Digital Cinema Software Upgrades Needed Now

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Thu, 09/04/2014 - 12:27 -- Nick Dager

The IBC will convene later this month in Amsterdam.When addressing the IBC Big Screen Experience, John Hurst, co-founder and CTO of CineCert, will issue a call to action to all digital cinema stakeholders to resolve delays in deployment of software upgrades on installed digital cinema systems globally. The Global D-Cinema Update Session is being held September 14.

During the session, hosted by the European Digital Cinema Forum, panelists will discuss the effect of out of date software on global cinema operations and the barriers to upgrade, which keep many cinemas on legacy versions. Hurst will explain the importance of upgrading software on legacy systems and will explore barriers to upgrades including the financial and operational issues that are preventing cinemas from deploying new versions.

“Digital Cinema technology continues to evolve since its introduction several years ago,” says Hurst. “We have today equipment in theatres operating with software versions dating from 2006. As a result, new optimized solutions for playback of content, security and operations are often not deployed and distributors need to master several versions of their movies to accommodate older systems.”

Hurst is not alone in expressing these concerns. One man put it bluntly: “The convergence isn’t over. Switching projectors didn’t change anything.”

For the past year or more, the people charged with managing digital cinema files have raised the same complaints but few are willing to speak on the record. A big concern is the fact that there is currently no existing 4K workflow, even as the industry pushes for 4K UltraHD.

Today, so-called over-the-top enterprises such as Netflix and iTunes are clamoring for a “pure file-based workflow” and are not satisfied with the status quo, which is basically “a tape-based workflow.”

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has not escaped scrutiny in this issue. Many people, publically and privately ask, why aren’t SMPTE standards free?

To that end the National Association of Theatre Owners and SMPTE have invited the industry to a meeting at the end of September to also address a potential deadline for the adoption of a SMPTE DCP standard. It’s not clear if that discussion will also include the issue of how much the standard might cost.

The IBC Big Screen Experience Program is free for all who attend IBC2014.

At IBC, CineCert is introducing Lihue, an appliance for inspection, repairs and efficient duplication of digital cinema packages. The company is also introducing Anini, a SOA based workflow management solution for automated and centralized mastering of IMF mezzanine files (interoperable master format) and DCPs. Anini features image transformation, compression, wrapping, composition, packaging and testing modules.

To contact John Hurst, please send an email at [email protected].

Cinecert www.cinecert.com

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