Master Deliveries. Technical Specs for Digital Distribu7on

Transcription

1 Master Deliveries Technical Specs for Digital Distribu7on TECH CONTACT: CHRIS MCNULTY DELIVERABLES CONTACT: OLIVIA DAVISON 902 BROADWAY NEW YORK, NY CHRIS: (T) (F) OLIVIA: (T) (F) REVISED MAR PAGE 1

2 Master Deliveries Technical Specs T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S Cinedigm Accepts Tape & Digital Files...3 Submi=ng Tape Media...3 Submi=ng Digital Hard Drives...3 Scheduling Your New Release or Catalog Content...3 Closed CapHon Specs...6 #1 Website / URL InformaHon...7 #2 Digital Hits...7 #3 Duplicate Frames...7 #4 Merged Fields/Blended Frames (GhosHng Effect)...7 #5 Forced NTSC/PAL Conversions...8 #6 Aspect RaHos...8 #7 Interlacing...8 #8 Closed CapHoning...8 #9 Audio Dropouts...8 #11 One Frame of Black at Head/Tail of Content...9 #12 SubHtles...9 #13 Some More Things That ll Get Your Master Rejected...9 COPYRIGHT 2014 CINEDIGM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED REVISED MAR PAGE 2

3 Cinedigm Accepts Tape & Digital Files You may submit your master as a broadcast quality tape or as an uncompressed digital file on a hard drive. The specs required are described below. Regardless of what format you submit, please make sure you can answer NO to the following items that oeen exist on masters used previously and will cause the master to be rejected: NO Ads or Website / URL InformaHon NO Physical product tags (i.e., DVD, album, concerts, promohons) NO Release dates NO Bars & Tone or Countdowns (Digital Files Only) NO ProducHon Slates (Digital Files Only) NO Commercial blacks NO RaHngs informahon Cinedigm will hold your master unhl aeer the Htle goes live across all of our licensed content plahorms. Please contact Olivia Davison, Materials Coordinator (odavison@cinedigm.com) if you require your master to be returned earlier. Submi;ng Tape Media You may send any quality broadcast- ready format to us. Please provide masters in the nahve format in which the content was produced. Masters which have been standards- converted (PAL to/or from NTSC) are not acceptable. We require that you supply a master that was used for the DVD or beker. For example, if your DVD is 4x3 but content is available as 16x9 anamorphic, anamorphic would be the preferred master. If the DVD is 16x9 anamorphic, 4x3 content would not be accepted. If the DVD contains 5.1 audio the digital content must also be submiked with 5.1 audio. Submi;ng Digital Hard Drives You may also send broadcast quality digital files provided they meet the following requirements or are equivalent to the specs below. Please make sure all digital files do not exceed 300 GB. Scheduling Your New Release or Catalog Content To schedule your New Release or Catalog content, please visit this link: h\p:// requests/ New Release Film All assets need to be received 12 weeks prior to street date to ensure that they are live by deadline. Catalog/Library Film We require full delivery of assets prior to putting catalog film titles on our delivery schedule. Television Content Placement requires pitching and securing launch dates. Please make sure your digital client manager is made aware of all avail s. SD Digital Betacam* HD HD CAM* or HD CAM SR (4:2:2) *For tape deliveries we prefer Digibeta or HD CAM. Submission in any other format will have to be approved by Cinedigm prior to submission, and may result in addi7onal costs. To schedule content please visit this link: h\p:// requests/ REVISED MAR PAGE 3

4 HD DIGITAL MASTERS SD DIGITAL MASTERS NTSC Frame Rate fps or fps (nahve frame rate of original source) Frame Size Color 1920x x720 (Episodic or TV content only) ITU- R BT.709 color space, file tagged correctly as x480 or 720x486 ITU- R BT.601 color space GOOD MASTER VS BAD MASTER Bit Rate 80 mbits 50 mbits PAL Frame Rate 24 or 25 fps (nahve frame rate of original source) 25 fps (nahve frame rate of original source) Quick Time Frame Size Color 1920x x720 (Episodic or TV content only) ITU- R BT.709 color space, file tagged correctly as x576 Bit Rate 80 mbits 50 mbits Codec Pixel Aspect RaHo ITU- R BT.601 color space 8bit Uncompressed or Approved Video Codecs (ProRes422 (HQ), DV, DVC Pro, Avid DNxHD) Square 16:9 (853x480) or 4:3 (640x480)* *Not to be confused with Frame Size* Today the requirements for delivery have become much more stringent than in the days of DVD. A few digital hits was once acceptable. Now the master will be rejected by the content pla:orm and sent back for another round of post- produc>on. This creates addi>onal work, expense and delays. It all begins with a good master. How do you know you have a good master? We ve created a special list of the Top Reasons Why Your Masters Fail. Become familiar with this guide and you ll be on your way to sailing right through delivery. Audio Important Notes Stereo: LPCM in either Big or Likle Endian, 16- bit or 24- bit, at least 48kHz Surround: Required channels: L, R, C, LFE, Ls, Rs, LtRt Please make sure all audio is in sync with master. All content must begin and end with at least one frame of black Content may not be upscaled from SD 25 fps interlaced PAL films are NOT supported Telecine materials will not be accepted Digital files must NOT exceed 300 GB Submission in any other codec or format will have to be approved by Cinedigm prior to submission and may incur addihonal charges. Website and/or URL informahon is NOT acceptable. REVISED MAR PAGE 4

5 Trailers, Chapters, Poster Art and CapMons Trailer Notes Theatrical trailer preferred, 2 min. clips accepted Same Aspect RaHo as the feature Must begin and end with at least one frame of black If content is in HD then trailer must be HD Must be in Stereo or Surround & Stereo Trailer must be G Rated (No Nudity or Profanity) No MPAA rahngs card No Release Date tagging No Physical Product tagging No Bars & Tone (Digital Files Only) No Website or URL InformaHon No ProducHon Slates (Digital Files Only) Chapter Points All Chapter points must be provided using Hme code from the provided masters If no Chapter points are available, Cinedigm will break every 10 minutes as an alternahve. Poster Art Profile Provide as either a layered PSD file or EPS file, no less than 2400 pixels 300 dpi. Please provide the largest file available. TIFF with.hff extension (8- bit or 16- bit uncompressed) or JPEG with.jpeg extension RGB 2400 minimum width 2:3 raho Poster Art of film must contain key art and Htle. Credit blocks, DVD cover, release date, website, or promohonal tagging may not be included. SMll Images Please provide 3-5 high resoluhon STILL images. These are mandatory delivery requirements. Closed CapMons HD Audio Requirement The current partner spec requires that your film be supplied with closed caphons that sync up to your master. Please provide.scc files for closed caphoning. Closed CapHon specs can be found on page 6. If no closed caphoning is available, please contact Chris McNulty (cmcnulty@cinedigm.com) or Zwelinzima M Timkulu (zmhmkulu@cinedigm.com) Please note that in order to submit your content as HD for itunes, 5.1 Audio in addihon to Stereo must be provided if 5.1 has ever been created for any prior release. If 5.1 has ever been created, but is not supplied at the Hme of delivery, the content will only be made available for HD Rental. REVISED MAR PAGE 5

6 Closed CapMon Specs English text in EIA 608 format. Captions should begin at 00 Timecode. Delivered in the same package with the video it references. SCC formatted Ciles should be able to open in Quicktime Pro 7. In a Scenarist SCC formatted Cile, using.scc Cile extension. CC Ciles must be regardless of frame rate of the movie Cile. Note: Captioning workclows utilizing FPS timecodes can be accepted but the timecodes will be regarded as FPS. SCC Ciles should preserve the timecode mode (drop or non- drop) used in your captioning process, not necessarily the mode represented in the QuickTime movie source. Captions should display and synchronize to within one second of the initial, audible dialog to be represented in text. The timecodes of the captions are relative to the start of the program, and not the QuickTime movie's timecode track. Cinedigm does accept other caption Cile types like.cap but we prefer to receive.scc formatted Ciles. Additional Notes/Frequent Issues: Line Positioning Data: We require that captions or subtitles do not appear over any on screen text throughout the episode/cilm. Any caption/subtitle Cile that appears over text should be moved to the Top Position or vice versa. All CCs/ subtitles should be not cover ANY on- screen text. Timing: CC or Subtitle duration appear too short or too long on screen. Subs must match their episode in length exactly to dialogue. Spelling and Grammar: Must be exact. Platforms will Clag and reject for these issues frequently. Note If closed caption data is available for any broadcast or web delivery system, it must be suppled to the digital platforms. REVISED MAR PAGE 6

7 Please become familiar with the rejec>on issues that cause masters to be returned. We require that your The top 13 reasons why masters get rejected company thoroughly QC your content before delivery. The issues covered here will result in failures and may lead to unexpected charges for repair. Thoroughly checking your material to find these issues beforehand will go a long way to help speed your content through and get it live quickly. #1 Website / URL InformaMon Any website or URL informahon on all content will be rejected. Website / URL should not appear on any porhon of the video. #2 Digital Hits Digital hits are arhfacts that appear on the source of your video content. This includes video tears, specs of dirt or stahc on the video source. Please be aware that digital hits can occur on only one frame and may be hard to spot at first. If any or mulhple digital hits occur, your source will be rejected. If no other source is available and if the digital hit is present on a commercially released DVD, please contact your Cinedigm Technical Rep. #3 Duplicate Frames A frame with digital hits If submi=ng your masters in uncompressed files on hard drives check for duplicate frames by opening up the QuickHme file and stepping through the file using the arrow keys. If any frame duplicates or repeats, then your content has duplicate frames. Most oeen this occurs when frame rate source is output to in which case your content will generate extra frames. This requires reverse telecine to avoid duplicate frames always output your content at its nahve frame rate. #4 Merged Fields/Blended Frames (GhosMng Effect) When frames overlap, merge together or look like a ghoshng effect you may have merged fields. Each frame should be clean and by itself. A good way of determining Merged Fields is finding footage that contains a good amount of visual mohon. Usually in these circumstances, blended frames should be judged aeer you have de- interlaced /reverse telecine the footage. You will nohce that aeer the de- interlace process, the interlaced lines are gone but because the fields were blended into each other it leaves a ghost image like the screen shots to the right. This usually happens when film sources are forced frame rate converted to instead of doing telecine process. This introduces interpolated new frames that can t be taken out. Examples of merged fields/ blended frames COPYRIGHT 2014 CINEDIGM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED REVISED MAR PAGE 7

8 #5 Forced NTSC/PAL Conversions A forced Pal- NTSC conversion will look just like the example picture for blended frames. It s the same idea where extra frames are interpolated so you will have blended frames. Content MUST be supplied in their nahve format. If it is shot in PAL- deliver in PAL. If it is shot in NTSC then deliver in NTSC. If the source is not telecine and it is indeed a interlaced source, going to PAL will never yield clean results and will look choppy as frames are taken out. #6 Aspect RaMos Please make sure your content maintains the same aspect raho throughout. If a film is delivered with two different aspect rahos it will be rejected. #7 Interlacing A video source can have interlaced frames (a pakern of 3 shll frames, 2 interlaced frames or 3 independent frames and 2 duplicate frames) but they have to be treated differently to make them into progressive. Pure interlaced sources need to be deinterlaced (in Compressor using the Inspector under the control tab set the output fields to progressive). Pure interlaced sources tend to be made for TV or with a small camera that tends to be interlaced. This can be BoPom First or Top First (for output fields) and needs to be deinterlaced. Pure interlaced sources need to be Deinterlaced. Switch you output fields to progressive Telecine PaPerns need to be Reversed Telecined. Your output field will automa>cally switch to progressive If a film has a telecine pakern, it will be 3 progressive shlls, and 2 interlaced shlls (somehmes referred to as the 3:2 pakern). If you see the 3:2 pakern on Telecine sources you must run a reverse telecine to throw out a Progressive file. (In compressor under deinterlace you pick reverse telecine). Plahorms will take only Progressive material for SD but for HD it can take interlaced (Top First or Bokom First) material. #8 Closed CapMoning The current spec requires that your film is supplied with closed caphons if the film has aired with caphons or caphoning is/will be included on the DVD. If you do not provide a closed caphoning file and it exists, your film will be rejected. Please provide.scc files for closed caphoning. Closed caphon specs can be found on page 6. #9 Audio Dropouts There are numerous audio issues that could cause your content to be rejected. Audio Hits are anything in the audio that sounds like a sharp popping noise that disrupts the audio. Insure your audio is in sync with the video. Examples of interlacing COPYRIGHT 2014 CINEDIGM ALL RIGHTS RESERVED REVISED MAR PAGE 8

9 #10 Incorrect Audio Layout Please make sure you correctly supply LPCM Stereo with your source for SD content. For HD Content (itunes only), if you want your film for EST- Sale and Rental you must properly supply 5.1 audio + Stereo for all HD content. The surround audio tracks should be in the following order: 1. Lee 2. Right 3. Center 4. LFE 5. Lee Surround 6. Right Surround 7. Lee Total 8. Right Total #11 One Frame of Black at Head/Tail of Content This RejecHon gets overlooked oeen so please make sure ALL of your content starts on one frame of black and ends on one frame of black. If your content starts directly on video, it will be rejected. #12 SubMtles If your film has subhtles, please make sure they are in sync with the audio/picture, are conhnuously in frame and not cut off anywhere. They should be evenly centered in the middle of the film. If your film is leker- boxed, subhtles should appear either enhrely in the picture, or enhrely in the middle of the black make. It should NOT overlap from black make to picture. #13 Some More Things That ll Get Your Master Rejected Please make sure to also check your content for any of these items below. MPAA rahngs on the feature or trailer FBI warnings on the feature or trailer DVD release informahon on the feature or trailer Theatrical release informahon on the feature or trailer Broadcast release informahon on the feature or trailer Coming Soon or similar on the feature or trailer Website informahon on feature or trailer Nudity While content partners will accept some nudity they will NOT accept any full frontal scenes so please make sure all content submissions are completely free of any full frontal nudity scenes. This is an example of sub>tles that will be rejected for not being centered as well as running off the screen. Check your sub>tle placement carefully. Thanks for helping out and delivering the best masters possible. It helps to keep our release schedules on- >me and achieve our common goals. - The Cinedigm Digital Team (Chris, Olivia, Bobbi, Jack, ScoC & Alissa) REVISED MAR PAGE 9