4K UHD MKV to DCP

[glbirdsong]

This poor horse has been beaten beyond recognition… but for the sake of my sanity, I need to make a thread of my own.

We run a theater with a newly upgraded Barco 4K laser projector, along with a fresh batch of other cinema equipment. We screen 15-20 films a month, all ripped and DCP’d using the incredible DOM program. With the upgrade, we also invested in the necessary gear to rip 4K UHD discs, hoping to take full advantage of our cinema system’s capabilities.

Of course, as we all know, UHD’s color spaces and metadata like to throw colors into absolute chaos. I’ve lurked on the forums for months, plunged headfirst into every rabbit hole, and suffered through failed attempts with HandBrake, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve—you name it. I found the legendary thread detailing a potential solution to the 4K UHD debacle, but for the life of me, I still can’t wrap my head around how to make it work. The biggest issue? Since we crank out 15-20 films a month, I simply don’t have the time to fine-tune every single scene with painstaking precision.

So, fellas—am I chasing a lost cause? Is there a practical, scalable workflow solution for this, or should I just make peace with my 1080p Blu-Rays and call it a day? Help!

[Carsten]

I don't see a viable solution right now. Some people seem to be okay with dialling in 'some' colours in Resolve. I suggest you stay with standard 1080p Blurays for the time being. Proper colours is more important than the difference between 4k and upscaled 4k.


If you have a 4k Barco (what type is it), it maybe possible for it to display UHD, if it is equipped with an ICMP and the HDR option is bought. That of course will only allow you to view UHD discs realtime through a standard UHD player.

[glbirdsong]

Thank you for your response, Carsten. I agree with you on the importance of proper colors vs 4K. We have a Barco SP4K-15C and alongside our upgrades came a 4K Blu-Ray player too. That works great playing directly from the discs, but not when trying to schedule the films/trailers automatically with the media server.

I'll keep my eyes open for any updates or workarounds others may discover when it comes to this tricky situation.

[SethMutchler]

Appreciate the continued discussion on this. With full understanding it's a massive undertaking with significant complication, and one that I have no technical knowledge in to help contribute towards solving, a fool-proof one-click way to take HDR UHD rips and create 4K SDR DCPs is the killer app / white whale in my book. But still immensely grateful for DOM's critical piece in the Blu-ray to DCP workflow