Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Reel 1 Test CPL

This is topic Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Reel 1 Test CPL in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 11-14-2014, 06:14 PM:

As has become the norm for Lionsgate's blockbuster movies, they will only allow us to QC reel 1 prior to the Thursday night premiere. I do not yet know when keys will be valid for this test, but I believe it was Tuesday night last year. Presumably the keys for the full movie will not be valid before 5:00-6:00pm on Thursday 11/20.

Per the Projectionist letter the test CPL has to be ingested in addition to the feature CPLs. If you are running a Hunger Games marathon, it appears Hunger Games and Catching Fire will be on the same drive as Mockingjay.

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 11-14-2014, 08:59 PM:

What point is testing the test CPL if it's not the feature?

*SIGH*

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 11-15-2014, 05:21 AM:

The CPL will be a VF of the OV, hence what you're seeing on screen will be what you will be seeing when running the OV.
Sure, it won't give you 100% assurance that it's going to work but you'll be quite confident that the picture fits the screen and the sound level is the expected one.

If the alternative is to receive nothing, I say this is a good compromise.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-15-2014, 07:04 AM:

Justin...confirmed, all three features are on a single drive (but as separate features)...the drive I saw had all of the "normal" versions and a separate Auro version of Mockingjay...Atmos, if available on this title, was not on the drive.

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 11-15-2014, 09:46 AM:

There is a separate drive for the Atmos version which also includes an Atmos version of the Insurgent trailers.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 11-15-2014, 03:50 PM:

Am I right that ATMOS DCPs HAVE to be on separate drives because they are SMPTE DCPs, while the rest of the breed is Interop? Currently, you can't mix these.

I think it's the same for The Hobbit II & III HFR releases.

- Carsten

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 11-15-2014, 07:44 PM:

On a comparison note: "Big Hero 6" ATMOS is SMPTE and separate drive, were "BH6" 5.1/7.1 is IOP on its own drive.

-Monte

Posted by Jeff Kuschel (Member # 8165) on 11-16-2014, 11:17 AM:

Forgive my lack of knowledge, but why do both the feature CPL and the test CPL have to be ingested in order for the test CPL to work?

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-16-2014, 11:33 AM:

Gosh Jeff...what a stupid question! You should only ask questions for those things for which you have the answer to! [Wink]

The reason was actually discussed above (see Marco's post). The Reel 1 test is actually just a "Version File"...signified by the "VF" at the end of its "easy to decipher name." A Version File does not contain all of the content needed to run a DCP...it may only have a description in it on how to build the DCP or may contain that which is different about that version...say the 7.1 soundtrack or subtitles for a particular language. As such they are very small, comparatively. With ANY version file, one has to have an associated "OV" or Original Version...which is the base version that has everything needed to form a complete DCP (CPL...Composition Play List). A VF file then modifies that as needed as described in the VF to make a unique DCP. In this manner, there is likely one one set of "picture" files which take up the bulk of the space. In this manner, you are not taking up much more space to have several versions of the same movie because all of the various VF files are only taking up a small amount of space.

However, this SMPTE encoding people are talking about would NOT be a mere version file...in order to have both an SMPTE and IOP versions on the same HDD...there would need to be two complete OVs since the base file would be unique for each...and then all of the VF files to that OV would have to be different...you'd have so many duplication of names on one drive with small nuances (that often only come at the end of the name that most systems don't let you see easily)...the odds that people would select the wrong one would be rather high. Atmos, being a relatively small installation base, is probably easier to just segregate those. However next year, everyone is supposed to move over to SMPTE encoding. Interop was supposed to just be a stop-gap.

Posted by Jeff Kuschel (Member # 8165) on 11-16-2014, 11:55 AM:

Steve...thank you for the explanation. When I was reading Marco's reply, I had no idea what the abbreviations meant.

So, when we want to run the test for Mockingjay, we will need to tell our servers to play the test (VF) file, which will automatically grab any content it may need from the "full" original (OV) file.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 11-16-2014, 02:16 PM:

It's the KDM file (key) that makes that determination on which file is to be played and how long, not the server.

You'll get a special test key that has coding to allow playback of the content for a certain amount of time, and will not allow the entire package to be played.

Then, you'll receive and ingest the actual feature key that overrides that previous test key for full feature playback, but at a later time.

the CPL can also be the full feature content, but it's under control of the key's instruction on how much can be played, or all.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 11-16-2014, 05:21 PM:

quote: Steve Guttag
However next year, everyone is supposed to move over to SMPTE encoding. Interop was supposed to just be a stop-gap.

Nothing is as permanent as a temporary solution [Wink]

. Do we actually expect "them" (studios et all) to re-encode their existing stockpile of interop DCPs to SMTPE, so we could, one day, kill the support for "Interop" in all deployments?

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-17-2014, 06:14 AM:

Wrong Monte. The server is what "chooses" what file to play. The key merely allows it. You can have a valid key for the reel 1 as well as the full feature and you can choose to play either if both are valid. There is no key overriding the other key.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 11-17-2014, 01:32 PM:

In an attempt to clear this up, I was under the impression that the CPL was what determined what would be played (picture file, audio file, captions, etc), and that each CPL requires a unique KDM.

One point I'm not clear on is how things like closed captions and alternate language subtitles are handled. Are these all contained in the main DCP, and the CPL chooses which parts to use? Or does the CPL for Spanish subtitles merge a second DCP with the subtitles on top of the main DCP which contains the pictures and audio.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 11-17-2014, 01:38 PM:

At the risk of being pedantic, I would say the KDM instructs the server what to play and if you ask it nicely it will choose to follow the instructions.

Actually this is a useful discussion to clear the confusion some of us may have.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 11-17-2014, 06:43 PM:

Justin, technically, OV and VF built on top of each other. That is, they usually share main assets, e.g. multiple language versions share the same video files. And versions with different subtitles may share the same audio and video file. But CPLs do not cross-reference other CPLs - every CPL is completely self contained and may reference individual and/or shared assets. But KDMs and the keys they contain are CPL bound. E.g. you may have an english OV KDM with valid keys for specific assets. If there is an alternative language CPL, using the same assets, the alternative language version still can not be played back even if the necessary keys are contained in the original language KDM. You need a separate KDM carrying the (same) keys so that the server will associate them with the CPL it is intended for.

One KDM per CPL. Yes, there are now specific versions of bundled KDMs for multiple screens and multiple CPLs in one file - but that is just a pragmatic approach for wrapping and distribution. Technically, the server still associates one KDM with one CPL.

- Carsten

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 11-17-2014, 07:31 PM:

Carsten: I guess another way to think of it is there is a bundle of assets which go with the movie (pictures; audio - including 5.1, 7.1, auro, Spanish, etc; sub-titles;; captions; and so forth). Then the CPL designates which parts of the package it needs to play the specific version of the feature. For example a CPL for 2D 5.1 English with English captions would pick those components from the package and then you would need a matching key.

Just to be clear, I understand how this works. And I realize the OV and VF make this a little more complicated, I'm just trying to think of the easiest way for a novice to conceptualize what happens.

Assuming the versions are the same length, would the 2D and 3D versions of the movie use the same 5.1 and 7.1 audio files? I know there is a different set of picture files for 2D and 3D.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-17-2014, 08:22 PM:

It is entirely possible that the audio files are the same...you could always look in the content and see if the UUIDs are the same between the 2D and 3D versions.

Ingesting an OV and then a VF version in a Dolby may make this easier to comprehend. Load in the OV version of the movie...it takes the normal amount of time to load and then verify. Then load in a VF version (say, a 7.1 sound of it). The ingest time will be very fast...it only had to transfer the audio files...but when it verifies...it is the normal time...why...it is verifying the whole CPL...picture and sound.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 11-17-2014, 11:07 PM:

Just to update the information on main subject. I received an email from Deluxe explaining the procedure for this test. The keys for the test are good from 12:01 11/18 (Monday night) until 8:00am 11/19. These test keys are supposed to be emailed Monday night, 11/17

The regular feature keys will be sent after 10:00pm on 11/19, and will not be active until 5:00pm 11/20.

quote:
ATTENTION THEATRE MANAGER/PROJECTIONIST

IMPORTANT KEY INFORMATION:

Our records indicate that you are booked to play The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 release by Lionsgate Films. Please review the key information related to this title below:

1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 release DCP contains a partial package enabling you to quality check (QC) the first 20 minutes of the movie.

a) On Monday 11/17 you will receive a key activating the partial package from Tuesday 11/18 at 12:01 AM-to-Wednesday 11/19 at 8:00 AM.

b) Please make sure to schedule a quality check in this time window as the feature will be locked until the release key activates it on Thursday 11/20 at 5:00 PM.

2. In order to properly playback the first 20 minutes of the movie, you must ingest the following files from the hard drive or your satellite system:

a) The main feature file --
MockingjayPT1_FTR_S_EN-XX-CCAP_US-13_51-HI-VI-DBOX_4K_LION_20141103_DLA_IOP_OV

b) The partial package file --
R1MockingjayPT1_TEST_S_EN-XX-CCAP_US_51-HI-VI-DBOX_4K_LION_20141108_DLA_IOP_VF

c) Then ingest the key for “R1MockingjayPT1_TEST…”

d) Make a playlist/map with only the partial package “R1MockingjayPT1_TEST…”

3. **MAKE SURE TO DELETE THIS QC PLAYLIST AFTER PERFORMING THE TEST AND CREATE A NEW PLAYLIST WITH THE RELEASE FEATURE ONLY.**

4. Release keys for this title will be sent Wednesday 11/19 after 10:00 PM local time activating The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Thursday 11/20 at 5pm

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 11-18-2014, 12:26 AM:

Sure sounds like an awful lot of rigamarole just to play a movie....but AH, it stops PIRACY in it's tracks. Or so they say.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 11-18-2014, 06:06 AM:

Justin: Bear in mind also that a KDM is not a decryption key. A KDM contains keys AND a playout window. So even if the proper keys have been transmitted for certain assets, they can not be played if they haven't been associated to a specific CPL and playout window by the KDM metadata.

KDMs are CPL related, the keys within are asset-related. Every individual reel can have it's own individual decryption key. A single KDM for a specific CPL may contain dozends of keys for all assets needed for that CPL to play - e.g. 6 reels of video, 6 reels of audio, 6 reels of subtitles, etc.

- Carsten

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-20-2014, 01:35 AM:

quote: Justin Hamaker
Just to update the information on main subject. I received an email from Deluxe explaining the procedure for this test. The keys for the test are good from 12:01 11/18 (Monday night) until 8:00am 11/19. These test keys are supposed to be emailed Monday night, 11/17

Hmm. We didn't get the test key or that email. Just the "regular" key arrived late this evening. Oh well...fingers crossed I guess.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 11-20-2014, 02:38 AM:

Mike
Look for the Reel test in the Test content named "R1mockingjaypt1test". Unfortunately it's only good until 8:00am.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 11-20-2014, 06:50 AM:

While the content or rather the CPL will probably be there, without a key you're still nowhere [Wink]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-20-2014, 01:31 PM:

I loaded it last night and we got an email today saying the complete feature would unlock at noon as opposed to 5pm as previously stated. And indeed it was unlocked when I checked just now.