A Sony DCP with 7.1 sound VF?

[Carsten Kurz]

Just received this:

AftertheHunt_FTR-4_F_EN-XX_INT_71_4K_SPE_20250903_DLX_SMPTE_VF
AftertheHunt_FTR-4_F_DE-XX_DE_71_4K_SPE_20251008_DLX_SMPTE_VF

(there are, of course also 5.1 and IAB/ATMOS VFs)

This is the first Sony DCP I come across that has 7.1 sound VFs. And for THAT type of movie...


I hope it's not the last one too.

[Chris Haller]

I would bet its because Sony is just doing domestic. It was distributed domestically by Amazon MGM Studios. I'd wager they prepped the deliverables. They're pretty good about minting 7.1 DCPs.

[Carsten Kurz]

We booked 'The Smurfs' from Sony Germany and received a 7.1 DCP - but that didn't carry 'SPE' in its Name, as Sony distributes Paramount titles here.

Smurfs-wSHR_FTR_S_DE-XX_DE_71_2K_PC_20250617_PXU_SMPTE_VF

'After The Hunt', though, carries the SPE and DLX indicators, so I guess it went through the Sony DCP mastering pipeline.

Not saying that Sony isn't capable of making 7.1 DCPs. Just unwilling (so far).

[Jim Cassedy]

We played "After The Hunt" here in 35mm, but we had a DCP for backup and for digital shows
in a couple of our smaller auditoriums. The CPL's here were:

AfterTheHunt_FTR-4_F_EN-XX-CCAP_US_51-HI-VI_4K_AMZN_20250910_DLX_SMPTE_OV

AfterTheHunt_FTR-4_F_EN-XX-CCAP_US_71-HI-VI_4K_AMZN_20250910_DLX_SMPTE_VF

. . and there were also ATMOS™, OCAP and LAS versions.

[Marcel Birgelen]

We booked 'The Smurfs' from Sony Germany and received a 7.1 DCP - but that didn't carry 'SPE' in its Name, as Sony distributes Paramount titles here.

Smurfs-wSHR_FTR_S_DE-XX_DE_71_2K_PC_20250617_PXU_SMPTE_VF

'After The Hunt', though, carries the SPE and DLX indicators, so I guess it went through the Sony DCP mastering pipeline.

Not saying that Sony isn't capable of making 7.1 DCPs. Just unwilling (so far).

Would Sony go as far as creating their own DCPs or just ask MGM/Amazon to tack-on the SPE logos for the International release while they're at it?

Maybe, if we really want to go deep, someone should get all the metadata out of the DCPs to get an indication if it was mastered through the same pipeline.