Digital Cinema Package (DCP)

Digital Cinema Packages for theatrical release in South Korea follow the same DCI specs used worldwide. But the real needs of the home cinema circuit shape how we build them. CGV, Lotte Cinema, and Megabox between them run most screens across the country. Each one keeps preferred ingest profiles for audio channel mapping, subtitle delivery, and trailer-versus-feature CPL structure. Our DCP team makes SMPTE-compliant packages, and Interop is ready where festival or older projectors need it. We deliver 2K and 4K resolutions, 5.1, 7.1, or Dolby Atmos audio, and many subtitle languages. Aspect-ratio variants go into extra packages, so the main feature payload is never copied twice.

Encryption runs through pro KDM workflows. For commercial releases, each key is tied to set projector certificates and exhibition windows. For festival entries, we produce unencrypted packages, since easy playback counts more there than security. Each package is checked on a reference cinema server before delivery. That step confirms load behaviour, audio mapping, subtitle timing, and CPL integrity against the production's exhibition plan.

Turnaround for a standard feature DCP is one to three business days, and rush services are ready for festival deadlines or last-minute global screenings. Once delivered, each package is archived against the production's preservation master. Re-issues for re-releases, anniversary screenings, or new area deals can then be produced without re-mastering from scratch.

The Busan International Film Festival draws Korean and global titles each year, and its deadlines drive much of our festival DCP work. Submissions often need fast turnaround on a fixed cut-off, with both a screening package and a backup on hand. We build unencrypted festival DCPs that load cleanly on a wide range of cinema servers, including older projectors still in use at smaller venues. Subtitle tracks are timed and checked for reading speed, so a global jury and a home audience both follow the film with ease.

We build the DCP from the graded master with full colour fidelity, not from a compressed proxy. The X'Y'Z' colour conversion and JPEG2000 encoding are done at the production's native resolution, so the look approved in the grading suite survives to the cinema screen. Dolby Atmos, 7.1, and 5.1 audio are mapped to the correct channels and verified against the mix. For a Hallyu feature heading to both Korean multiplexes and overseas screenings, we confirm the package plays identically on every certified server it will reach.

A theatrical title rarely needs just one package. We manage a DCP composition playlist set covering the feature, trailers, alternate language subtitles, and any censored or runtime variant a market requires. Supplemental packages carry only the changed reels, so a 4K feature payload is encoded once and reused. Each version is logged against the production's archive and its KDM record. When a new territory deal or a re-release lands, we issue fresh keys or a new variant from existing elements rather than starting the encode again.