NeoDCP Player FAQ

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Answers to the questions customers and prospects ask most often about NeoDCP Player. If your question is not here, contact us; the answer comes directly from the developer.

Licenses and buying

Five licenses, priced per PC and excluding VAT:

  • Starter (€149 per year): private display of unencrypted DCPs in a window, with full 2K decoding. Full-screen playback, full 4K decoding and output, and the DCP asset hash check are add-ons.
  • Studio (€259 per year): private display of unencrypted DCPs in a window or full screen, with full 2K and 4K decoding, 3D, playlists and intermissions, and the DCP asset hash check.
  • Studio PT (€558 one-time): the Studio license with no expiry date. Updates are included, and it can move to a new PC.
  • Cinema (€899 per year): public screenings allowed. Everything in Studio, plus encrypted DCPs with KDMs issued to the player’s certificate, digital masking and scaling, DCP ingest with automatic verification and Supplemental DCPs (VF).
  • Cinema PT (€2,598 one-time): the Cinema license with no expiry date. Updates are included, and it can move to a new PC.

Compare all licenses

Any screening for an audience, whether in a cinema, at a film festival, in a theater, at an event or in an installation, needs a Cinema or Cinema PT license. Starter, Studio and Studio PT are for private display only, for example checking DCPs in post-production, color grading or quality control. Studio and Studio PT may show a watermark from time to time. It protects these private display licenses from use in public screenings; Cinema and Cinema PT don’t show it.

Both have the same features and allow public screenings. Cinema is a 1-year license for one PC. Cinema PT is a perpetual license: it does not expire, includes updates and can be moved to a new PC (see “Can I move my license to a new PC?”). If the PC will stay in service for several years, Cinema PT replaces the yearly payment with a single one. Studio and Studio PT differ in the same way.

A perpetual license doesn’t expire. The date you see, such as 2036, is the end of the 10-year validity of its certificates; your license stays perpetual.

No. Each license is issued for one PC, so every PC that plays DCPs needs its own license. For several PCs, ask [email protected] for a quote.

A 1-year license (Starter, Studio or Cinema) runs for 12 months from activation, on one PC. It renews automatically every 12 months from your order, using the card or PayPal account you paid with. You get a reminder 7 days before and can switch automatic renewal off in My Account at any time. If the PC will stay in service for years, Studio PT and Cinema PT are one-time purchases that do not expire. There are no licenses for shorter periods, for example for a single festival.

Yes, within 4 weeks of activating your license, for the price difference. Write to [email protected] with your order number.

By card, PayPal or direct bank transfer, and with local methods (EPS, iDEAL, Bancontact, Przelewy24, Multibanco). Prices and checkout are in euros (EUR). With a bank transfer, the license is issued once the payment has arrived. Institutions, festivals and grant-funded projects can get an official quote (see “Can I get an official quote?”).

Prices exclude VAT. Private customers in the EU pay their country’s VAT, added at checkout. EU businesses outside Slovakia with a valid VAT ID pay no VAT (reverse charge); businesses in Slovakia pay Slovak VAT. Outside the EU, no VAT is charged.

Yes. Place your order in the shop, choose payment by bank transfer and don’t pay yet. Then email [email protected] with your order number, and we send you an official quote for it. Institutions, festivals and tenders often order this way; the license is issued once the payment has arrived. For several licenses or reseller pricing, write to [email protected].

Write to [email protected] with your license details.

Installation and activation

Yes. After a free registration you can use NeoDCP Player for 14 days on your own PC, with your own DCPs; we don’t provide test DCPs. The trial is for evaluation only, not for commercial use, and it has these limits:

  • Playback pauses after about a minute; after that the picture quality is reduced and the sound is muted, and the DCP closes after 5 minutes.
  • Playback shows a watermark, also in full-screen and 3D output.
  • Subtitles and captions show placeholder text.
  • 4K DCPs play at a lower resolution.
  • Playlists hold a limited number of items.
  • Encrypted DCPs with KDMs, digital masking, the DCP hash check, DCP ingest and Supplemental DCPs are not available.

The licensed version has none of these limits. It uses the same installer: after you buy a license, you add it to the installed player.

Download NeoDCP Player

Download the installer from the download page and run it. To update, install the new version over the existing one; you do not need to uninstall the previous version. The player can also check for updates automatically, or you can check yourself under Menu › Help › Check for Updates. An update keeps your license, your certificates and your KDMs; updating from version 5.12 or earlier needs new license files (see “Can I keep using an older version of NeoDCP Player?”). The current version is NeoDCP Player 5.20 (October 30, 2026); see the release notes.

An older version keeps running, but please update to the current one. We don’t guarantee playback quality with older versions. They also don’t have the current certificates for KDMs, and license requests are accepted only from the current version.

If you update from version 5.12 or earlier and the installer says “The installer cannot continue if the player or another installer is already running!”, or the player says “Player initialization failed!”, write to [email protected]. We prepare the PC for the current version in a short remote session (AnyDesk), free of charge. Then you request new license files.

No. Playback and licensing work without an internet connection. Licensing is a file exchange by email, so the player PC itself can stay offline. The optional automatic update check uses the internet; on PCs that must stay offline, switch it off and install updates from the download page. The installer needs no internet connection: download it on another PC and copy it over, for example on a USB stick. The update check is the only function that contacts our server.

No. NeoDCP Player is Windows software. An Intel-based Mac with Windows installed natively through Boot Camp can run it. Macs with Apple silicon cannot run Boot Camp and are not supported.

No. NeoDCP Player runs on a physical Windows PC with direct access to the graphics card and the display connection. Virtual machines (for example VirtualBox, VMware, Parallels or Hyper-V) are not supported, and no license keys are issued for virtual environments.

English, German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Slovak.

  1. Install the current NeoDCP Player on the PC that will use the license. The installer on the download page is the same one used for the trial.
  2. Start the player, open Menu › Licensing › Request License/Certificate… and save the license request file.
  3. Email the request file to [email protected] with your order number (the shop order number, not the invoice number).
  4. You receive your license files by email. Load them in the player under Menu › Licensing › Enter License Key… and restart the player.

With Cinema and Cinema PT, the license includes the player certificate that content providers need to issue KDMs for your player. Step by step: Activate, re-issue and move your NeoDCP Player license.

Licenses are issued personally by the developer, generally within 48 hours and in most cases in less than 4 hours after both your payment and your license request file have arrived. With a bank transfer, the license is issued once the payment has arrived. Step by step: Activate, re-issue and move your NeoDCP Player license.

Yes, with Studio PT and Cinema PT:

  1. Install the current NeoDCP Player on the new PC. Create a license request file on the old and on the new PC (Menu › Licensing › Request License/Certificate…).
  2. Email the license request data from both PCs to [email protected].
  3. You receive a deactivation key. Enter it on the old PC, restart the player, and send back the yellow Confirmation Code shown in the License Information window.
  4. Your license for the new PC is issued.

A transfer normally takes up to 3 days once we have everything we need: both request files and the Confirmation Code.

The 1-year licenses (Starter, Studio and Cinema) are issued for the PC on which you create the license request, so please create the request on the computer you plan to use for the whole year. Once the license key is issued, the license stays with that computer and can’t be moved to another one.

If the old PC no longer starts, write to [email protected] before you replace it. Step by step: Activate, re-issue and move your NeoDCP Player license.

No. A Windows reinstall on the same PC invalidates the previous license key, and the license key and certificate are re-issued free of charge. The same applies if a Windows System Restore or a Windows upgrade invalidates the license key. Send a new license request file (Menu › Licensing › Request License/Certificate…) to [email protected]. If you play encrypted DCPs, send your new certificate to your content providers, because the next KDMs must be issued for it. Step by step: Activate, re-issue and move your NeoDCP Player license.

If you replace a small part of a licensed PC and its main components, including their serial numbers, stay the same, send a new license request: the license is re-issued free of charge. If main components are replaced, the PC counts as a new computer. Studio PT and Cinema PT licenses can be moved to it with the transfer procedure (see “Can I move my license to a new PC?”); for a 1-year license, write to [email protected] before you replace the PC. Don’t wait until the PC fails: at the first signs of hardware trouble, write to [email protected]. Step by step: Activate, re-issue and move your NeoDCP Player license.

Playback and formats

SMPTE and Interop DCPs in 2K and 4K, 2D and stereoscopic 3D, unencrypted or encrypted with KDMs issued to the player’s certificate. Supplemental DCPs (VF) that reference an original version (OV). Individual MXF picture, sound and subtitle files. Which license plays what: see “Which NeoDCP Player license do I need?”

Install NeoDCP Player, start it and open the DCP folder with File › Open DCP…. Choose the composition playlist (CPL) and start playback. With two displays, the controller window stays on the primary display and the picture plays full screen on the second display or projector. Encrypted DCPs also need a KDM (see “What do I need to play encrypted DCPs with KDMs on a Windows PC?”). The free 14-day trial lets you try this with your own unencrypted DCPs.

Yes, with Studio, Studio PT, Cinema and Cinema PT. A playlist combines CPLs from different DCPs, MXF files, black intervals and pauses that wait for the operator. The playout range of a CPL can be overridden, which is how you insert an intermission into a feature.

Yes, in full resolution, if the CPU is fast enough. NeoDCP Player decodes JPEG 2000 in software, so the CPU sets the limit; the system requirements list the processor classes for 2K, 3D and 4K. 4K DCPs play with Studio, Studio PT, Cinema and Cinema PT; with Starter, 4K DCPs are supported only with the Full 4K decoding and output add-on. Step by step: Smooth DCP playback and ingest: a troubleshooting checklist.

Studio, Studio PT, Cinema and Cinema PT play stereoscopic DCPs and MXF files. Stereoscopic output works in full-screen mode over an HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 connection to a 3D-capable projector or display. In windowed mode you see one eye, or both eyes side by side.

A Supplemental DCP (version file, VF) contains only what differs from the original, for example another subtitle or audio track, and refers to the picture and sound of the original version (OV). Ingest the OV into a DCP library first; the player then knows where the OV assets are. After that, open the VF, or ingest it too and open it from the library. If the player shows a hint that the OV is missing, ingest the OV and open the VF again. Supplemental DCPs are supported in Cinema and Cinema PT. Step by step: Supplemental DCPs: play a VF with its OV.

Yes. NeoDCP Player shows the DCP and MXF structure, markers and audio track information (DCP inspect), checks asset hashes (Studio, Studio PT, Cinema and Cinema PT; add-on for Starter), verifies DCPs during ingest (Cinema and Cinema PT), and shows frame-accurate information and reel boundaries on the timeline. Step by step: DCP quality control on a Windows PC: a checklist.

Encrypted DCPs and KDMs

  • A Cinema or Cinema PT license.
  • 64-bit Windows 10 or 11.
  • A graphics card, cable and display or projector that support HDCP (HDMI) or DisplayPort Content Protection (DPCP). NeoDCP Player plays encrypted content only over a protected connection.
  • A KDM issued to your player’s certificate by the content provider, valid for your screening dates.

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

Each Cinema and Cinema PT installation has its own digital certificate, which comes with your license. Send the certificate chain file from your license email (.chain.sha256.pem) to the distributor, lab or festival that provides the DCP; they create a KDM for your certificate and your screening dates. Ingest the KDM into the player’s KDM database, and the encrypted DCP plays within the KDM’s validity period. The KDM database shows the validity of every ingested key. Ask for KDMs well before the screening, and send your new certificate to your content providers after a Windows reinstall or a license transfer.

Yes. NeoDCP Player supports both HDCP and DPCP; encrypted content is protected on whichever link is used.

In September 2025, NeoDCP introduced new Certificate Authority (CA) certificates for licenses and player certificates. If your license files were issued with the earlier certificates, install the current version, request new license files (Menu › Licensing › Request License/Certificate…, then email the file to [email protected]) and give your new player certificate to your content providers for the next KDMs. Labs and distributors find the new NeoDCP CA certificates on the download page after a free registration. If you are not sure whether this applies to you, ask [email protected].

No. Encrypted content is decrypted only for playback over a protected display connection.

Yes. The settings and the whole player can be password-protected, and playback of unencrypted DCPs can be switched off in the permission settings.

NeoDCP Player is a Windows-based player for checking and screening DCPs. It plays SMPTE and Interop DCPs in 2K, 4K and 3D, including encrypted DCPs with KDMs issued to the player’s certificate, and it enforces HDCP or DisplayPort content protection for encrypted content. NeoDCP Player is not a DCI-compliant media block; DCI compliance applies to certified cinema server hardware.

Audio

Yes. Since version 5.20, NeoDCP Player plays multi-channel DCP audio through ASIO-compatible audio devices. Select Menu › Settings › Audio Settings › Audio system › ASIO and choose your device. Use it to feed a cinema processor, mixer or amplifier through your audio interface. Dante Virtual Soundcard also works as an ASIO device. With Windows audio, you can select the output device in the same settings. Step by step: Multi-channel DCP audio from a Windows PC: ASIO, Windows audio and HDMI.

Two ways: through an ASIO-compatible audio interface with enough analog or digital outputs (see the previous answer), or through the graphics card’s HDMI output, which carries up to 8 audio channels to an AV receiver or processor with an HDMI input. With Windows audio, switch off the Windows audio enhancements for the selected device so the channels pass through unchanged.

Yes. The audio-to-video latency setting in Menu › Settings › Audio Settings moves the sound earlier or later relative to the picture, in milliseconds.

NeoDCP Player does not decode Dolby Atmos (IAB) or pass it through to an Atmos processor. DCP inspect shows the Atmos track information, so you can see whether a CPL contains an Atmos track.

Subtitles

SMPTE and Interop subtitles, text-based and PNG, open and closed captions, including stereoscopic (3D) subtitles. Encrypted subtitle tracks play with Cinema and Cinema PT licenses. Step by step: DCP subtitles on a Windows PC: Interop, SMPTE, Japanese and Chinese.

Yes. Since version 5.18 (July 28, 2026), NeoDCP Player renders Japanese and Chinese subtitles, including ruby (furigana) and vertical text, both within a single DCP and in Supplemental DCPs (OV + VF).

The subtitle file refers to a font or character style that the DCP does not define. NeoDCP Player then renders the subtitles with its default font. If the subtitles look different from what you expect, send the subtitle XML (and the font file, if the package contains one) to [email protected].

Yes. Subtitles and closed captions can be moved vertically and their colors overridden per DCP or per CPL, and the subtitle color space can be defined. When you add a CPL, the option “Ignore subtitle effects (shadow, border)” (off by default) is available.

Hardware and Windows

A 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC with at least 16 GB of memory. The processor matters most, because NeoDCP Player decodes JPEG 2000 in software: for 2K playback, at least 4 cores (such as an Intel Core i5, i7 or i9); for 4K, 12 or more cores (for example an AMD Ryzen 9). A current NVIDIA or AMD graphics card works well, and the player also runs on integrated graphics. For encrypted DCPs, the graphics card and the display must support HDCP or DPCP. Details: NeoDCP Player system requirements. Step by step: Set up a Windows PC for DCP screenings. Before you order, test the planned PC with the free 14-day trial.

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

NeoDCP Player outputs the picture through the graphics card (HDMI or DisplayPort).

  • Unencrypted DCPs: connect an HDMI-to-SDI converter to the graphics card’s HDMI output. HDMI carries up to 8 audio channels, so the audio travels with the picture. Interlaced display modes are supported if your equipment needs them.
  • Encrypted DCPs: NeoDCP Player plays encrypted content only over HDCP- or DPCP-protected connections. For a projector or LED wall far from the PC, use HDMI with HDCP over an HDBaseT extender (HDCP 2.2).

Tick “Enable vertical sync” in Menu › Settings › Video settings. In windowed mode, place the playback window on the primary display. In full-screen mode on a secondary display, NeoDCP Player controls v-sync itself. Step by step: Smooth DCP playback and ingest: a troubleshooting checklist.

DCPs usually arrive on a hard drive in a CRU DX115 carrier or on a USB drive. A CRU carrier needs a CRU dock or reader, which usually connects to the PC by USB. Many delivery drives use the Linux file systems ext2 or ext3, which Windows does not read by itself. Install a Linux file system driver for Windows, for example Paragon Linux File Systems for Windows or the free Ext2Fsd. If Windows offers to format the drive, choose Cancel, because formatting erases the DCP. Then copy or ingest the DCP from the drive.

Yes. The controller window runs on the primary display, and the picture plays full screen on the secondary display or projector. The video settings list every output device with its ID and name, so you can pick the right one. With a single display, use windowed mode.

Support

Support comes directly from the developer of NeoDCP Player. Email [email protected] for licenses, certificates and technical questions, or [email protected] for quotes and orders. Call +421 948 333 885 (Central European Time), or use the contact form. Remote sessions (AnyDesk) are available on request. For a technical question, include your NeoDCP Player version, your Windows version, whether the DCP is SMPTE or Interop and encrypted or not, and what you did; screenshots help.

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