Send Atlas / Guide / Send a DCP
For distributors, bookers, filmmakers and festivals
How to send a DCP to a cinema or festival
A DCP is a folder that has to arrive exactly as it left. Here’s how to get one to a venue without a rejected ingest or a courier, and without paying again every time another cinema downloads it.
What’s inside a DCP, and why it matters
A Digital Cinema Package is a folder of files that depend on each other. Picture and sound live in MXF track files. Alongside them sit small XML files: the composition playlist (CPL) that tells the server how to play the show, the packing list (PKL) that lists every file with a hash, and the asset map that tells the server where everything is.
The server checks those files against each other on ingest. Rename a file, drop one, or flatten the folder, and the package can fail. So the one rule of sending a DCP is simple: send the whole folder, unchanged.
Size depends on running time and bitrate. DCI caps picture at 250 Mb/s, which works out to about 225 GB for a two-hour feature at the ceiling. Many features come in between 100 and 200 GB, and a short can be a few gigabytes.
Sending a DCP, start to finish
Confirm what the venue needs
Ask for the format (SMPTE or Interop), whether they accept a download or want a drive, the date they need it by, and who to send it to. Projection teams and booking contacts are often different people.
Check the DCP before it leaves
Play it through and run a verification in your DCP tool. DCP-o-matic, for example, includes a free player and verifier. Fixing a problem now costs you an hour. Finding it at the cinema costs you the screening.
Upload the complete folder
Drag the DCP folder in as it is. Don’t rename, re-zip or reorganize anything. Set a link expiry that gives the venue room to download before show week, and add a password if the film is unreleased.
Send the KDM separately
For an encrypted DCP, the venue sends you their server certificate and you generate a KDM for that server and their screening window. It’s a small file, and it travels separately from the DCP.
Confirm it arrived
Don’t assume. A delivery receipt tells you the venue downloaded it, so you know before anyone is standing in the booth.
One DCP, ten cinemas
Distribution means sending the same large file to many places. On a per-download service, every venue is a new charge.
| 200 GB DCP sent to | MASV pay as you go | Send Atlas Pro |
|---|---|---|
| 1 venue | $46.25 | $14.99/mo |
| 5 venues | $246.25 | $14.99/mo |
| 10 venues | $496.25 | $14.99/mo |
MASV figures use its published $0.25/GB pay-as-you-go rate after the 15 GB monthly allowance, with each venue downloading once. MASV’s subscription tiers lower the rate for steady volume. See our MASV pricing breakdown for the full tier table.
A flat rate for getting films to screens
The whole folder, intact
Upload the DCP folder and the structure comes with it. Files are stored and delivered byte for byte, never re-encoded.
Links that outlast a booking cycle Pro
Pro links last up to 30 days and can be renewed, so a venue that books late can still pull the film.
Proof it was delivered Pro
Delivery receipts tell you when each venue has downloaded, so you’re not chasing the booth by phone.
Up to 1 TB per transfer
Room for a feature with every version and language in one send, for a flat $14.99 a month.
Use an account for DCPs. Sends without an account expire after 24 hours and are capped at 5 GB, which is too short and too small for most venues. Send Atlas doesn’t hold TPN certification today, so if a studio requires it for a title, check before you send.
Sending a DCP FAQ
How big is a DCP?
It depends on length and bitrate. DCI allows picture up to 250 Mb/s, so a two-hour feature at that ceiling is about 225 GB, and many features land between 100 and 200 GB. Shorts are often just a few gigabytes. Your DCP’s folder size is the number that matters.
Can I email a DCP?
No. Even a short DCP is far beyond email attachment limits. Send a download link from a file transfer service, or ship a drive if the venue asks for one.
How do I send a DCP to a cinema?
Confirm the format the venue needs, check the DCP plays and verifies, upload the complete DCP folder without renaming anything, and send the link to the venue’s projection or booking contact. If the DCP is encrypted, send the KDM separately once you have their server certificate.
Do I send the KDM with the DCP?
No. A KDM is a small file generated for one specific playback server and a set time window, so it is made after the venue gives you their server certificate. It is usually sent separately, often by email, because it is tiny.
Should I zip a DCP before sending?
You don’t need to. The picture and sound are already compressed, so zipping saves almost nothing, and unzipping adds a step for a busy projectionist. Send the folder as it is, with every file and file name unchanged.
What’s the difference between SMPTE and Interop DCPs?
They are two packaging standards. Interop is the older one, and SMPTE is the current standard that most modern servers expect. Ask the venue or festival which one they want before you send, rather than guessing.
Does sending the same DCP to several cinemas cost more?
On per-download services it does. On MASV’s $0.25/GB pay as you go, a 200 GB DCP downloaded by 10 venues is about $496.25. On Send Atlas Pro it’s the same flat $14.99 a month however many venues download it.
Get the film to every screen for one price.
Flat $14.99/mo for transfers up to 1 TB, however many venues download it. Free up to 15 GB per transfer with an account.