User guide

2-2
Getting Started
2.1 Basics
This section provides some basic information for a DCI Mastering. First
the general steps and phases that a DCP consists of will be described as
they are outlined by DCI. Among them you can find some recommen-
dations and useful notes for a DCI Mastering with CLIPSTER. After-
wards details about some of the allowed video and audio formats for
digital cinema content are provided because a DCP has to be created in
one of the defined formats only. This is followed by information about
the different standards for a DCP packaging that have been in use and
can be applied with the DVS system.
2.1.1 The DCI Mastering Steps
The generation of a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) consists of various
steps and phases that can be easily accomplished with the DCI Master-
ing feature of CLIPSTER. These were outlined by DCI and with CLIP-
STER you are totally free in your decision whether to make one of the
intermediate steps towards a DCP, to finish an intermediate state to a
DCP or to create a DCP in a single step. The individual steps that a DCP
is composed of are explained shortly in the following.
Figure 2-1: The DCP steps
Digital Source Master (DSM)
The first step to create a SMPTE/DCI compliant Distribution Package
for digital cinemas is the Digital Source Master (DSM). With CLIPSTER
this step would be the same as with most projects: You simply have to
assemble your project in the timeline of the Edit Tool and edit it as de-
sired with, for example, trimmings, transitions, color corrections, etc.
The SMPTE as well as DCI clearly state that the Digital Source Master
(DSM) itself is not defined, i.e. it ’may consist of any color space, pixel
matrix (spatial), frame rate (temporal), bit depth and many other met-
rics’ (SMPTE 428-1). Therefore, it lies totally in your own discretion
how to prepare a project and thus the DSM. It is this ’master project’
that can then be converted to different formats for various applications,
such as a Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM), a home video
master, a broadcast master, or a master for archiving purposes.
For best results DVS recommends that the timeline of a DSM
in the Edit Tool consists of clips in the RGB color space only and
that it is set to a digital cinema compliant frame rate.