Hi gang,
I've just come out of a project where I built a DCP of a project I'd edited on Vegas. For those that do not know, a DCP (Digital Cinema Package) is how cinemas play films these days. You no longer have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to strike a print - you can DIY.
The Vegas project looked fantastic on the big screen!
I found solid DCP information hard to come by, especially for Vegas, so I promised to return and paste up what I found out. Here goes!
WARNING - I'm not an expert. I simply lived through the project and can tell you what I did to get a reasonable result. Some of this was obtained by reading, other parts by asking, and others again were confirmed through trial and error with a very helpful cinema.
Vegas Config:
Video: Set your project to a 2K template (or 4K if your source material is 4K). Use either a "Widescreen" (16:9) template, or build a "Scope" 2.35:1 template if your project is 2.35:1.
Pixel format: 8 bit.
There's some contention around this choice. See discussion below. There's a bug in current versions of vegas with Sequenced Image output gamma level for 32 bit projects. So if you want more than 8 bit, you'll need to render a video that supports that, then slice it up into images somehow. There's also considerable debate in these forums on what (if anything) 32 bit yields you anyway.
Frame rate: 24 fps. You might be able to get away with 23.976. Try for 24. A lot of cinemas do not support frame rates outside of 24fps as they are running older servers.
Audio: 24 bit, with either 96,000 Hz sample rate or 48,000 Hz. They are the only two supported sample rates.
Of course, you can go HIGHER than these settings in the project, but please make sure your DCP project files (your Vegas renders) conform to these specs.
Rendering:
Video: Output the video as an Image Sequence, in DPX format. I found all other formats output as 32 bit images (even though its an 8 bit project) and the DCP packager rejected those. You will not need to set any render settings with an Image Sequence - click Render and wait.
N.B. DO NOT APPLY Computer RGB -> Studio RGB to your tracks or your project's master Video Output. Leave the video with Computer RGB levels. The DCP is able to use the extra headroom provided by Computer RGB.
Audio:
For Stereo projects, render a 24 bit stereo WAV in either 48,000 HZ or 96,000 HZ.
For 5.1 Surround Sound (6 channels), take the WAV "44,000 Hz 24 Bit, Mono, PCM (multiple)" template and convert it into either a 48,000 Hz or 96,000 Hz template. Render.
That's it! Now time to make the DCP. I used DCP Builder, which you'll need to register beforehand. But, at least it is free.
In DCP Builder:
These instructions are for DCP Builder only. If you use something else, the same basic principles will probably apply.
Use New Project -> Simple Wizard to set up your config.
When it comes time to add the Image, select the first file of your DPX sequence. Note: I was using an external USB based HDD and was having trouble with DCP Builder thinking I wasn't registered at random points during a render. When I used my system drive, this went away.
When it comes time to load the audio file(s), select only the LEFT file. The wizard will continue on with other things.
When the wizard is finished, you'll need to go to the "INPUT" tab and populate the rest of your 5.1 files.
While still in INPUT:
Colorspace: sRGB.
(I wasn't sure about this, as it is based on what the colorspace is of the source image file, and it appeared DPX could be any colorspace the creating software set. Reading file metadata, I was able to confirm Vegas sets all OTHER image types to sRGB, but this info wasn't available in the DPX file. So I assumed sRGB. Further, I tested sRGB and BT.709 in the cinema and sRGB looked correct, while BT.709 looked a little washed out)
Confirm the other details.
Moving to the DCM tab:
Set the film's Global Duration in Frames (if it isn't already). Get this info from the Vegas timeline.
Set the Reel Duration. We want each reel to be LESS than 2GB. I recommend around 1.7GB to be sure. This is so we can use media that isn't able to support 2GB files (eg, FAT). A DCP server will play back your reels without a jump or stutter in between, so this is the perfect solution.
Set your total Bitrate to be less than 240MBPS. I recommend less than 200 for 2K, but you can probably do a LOT less than that.
Set your Aspect ratio: "HDTV" for 16:9 (known in cinemas as Widescreen), or "Scope" for 2.35:1 (known in cinemas as Scope).
That's it! You can use Peter Wimmer's Stereoscopic Player to play back individual DCP reels to test the vision and sound. And be aware that DCP Builder by default does not bother to convert the preview image back into sRGB for you, as it takes extra time - your preview image will look green (don't panic). You can change this setting if it worries you.
Transporting your DCP:
Using an empty USB key, copy your project onto the key's root directory, using the default formatting the key was made with. Beware of project size! My 10 minute project weighed in at 15Gb. If you can't use a USB key, you'll need to format a LINUX Ext2 filesystem on an internal HDD, and mount it in a caddy for the cinema. That is outside the scope of this article! :-)
At the cinema:
Most (all?) DCP servers will be able to read the USB key. A 15 Gb project will take around 50 mins to ingest.
Finally, you will need to tell the cinema what aspect the project is in, in their language!: Scope, Widescreen or Flat. This is important as both the projector's lens AND the mask curtain will need to change.
That's about it - I hope this is helpful to someone.
I've just come out of a project where I built a DCP of a project I'd edited on Vegas. For those that do not know, a DCP (Digital Cinema Package) is how cinemas play films these days. You no longer have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to strike a print - you can DIY.
The Vegas project looked fantastic on the big screen!
I found solid DCP information hard to come by, especially for Vegas, so I promised to return and paste up what I found out. Here goes!
WARNING - I'm not an expert. I simply lived through the project and can tell you what I did to get a reasonable result. Some of this was obtained by reading, other parts by asking, and others again were confirmed through trial and error with a very helpful cinema.
Vegas Config:
Video: Set your project to a 2K template (or 4K if your source material is 4K). Use either a "Widescreen" (16:9) template, or build a "Scope" 2.35:1 template if your project is 2.35:1.
Pixel format: 8 bit.
There's some contention around this choice. See discussion below. There's a bug in current versions of vegas with Sequenced Image output gamma level for 32 bit projects. So if you want more than 8 bit, you'll need to render a video that supports that, then slice it up into images somehow. There's also considerable debate in these forums on what (if anything) 32 bit yields you anyway.
Frame rate: 24 fps. You might be able to get away with 23.976. Try for 24. A lot of cinemas do not support frame rates outside of 24fps as they are running older servers.
Audio: 24 bit, with either 96,000 Hz sample rate or 48,000 Hz. They are the only two supported sample rates.
Of course, you can go HIGHER than these settings in the project, but please make sure your DCP project files (your Vegas renders) conform to these specs.
Rendering:
Video: Output the video as an Image Sequence, in DPX format. I found all other formats output as 32 bit images (even though its an 8 bit project) and the DCP packager rejected those. You will not need to set any render settings with an Image Sequence - click Render and wait.
N.B. DO NOT APPLY Computer RGB -> Studio RGB to your tracks or your project's master Video Output. Leave the video with Computer RGB levels. The DCP is able to use the extra headroom provided by Computer RGB.
Audio:
For Stereo projects, render a 24 bit stereo WAV in either 48,000 HZ or 96,000 HZ.
For 5.1 Surround Sound (6 channels), take the WAV "44,000 Hz 24 Bit, Mono, PCM (multiple)" template and convert it into either a 48,000 Hz or 96,000 Hz template. Render.
That's it! Now time to make the DCP. I used DCP Builder, which you'll need to register beforehand. But, at least it is free.
In DCP Builder:
These instructions are for DCP Builder only. If you use something else, the same basic principles will probably apply.
Use New Project -> Simple Wizard to set up your config.
When it comes time to add the Image, select the first file of your DPX sequence. Note: I was using an external USB based HDD and was having trouble with DCP Builder thinking I wasn't registered at random points during a render. When I used my system drive, this went away.
When it comes time to load the audio file(s), select only the LEFT file. The wizard will continue on with other things.
When the wizard is finished, you'll need to go to the "INPUT" tab and populate the rest of your 5.1 files.
While still in INPUT:
Colorspace: sRGB.
(I wasn't sure about this, as it is based on what the colorspace is of the source image file, and it appeared DPX could be any colorspace the creating software set. Reading file metadata, I was able to confirm Vegas sets all OTHER image types to sRGB, but this info wasn't available in the DPX file. So I assumed sRGB. Further, I tested sRGB and BT.709 in the cinema and sRGB looked correct, while BT.709 looked a little washed out)
Confirm the other details.
Moving to the DCM tab:
Set the film's Global Duration in Frames (if it isn't already). Get this info from the Vegas timeline.
Set the Reel Duration. We want each reel to be LESS than 2GB. I recommend around 1.7GB to be sure. This is so we can use media that isn't able to support 2GB files (eg, FAT). A DCP server will play back your reels without a jump or stutter in between, so this is the perfect solution.
Set your total Bitrate to be less than 240MBPS. I recommend less than 200 for 2K, but you can probably do a LOT less than that.
Set your Aspect ratio: "HDTV" for 16:9 (known in cinemas as Widescreen), or "Scope" for 2.35:1 (known in cinemas as Scope).
That's it! You can use Peter Wimmer's Stereoscopic Player to play back individual DCP reels to test the vision and sound. And be aware that DCP Builder by default does not bother to convert the preview image back into sRGB for you, as it takes extra time - your preview image will look green (don't panic). You can change this setting if it worries you.
Transporting your DCP:
Using an empty USB key, copy your project onto the key's root directory, using the default formatting the key was made with. Beware of project size! My 10 minute project weighed in at 15Gb. If you can't use a USB key, you'll need to format a LINUX Ext2 filesystem on an internal HDD, and mount it in a caddy for the cinema. That is outside the scope of this article! :-)
At the cinema:
Most (all?) DCP servers will be able to read the USB key. A 15 Gb project will take around 50 mins to ingest.
Finally, you will need to tell the cinema what aspect the project is in, in their language!: Scope, Widescreen or Flat. This is important as both the projector's lens AND the mask curtain will need to change.
That's about it - I hope this is helpful to someone.