Digital Film Mastering

Abstract

A new approach for generating video masters from film originals is presented in this paper. The basis is a high-throughput film scanner with a data output option that enables the generation of a high-resolution digital data copy. By combining standard computer platforms and dedicated processing hardware, an integrated system is created where multiple master video copies of differing formats can be derived from a single digital data copy. This flexible and efficient method of generating different versions of a program facilitates multimedia distribution of an original film. The paper also presents the overall concept and architecture for digital film mastering and explains, in particular, the architecture of a crucial component: the post-processing unit. The specific challenges that arise from the processing of continuous data streams at rates up to 420 Mbytes/sec are discussed. An example based on an actual film scanner from Philips Digital Video Systems is used to illustrate the method.