Background of this documentation

DCP:Inside is the result of two and a half years of work ^A started in early 2020, based on intensive reading sessions of documentation, standards, norms, white-papers and theses on digital cinema, imagery and sound.

The purpose of this documentation is to describe the Digital Cinema Package (DCP) as comprehensively as possible.

Started naively in 2020, this documentation began as a collection of technical tips and information I have been using for years (probably since the early days of the DCI). This documentation aims to be, at last, a compilation of my own research on Digital Cinema, especially about DCP, all in one place.

Since the early release of the DCI specifications (2004-2005), getting information about DCP and its details is really complicated (above all because of standards not publicly available). Everyone who implements the standards has never explained to less knowledgeable people.

During my career at Eclair Laboratory, then Ymagis, and Doremi (and finally back to Ymagis/Eclair), I have never seen any kind of documentation about the DCP, the cryptography used, the colorimetry applied for images, comprehensive instructions about Dolby Atmos container, or anything else about the DCP format.

Let's start a journey !

After years of doubt (and fear), I embarked on this adventure, and began to write, consolidate and put all my knowledge and my ideas on "paper".

This documentation is intended for experts and beginners :

• Beginners : a quick and easy understanding of what a DCP is.
• Experts : avoid having to read thousands of pages of the SMPTE standards

The chapters available in this book are (non-exhaustive list) :

• The history about digital cinema and the DCI
• AssetMap
• PackingList (PKL)
• CompositionPlaylist (CPL)
• MXF
• KLV (Headers, Body, Footer)
• Cryptography (AES, RSA)
• Cryptography inside the MXF
• Cryptography inside the KDM
• Certificates
• KDM / DKDM
• Image processing
• Linear
• XYZ Colorspace
• Gamma
• White Point normalization
• Bitdepth 12-bit
• JPEG2000
• Wavelet Compression
• 3D
• HFR
• Sound
• Immersive Audio
• Dolby Atmos
• DTS-X
• Barco Auro
• Subtitles
• 4DX
• DBOX
• Convention Naming (DCNC)
• and more ...

I hope this work will be useful for everyone who wants to know about the Digital Cinema Package (DCP) and, occasionally, the Interoperable Master Format (IMF).

Feel free to contact me if you have any question or feedback :)

Update #1

The InterSociety Digital Cinema Forum (ISDCF), a group composed of several leading representatives, experts, and engineers from the cinema industry, discussed about the publication in a recent meeting and published a brief summary of it on the ISDCF website in the other resources section.

It is a real honor to see my publication on this website and to be recognized by some members through various channels.

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