MIDDLEWARE

Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc. and Eastman Kodak Company, today announced that Discreet will distribute the KODAK Display Manager, Kodak's advanced color management system for calibration and profiling of display monitors and projectors. Discreet and Kodak will be demonstrating the KODAK Display Manager, an advanced monitor calibration and film print look emulation system running on Discreet's award-winning lustre digital color grading system at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB) in Las Vegas (booth SL3547) from April 19-22, 2004. "We are delighted with the progress of our collaboration with Kodak, first announced at the International Broadcasters' Convention in Amsterdam last September," said Paul Lypaczewski, Discreet general manager and executive vice president of Autodesk. "Kodak's unparalleled knowledge of film color science puts us in a unique position to eliminate many of the inefficiencies and uncertainties of digital film production. The KODAK Display Manager is the best solution for matching a digital image to that of a projected print." "Discreet systems are ideally suited to bringing Kodak's next-generation color management technology to market," said Bob Mayson, general manager and vice president for Image Capture products, Entertainment Imaging at Eastman Kodak Company. "The combined value of the Discreet-Kodak solution is unbeatable and with Discreet's unmatched 10-year experience in high-performance digital film systems we can fundamentally improve digital intermediate workflows." One of the toughest challenges facing film laboratories and post-production companies today is the accurate manipulation of scanned film in digital systems used for such tasks as conforming, color grading, retouching and restoration, compositing or visual effects. With an ever-increasing amount of digital effects being used in movies today, and the growing number of films being produced as digital intermediates -- i.e. entire films scanned and processed digitally at high 2K (2048x1556) or 4K (4096x3112) resolutions -- the ability to be able to easily and accurately visualize digital images is of growing importance. The KODAK Display Manager eliminates this problem by providing a calibrated digital environment where the digital display or projection accurately simulates the look of the highest-quality projected theatrical print. The KODAK Display Manager consists of a monitor calibration tool and proprietary Kodak color management software that perform the calibration and characterization of a display and provide an encrypted 3D LUT for use within the Discreet system. The calibration tool and software are currently in beta but are expected to ship this summer. Once released, the KODAK Display Manager will be available with Discreet's lustre system on a 30-day trial license. The KODAK Display Manager automatically calibrates and characterizes VESA compliant monitor. From automated measurements, user inputs and Kodak's comprehensive film modeling, a transform is generated using 3DLUT technology to change a display device so that it simulates a motion picture print. The KODAK Display Manager System works for computer monitors or other display devices that are commonly used to view images during the digital intermediate stages. The objective of the KODAK Display Manager System is to provide accurate simulation of the final projected film print image on these interim display devices. KODAK Display Manager System aims to "match" the digital display to the look of the motion picture film projected in a theatre, as well as to match multiple displays to one another in order to provide consistent viewing from workstation to workstation.