Qube Cinema Brings True 4K DCP Review and Playback to NAB 2013
Delivering Uncompressed 4K Projection to Postproduction Facilities
Booth SL12216
Qube Cinema will be demonstrating its system for integrated 4K DCP review and playback at the NAB Show in Las Vegas in April. The Qube XP-I server, Xi 4K Integrated Media Block (IMB) and the Quad 3G interface for digital cinema projectors allow integrated postproduction and digital cinema mastering workflows. Postproduction facilities with 4K DI suites are now able to use one projector setup for both HD-4K uncompressed color grading and 2K-4K digital cinema playback providing comprehensive review and quality control with this one Qube system.
The postproduction version of the Xi IMB features a Quad 3G interface with four BNC connectors that can be connected to color grading or finishing systems to stream uncompressed 4K content directly to a Series 2 DLP cinema projector. The Xi IMB with Quad 3G inputs offers seamless switching between 4K color grading formats and 4K DCPs from the same projector. Color grading and 4K DCP review can be done using a single projector in the screening room, allowing immediate comparisons and precise quality control of deliverables.
“Thanks to Qube Cinema, we have real-time color grading in our 4K DI theater,” said Paul Korver, executive producer at Cinelicious. “The Xi IMB allows us to view material at true 4K resolution from our 4K DLP cinema projector. The Qube Xi 4K IMB lets us go from color grading to DCP review with the flip of a switch. There are no cables to change, no swapping of cards. One minute we’re looking at the uncompressed master image data for color grading and the next we’re reviewing the 4K DCP.”
In addition to its postproduction capabilities, the XP-I server can synchronize dual Xi IMBs in DLP projectors, thus increasing screen brightness for high frame rate 3D exhibition to 14 foot-lamberts, a level which is comparable to that of 2D screenings. This is the setup used recently for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in both Wellington and London. The XP-I and Xi IMBs are also installed at the giant screen theaters of Moody Gardens, the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, the Peoria Riverfront Museum and the National Museum of the US Air Force where HFR 3D movies are now entertaining audiences.
“Qube understands that directors, cinematographers and colorists want to know how their 4K images are going to translate to the screen,” said Rajesh Ramachandran, CTO Qube Cinema. “The simplicity of the user experience with the XP-I and Xi IMB, with Quad 3G inputs, ensures this happens.”
“Needing only a single server is a huge plus for us,” explained Korver. “We chose Qube because of their cutting-edge technology and willingness to push boundaries. They respond quickly to new technologies in the market, whether it’s 4K, 3D or high bit rate DCP mastering and playback.”
Visitors to NAB can see the new Qube technology first-hand at booth SL12216 in the Lower South Hall.