M+E Connections
Sony DADC Touts 4K Blu-ray Tools
Story Highlights
By Chris Tribbey
Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc is just getting out of the gate, with more than one manufacturer likely to announce players at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show. The studios have gotten a head start.
In late December, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment became the third major studio to announce an initial release slate of UHD Blu-ray titles (Mad Max: Fury Road, Pan, San Andreas and The Lego Movie), joining Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Salt, Hancock, Chappie, Pineapple Express and The Smurfs 2) and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Exodus: Gods and Kings, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Fantastic Four, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Life of Pi, The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials and Wild).
A new home entertainment format needs new tools, and the latter two studios are looking to Sony DADC New Media Solutions (NMS) for help.
For all of Sony’s releases and Fox’s UHD Blu-rays of Wild and Maze Runner: Scorch Trials, NMS’ UHD Blu-ray authoring tools are being put to use for the very first time.
“Our teams leverage numerous years of expertise to develop and create the most advanced and reliable tools that bring powerful features to production workflows and easily integrate cutting edge tools like Sony’s newest encoder to produce spectacular UHD images,” said Prabhu Anbananthan, VP of technology for Sony DADC New Media Solutions.
NMS’ UHD Blu-ray authoring capabilities include triple layer 100 GB disc authoring, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) standards compliant HDR-10 profile, seamless branching, “and dual-zone technology to maximize disc capacity, menus, and subtitle conversions,” a company statement reads.
NMS developed its proprietary UHD Blu-ray authoring toolset with the intent of helping content owners deliver a theater-like experience into consumer’s homes. In November, NMS became the first facility to pass the official BDA First Product Model Verification (FPMV), under Commercial Audio Visual (CAV) Profile 6.0.
“With features like high dynamic range, wide color gamut and immersive audio, UHD Blu-ray promises to deliver an unprecedented consumer experience,” Anbananthan said.
