy my DCP files onto a hard drive with my Windows or Mac machine?
For storage purposes, you can do this.  However, to have a drive that can actually play and/or be transferred to a digital cinema projector, it must be a hard drive specifically formatted with a Linux operating system.