NeoDCP Player features

DCP playback and full-screen output

NeoDCP Player plays SMPTE and Interop DCPs in 2K and 4K on a Windows PC. The controller window stays on your primary display, and the picture plays full screen on a second display or projector, with no controls over the picture. On a PC with a single display, the picture plays in a window.

Real-time playback

JPEG 2000 is decoded in software, so the processor decides what plays in real time: 2K DCPs at 24 or 48 fps, and 4K DCPs in full resolution on a fast CPU. On a slower PC, the player decodes a lower resolution in real time and scales it to full screen. A CPU load indicator in the controller window shows how busy the processor is, and the resolution widget next to it lowers or raises the decoding resolution during playback. Reels play one after another without gaps. With the 14-day trial you can try this on your own PC; in the trial, 4K DCPs play at a lower resolution.

Output settings

• Every output device is listed with its ID and name in Menu › Settings › Video settings (since version 5.16), so you can pick the right projector or display.
• Choose the full-screen resolution, refresh rate and color depth, for example 24 Hz for 24 fps DCPs.
• Vertical sync: tick “Enable vertical sync” in the video settings for smooth playback without tearing.
• Options to open playback in full-screen mode, start playback automatically, hide the mouse cursor in full-screen mode, and show a black screen while playback is paused.
• Interlaced display modes are supported, for equipment that needs them.
• 30-bit deep color output in full-screen mode (see “Color: XYZ to RGB conversion and 30-bit output”).

Step by step: Set up a Windows PC for DCP screenings.

Stereoscopic 3D playback

NeoDCP Player plays stereoscopic (3D) DCPs and MXF files, including stereoscopic subtitles. In full-screen mode it outputs frame-packed 3D when the graphics card and the display support it, and side-by-side 3D otherwise; side-by-side 3D also works in windowed mode. You can also show only the left eye or only the right eye. Stereoscopic output needs an HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 connection to a 3D-capable projector or display.

To set it up:

1. In Windows display settings, set your operator monitor as the primary display and the projector or 3D display as the secondary display.
2. In NeoDCP Player, select the full-screen output device and the full-screen mode.

The 3D signal is then detected automatically. Graphics cards for 3D are listed in the system requirements, and the 14-day trial lets you test your 3D setup before you order.

Encrypted DCPs with KDMs and HDCP/DPCP output

Encrypted DCPs play with a KDM issued to the player’s certificate. Playback of encrypted DCPs with KDMs is part of the Cinema and Cinema PT licenses.

Player certificate

With a Cinema or Cinema PT license you receive your player’s certificate and its certificate chain (.pem), which content providers need to issue KDMs for your player. Each installation has its own certificate. Since September 2025, player certificates are issued under new NeoDCP CA certificates; labs and distributors find the CA certificates on the download page.

KDM database

• Ingest KDMs with the Ingest KDM button in the controller window. They are kept in the player’s KDM database, which is stored in encrypted form, so an encrypted DCP can be played again without loading its KDM again.
• The KDM browser shows the validity period of every key in local time and in UTC, with its KDM message ID, and marks keys that are valid, expire soon, have expired or become valid later. You can filter the list and remove expired keys, selected keys or single validity periods.
• KDMs can be ingested while you preview a DCP.
• DCP inspect shows which ingested keys belong to a DCP and when they expire.

Protected output: HDCP and DPCP

NeoDCP Player supports both HDCP and DisplayPort Content Protection. Set the output to an HDCP- or DPCP-capable display or projector and start the encrypted DCP; the output is protected automatically. Encrypted content is sent only over HDMI with HDCP or DisplayPort with DPCP, and it cannot be exported from the player.

For a projector or LED wall far from the PC, use HDMI with HDCP over an HDBaseT extender (HDCP 2.2). Unencrypted DCPs can also reach other equipment, for example SDI devices through the graphics card’s HDMI output and an HDMI-to-SDI converter.

Step by step: Encrypted DCPs and KDMs on a Windows PC.

Supplemental DCPs (OV + VF)

A Supplemental DCP (version file, VF) adds one or more versions to an original DCP (OV), for example sound tracks or subtitles in other languages. It does not contain the media it shares with the OV.

1. Ingest or register the OV in a DCP library, so the player knows where its media files are.
2. Open the VF, or ingest it too and open it from the library.

If the OV is missing, the player shows a hint, and DCP inspect marks the file references it cannot resolve. Japanese and Chinese subtitles in Supplemental DCPs are rendered since version 5.18. Supplemental DCPs are supported with the Cinema and Cinema PT licenses.

Step by step: Supplemental DCPs: play a VF with its OV.

MXF playback

Individual MXF files play without a DCP around them. In File › Open Audio/Video MXF…, select a picture MXF, a sound MXF and a subtitle file (MXF or XML), in any combination, and click Open.

• The player checks each selected file and does not open files with an invalid structure; Inspect shows more details about a file.
• For an encrypted MXF file, enter its 32-digit decryption key.
• The entry point and the duration can be set for each file, and MXF combinations can be added to playlists, like the reels of a CPL.

DCP inspect and hash check

DCP inspect (File › Inspect DCP…) shows what is inside a DCP before you play it or send it on:

• the structure as a tree: packing lists (PKL), compositions (CPL), reels and their MXF files, with titles
• for each item the duration, the intrinsic duration, the DRM status and the UUID; right-click to copy a value, for example a UUID
• CPL markers, the audio channel format, and the language of the sound and subtitle tracks
• the ingested keys that belong to an encrypted DCP, and when they expire
• MXF details, for example the type and the average bit rate

Asset hash check

The hash check compares the hash of every file in the DCP with the hash in its packing list, so you know that the DCP arrived intact after copying or transport. Run it with File › Verify DCP Hashes without adding the DCP to a library; when you ingest a DCP, the hashes are checked automatically.

Messages

The message window in the controller window shows what the player finds, for example an incomplete or inconsistent asset map, packing list or CPL. Where possible, the DCP still opens so you can check it.

Step by step: DCP quality control on a Windows PC: a checklist.

DCP ingest and DCP libraries

DCP libraries are folders on your disks where the player keeps DCPs for playback. Create them in Manage DCP Libraries. DCP ingest with verification is part of the Cinema and Cinema PT licenses.

• Ingest: copies DCPs from the delivery drive into a library and checks their hashes at the same time. If an error is found, the ingest stops.
• Register: adds DCPs that are already on the playback disk, without copying them.
• Open Ingested DCP lists ingested, registered and missing DCPs in different colors, and the list can be sorted by title (since version 5.19). Right-click a DCP to inspect it, give it another name or copy its UUID.
• The library manager shows the free disk space and the number of DCPs in each library, and which library is the ingest target. Clean Up Library removes leftover files and references to DCPs that are no longer there.
• Removing a DCP asks for confirmation. An ingested DCP is deleted from the library; a registered DCP is only unregistered, and its files stay where they are.
• CPL markers, closed subtitles and captions are ingested together with the DCP.

Frame-accurate review

For quality control, the controller window gives you frame-accurate control over playback:

• a seek bar that shows the reel boundaries and the CPL markers
• the go-to menu (right-click the seek bar): jump to a frame number, a time, a percentage, the start of a reel or a marker
• frame step backward and forward, and playback looping
• an information pane with the current time, frame number, reel and title
• play a CPL, or a range of its frames, backwards
• “Play full lengths” ignores the entry points and durations in the CPL and plays the complete MXF files

Keyboard shortcuts

Space plays or pauses, Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right step one frame back or forward, Ctrl+Home returns to frame 0, Alt+F switches between full-screen and windowed playback, and Ctrl+Alt+S moves the controller window to the other monitor.

Playlists and intermissions

Build a show in the playlist editor (File › Playlist Editor…). A playlist can contain:

• CPLs from DCPs or from your DCP libraries
• combinations of picture, sound and subtitle MXF files
• black intervals, with a duration in seconds
• pauses, which wait for the operator before playback continues

For each CPL you can choose the subtitle or caption track, the subtitle position and colors, “Ignore subtitle effects (shadow, border)” and the range of frames to play. The brightness can be corrected per item, for example to match 2D and 3D titles in one show. Turn on Loop to repeat the playlist without a gap until you stop it, for example for trailers in the foyer. Playlists are saved as NeoDCP playlist files (.NEP) and opened from File › Open playlist.

Insert an intermission into a CPL

The playout range of a CPL can be changed, so the same CPL can play in two parts with a pause or a black interval between them:

1. Find the frame number where the intermission should start, for example frame 100,000 of a CPL with 240,000 frames.
2. Create a playlist with three items: the CPL, a pause, and the same CPL again. In the advanced options, set the first CPL to play from frame 0 to frame 100,000, and the second from frame 100,000 to frame 240,000.
3. Save the playlist and open it from File › Open playlist.

The same method cuts a part out of a CPL.

Interop and SMPTE subtitle rendering

NeoDCP Player renders Interop (CineCanvas) and SMPTE subtitles and captions directly from the DCP, including:

• text subtitles with their fonts, outlines or shadows, transparency and fades, and subtitles as PNG images
• subtitle files in MXF or XML format
• open and closed captions, and closed subtitles
• Japanese and Chinese subtitles, including ruby (furigana) and vertical text, in a single DCP and in Supplemental DCPs (OV + VF), since version 5.18
• stereoscopic (3D) subtitles
• encrypted subtitle tracks, which play together with encrypted DCPs (Cinema and Cinema PT licenses)

In the subtitle settings you set which type of subtitle or caption track is loaded first, and your preferred subtitle languages. For each CPL you can also choose the track yourself, or switch subtitles off.

Step by step: DCP subtitles on a Windows PC: Interop, SMPTE, Japanese and Chinese.

Subtitle position, color and effects

Subtitles and closed captions can be moved up or down and their colors overridden. This helps in rooms without raked seating or with unusual screen geometry. Set it when you open a CPL, or per CPL in the playlist editor.

• Vertical displacement, in percent of the picture height.
• A new color for the subtitles, and a new color for their effect (outline or shadow).
• Subtitle color space: for example to see how the subtitles look on servers that assume a different color space.
• Ignore subtitle effects (shadow, border): when you add a CPL, this option is available (since version 5.19, off by default).

A playlist with adjusted subtitles

1. Open File › Playlist Editor… and enter a name for the playlist.
2. Click Add and choose “Add CPL from DCP…” or “Add CPL from DCP libraries…”, then select the DCP and the composition (CPL).
3. On the Subtitles page, enter the vertical displacement and/or choose a new subtitle color, then click OK.
4. Add more CPLs the same way, then save the playlist (.NEP) and open it from File › Open playlist.

Audio output and A/V sync

Multi-channel DCP audio plays through Windows audio or, since version 5.20, through ASIO-compatible audio devices. The output device, including ASIO devices, is selected in Menu › Settings › Audio Settings (Audio system › ASIO).

• With an ASIO audio interface, the DCP’s channels go to separate outputs, for example to a cinema processor, a mixer or an amplifier.
• Over the graphics card’s HDMI output, up to 8 audio channels travel with the picture to an AV receiver or processor.
• DCP inspect shows the audio channel format of each DCP.

Audio-to-video delay

If a DCP’s sound needs to be shifted against the picture, set the audio-to-video latency in the audio settings, in milliseconds: negative values delay the sound, positive values delay the picture. The change takes effect immediately.

Step by step: Multi-channel DCP audio from a Windows PC: ASIO, Windows audio and HDMI.

Color: XYZ to RGB conversion and 30-bit output

DCPs are mastered in the XYZ color space. NeoDCP Player converts XYZ to the RGB color space of your display in real time. Targets include sRGB, BT.709, DCI-P3 RGB (SMPTE 431-2), Adobe RGB and SMPTE-C RGB. The reference white can be changed (for example D65, D60 or DCI-P3), a user-defined transform can be set, or the conversion can be switched off to send XYZ unchanged. Color processing runs with 8-bit or 16-bit precision; 16-bit prevents banding.

30-bit deep color

Windows programs usually output 8 bits per color component, which can show banding in smooth gradients. In full-screen mode, NeoDCP Player can output 10 bits per component (1,024 instead of 256 levels), so gradients stay smooth. This needs a graphics card, driver and display or projector with 10-bit output. HDCP and DPCP protection work with 30-bit output too.

Brightness correction

The brightness can be corrected for each CPL or playlist item, from 0.3 to 3.0 times.

Color calibration with ICC profiles

With an ICC profile of your display, NeoDCP Player can use the display’s full color gamut instead of the narrower sRGB gamut, and show colors without the color casts of an uncalibrated display. All you need is a calibration colorimeter and the ICC profile it creates for your display.

1. Create an ICC color profile for your display with a hardware colorimeter.
2. Open the color settings in NeoDCP Player.
3. Click Import Color Profile and select the ICC or ICM file. The player creates a matching color transform.

Input and output gamma can be fine-tuned, for each color channel separately, and an option prevents color component overshoot.

Digital masking and scaling

Digital masking frames the picture to the screen’s aspect ratio, as the electronic masking of a cinema projector does:

• Flat (1.85:1)
• Scope (2.39:1)
• 2.35:1
• HDTV (16:9)

Set the mask in Menu › Settings › Video settings. Alt+M shows the masked areas in blue, so you can check the mask on the screen, and Alt+M again turns this off.

Video scaling: fit the whole picture to the display area, fill the whole display area, show the picture at its original size (1:1 pixels), or at its original size limited to 2K.

Operator settings: password, permissions, watermark, updates

Passwords

The settings and the whole player can be protected with a password. The operator password protects playback, the playlist editor, DCP inspect and the hash check, the DCP libraries, the KDM database and the license information; the configuration password protects the settings.

Permissions

With the password set, you decide what an operator may do, for example: remove ingested DCPs or KDMs, use the playlist editor, open DCPs, MXF files or ingested DCPs directly, change the volume, switch looping or full-screen mode, pause, skip playlist items, change the resolution limit, show the digital mask, and play unencrypted DCPs. Managing DCP libraries also asks for the password.

Watermark overlay

A static, user-configurable watermark image (PNG with transparency) can be overlaid on the picture, with its position, size and opacity (Settings › Watermark).

Automatic updates

The player can check for new versions automatically, and you can also check manually from the menu. When a password is set, automatic updates can be switched on or off only with the password. On a PC that must stay offline, switch the update check off and install updates from the download page. Updates are included with every license.

Languages, Windows and command-line options

Interface languages

The user interface is available in English, German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Slovak. To change it, select the language in Menu › Settings › User interface settings and restart NeoDCP Player.

Help and support

The user manual and the version history open from the Help menu. If you need support, Help › Create Issue Report saves a report file that you can send with your question.

Windows

NeoDCP Player runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 on a standard PC, and on Intel Macs with Windows installed through Boot Camp. It does not run in virtual machines. Activation and playback need no internet connection on the player PC. Details: system requirements.

Command-line options

NeoDCP Player accepts command-line options for automated setups, for example closing the player automatically when playback has finished.