Exporting a DCP file for Windows

[Greg Janza]

Macs can read and write to ntfs drives if you have this app:

https://www.tuxera.com/products/tuxera-ntfs-for-mac/

I Hate Television. I Hate It As Much As Peanuts. But I Can’t Stop Eating Peanuts.
– Orson Welles

[Bouke Vahl]

This makes no sense at all.
First:
DCP players are by nature Linux based. You should deliver a EXT2 formatted disk.
Then:
Your biggest problem is how to create a DCP. This is NOT ‘just a file’.
For that you need specialized software, and a lot of knowledge.
(Going from one colorspace to another, padding HD to proper 2K resolution, make sure you have no interlaced material in it, mapping audio tracks, do proper naming etc.)

So, make a good master and outsource, or spend at least a week learning all this stuff.
(Outsourcing probably sets you back 600 bucks, but you might get lucky.)

Bouke
http://www.videotoolshed.com

[Mark Ireland]

This is all new info to me, so I appreciate it. If special software is needed to create a DCP, what is the point of Premiere providing this output option (they call “Wraptor DCP”)? I was able to play the file using a trail version of a DCP player. It played, however only in low-res. Thanks!

[Bouke Vahl]

ah, that’s new to me ☺
What are the files / folders you have? Something with Assetmap?
If you show me the file structure, I can tell you if it’s a DCP alike.
Nevertheless, make friends with your local theatre, create a test DCP and view it there on a monday morning.

Bouke
http://www.videotoolshed.com

[Eric Santiago]

One thing to remember if you’re sending it out for DCP service is to provide a 24fps and not 23.976.
I am still researching why this is.
I will be testing a WraptorDCP from AME soon.
Check with your local film venues e.g. theatres, film groups, etc… for testing.

[Greg Janza]

https://www.hbfilmworks.com/dcp-info.html

I Hate Television. I Hate It As Much As Peanuts. But I Can’t Stop Eating Peanuts.
– Orson Welles

[Mark Ireland]

Hi Bouke,

Here is a screenshot of what is inside the folder which Premiere created.

Note that when I viewed this through a PC on the Windows NT formatted disk, all of the assets had the blank rectangle icon beside them (with dog-ear corner). Whereas on my Mac, you see what looks like a VLC icon next to the separate video and audio assets.

Does this look correct?

[Bouke Vahl]

That looks like DCP indeed!
I can’t see the entire file names.
Inside the file names (and the XML) is encoded what the kind it is (In your case it’s probably ‘feature’)
And, I can’t compare with my own work (I’m on holiday this week.)
DO copy ALL the files inside the original folder!.

But, most important, are black / white levels OK?
And, YUV to XYZ colorspace can go horribly wrong if you have illegal levels.
So, you definitly want to find a real theatre to test!

Bouke
http://www.videotoolshed.com

[Mark Ireland]

Great! I’m feeling better about this. Here is an expanded view of the file names:

I was using waveform and vector scopes during grading and so the black and white levels should be good. I was careful about saturation etc. as well.

Unfortunately, my original footage was not shot in 24p (it’s 1080i), so I don’t know how that conversion—done by Premiere—affects how it plays.

So, if all this looks good, I still need to re-format the drive, for the theater to use it, correct? Hopefully I can do that from my Mac disk utility. Thanks so much!