Hollywood studios have proposed the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) guidelines for the digital exhibition of studio productions in mainstream theaters.

These guidelines do not take into consideration the capture - production formats used by the independent film and documentary creators nor the fact that art cinemas typically have smaller screens and more limited audiences.  Following the DCI technology guidelines could actually modify and even harm the look the independent filmmaker had intended.

As a result of a lack of guidelines for the digital exhibition of independent films, there is a great inconsistency in the quality of the images shown in theaters specializing in this type of programming.

The i-cinema guidelines addresses the issue by focusing on several aspects of the digital exhibition:

• Faithfulness to the filmmakers vision and capture format.
• Interoperability of files and advancements in encoding technology.
• On screen Image brightness, resolution and contrast.
• High quality/cost effective process.

Faithfulness to the filmmakers vision and capture format.

The first principle: the theatrical experience has to reflect the vision of its creator and consequently the filmmaker’s decisions must be respected.

Many independent productions and most documentaries are created in Standard Definition Digital Video format.  The image on the theaters screen reflects that choice.

If the work was produced in High Definition or 35 mm film the appearance of the image will be sharper, have a different color gamut and may show some of the “grain “ associated with the film medium.

High definition requires a minimum resolution of 1280x720 pixels. (720p)

Interoperability of files and advancements in encoding technology

One of the main advantages of the digital format is its cost efficiency, which in turn permits a faster and broader distribution. The high costs of prints and the operational difficulties associated with them can be eliminated. The new advanced video encoding formats are now able to reduce the size of a digital file so that they can be efficiently transmitted electronically: no need to ship hard media – which further increases the security and efficacy of the digital format.

The efficiency of digital delivery must exceed the speed and cost of traditional 35 mm print delivery. The fastest 35 mm Print delivery is currently overnight FedEx service. The cost of 35 mm delivery varies from approximately  $20 for a planned delivery to more than $100 via overnight FedEx.

Currently the following file formats permit digital delivery via high speed broadband with a minimum bandwidth of 3 mb/s (commercially available in most locations) or via satellite in less than 10 hrs:

• VC-1
• AVC - H.264

The file sizes in these formats vary from approximately 8 GB to 20 GB for a 90-minute feature.

In the other digital cinema formats, MPEG2 and JPEG2000, the files for a 90 minute movie are approximately 50GB (MPEG2) to 200 + GB  (JPEG2000).

Therefore these files are delivered either by shipping hard drives (same delivery process as prints) or via satellite (if many theaters are receiving the same content)

To date, over 300 titles have been encoded and delivered to cinemas in North and South America in the VC-1 format.  Standard MPEG 4 is now being used in a few chains in India but migration to the more advanced version of MPEG 4, called AVC- H.264, are expected to begin soon

We would therefore propose VC-1 as the i-cinema file format for 2007, and add AVC- H.264 for 2008

Consequently, the recommendation would be for i-Cinema digital servers to be able to display files in either format by 2008. Currently, High Definition VC-1 capable digital servers are easily available from several vendors at affordable prices. Most of these servers can be easily upgraded by adding new software, to also display AVC-H.264 files.

All files must be protected by encryption. Keys authorizing the playback would be delivered electronically to the servers allowing exhibition determined by agreement between the content rights holder and the exhibitor.

On screen Image brightness, resolution and contrast

The projection imaging technology chosen by digital cinema professionals to date has been Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing.

There are several implementations of the DLP micro mirror technology.  Consumer or computer presentation projectors utilize this technology with one chip and a color wheel. Cinema professionals have always preferred the 3–Chip configurations.

Currently the DCI guidelines for Hollywood studios require a 3–Chip D-Cinema 2k projector with special color space specifications. This makes sense since studios have also implemented common practices in production of Digital Cinema Masters.

However, most major independent film festivals have chosen the 3-Chip DLP projectors in a more cost effective configuration, that still faithfully reproduce the variety of formats utilized by independent filmmakers.

The proposed i-Cinema guidelines reflect the choices of the filmmakers and the independent film festival technology directors and therefore the i-cinema projectors should feature the following specifications:

• 3 Chip DLP with a minimum of 1280 x 720 pixel resolution.
• Contrast ratio to exceed 2000:1.
• Brightness in ANSI Lumens sufficient to create 15ft.Lamberts of reflected light intensity from the screen.

New formats with sufficient resolution and contrast ratio are now being introduced, such as Sony’s SXRD and will be considered for i-cinema applications.

There are many art theaters currently using LCD projectors with XGA resolution (1024x 768). The overall color space, color uniformity and contrast ratio of LCD projectors was designed for graphics presentations rather than the reproduction of cinematic images. Consequently, current LCD installations would not meet the proposed i-cinema guidelines.

High quality/cost effective process

The efficiency of digital delivery must exceed the speed and cost of traditional 35 mm print delivery. The fastest 35 mm Print delivery is currently overnight FedEx service. The cost of 35 mm delivery varies from approximately  $20 for a planned delivery to more than $100 via overnight FedEx.

The 3 Mbs high speed broadband connectivity proposed for the delivery of files according to the i-Cinema guidelines is available for approximately $100 per month in most locations. 

For the price of one overnight FedEx print delivery, a theater could receive all the features for the entire months programming.

The declining costs of broadband service and the expansion of fiber connectivity will further increase the efficiency of content file delivery.

i-Cinema Technology Guidelines

Deliverables for encoding :

Content must be delivered for encoding in the original production format or in high quality upconverted media.

Standard Definition Material transcoded from one standard to another – ex: PAL> NTSC or NTSC>PAL will not be accepted.

16:9 material that is  “letterboxed” will not be accepted unless the original material was letterboxed.

Encoding:

In 2007 Content must be encoded in VC-1 format.

In 2008 Content may be encoded in either VC-1 or AVC-H.264.

Security:

All files must be protected by encryption. Keys authorizing the playback would be delivered electronically to the servers. The digital servers would be constantly connected to a broadband line for constant monitoring by a Network Operations Center.

Projection Systems:

2007 : 3 Chip DLP projection systems with minimum native resolution of 1280x720 pixels and providing sufficient light output for a reflected screen brightness of 15 FL. (Foot Lamberts)

2008 : Same as above +  LCOS/SXRD with 1920x1080 resolution.

Screen Size:

Maximum 26ft.  (8 m)  Width

Exhibition Venue Connectivity:

2007: High Speed broadband with static IP address and a minimum of 3 Mbs download bandwidth.