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Dirt Matte for da Vinci's Revival Improves Detection of Flaws in Scanned Film Files (25/1/2007)

Revival Now Supports ARRISCAN Output With KODAK DIGITAL ICE Technology

da Vinci Systems today announced that with the release of Version 4.6, its Revival film repair and restoration system will offer a Dirt Matte tool supporting KODAK DIGITAL ICE Technology, greatly improving the accuracy by which defects can be detected and remedied in the restoration process.

Utilizing a key new technology to the motion picture industry, the ARRISCAN film scanner employs DIGITAL ICE algorithms to generate a defect matte along with an image during the scanning process. ARRISCAN software combines the dirt matte with the original image in a variety of embedded or separate combinations, and DIGITAL ICE may then be used to correct many of the defects. Revival's new Dirt Matte feature reads the DPX file with the embedded defect matte to isolate and automatically remove dirt from new or archival images, without requiring further frame-by-frame analysis and thereby saving time in the repair process.

With dirt and other defects already removed, restoration artists can proceed with Revival's automatic and manual tools to correct remaining imperfections. Artists can choose to run Revival's own automatic dirt detection and processing feature in addition to the DIGITAL ICE matte processing when further analysis is warranted.

"da Vinci's Revival is already recognized for its quality and breadth of digital film repair tools," said Bill Robertson, general manager of da Vinci. "Support for DIGITAL ICE greatly improves the overall efficiency of our digital film restoration. And, it's becoming even more invaluable in DI workflows where dirt cleanup is essential yet can be very time-consuming."

Revival is a complete motion picture image restoration system designed to handle everything from heavy-duty restoration to digital remastering. The system offers complete functionality, including deFlicker and dust, stain, blotch, dirt, and grain noise removal. With the new Dirt Matte feature, Revival 4.6 users have the option to select between Revival's dirt detection and the defect matte provided with the DPX file, and then process either or both, automatically or manually.

"With da Vinci's Revival software now supporting KODAK DIGITAL ICE Technology, we can better ensure the integrity of the film images when they are converted to digital files," said Marty Oehlbeck, licensing and intellectual property manager for Kodak's Entertainment Imaging division. "We are committed to advancing the convergence of film and digital technologies, and pleased to have da Vinci integrate the DIGITAL ICE output matte into the acclaimed Revival software. Kodak and da Vinci both share a passion for progress that serves the creative community. This is another step forward in the evolution of filmmaking."

ARRI, manufacturer of the ARRISCAN and also a post-production facility at its Munich, Germany-based headquarters, has purchased the new Dirt Matte feature specifically for its restoration work on feature films. ARRI will be the first facility in the world to use this new Revival option.

"KODAK DIGITAL ICE Technology is running as an embedded software application in the ARRISCAN, optimized for the image processing chain of the ARRISCAN. Even though a first-level scratch and dust removal is being done by KODAK DIGITAL ICE 'on-the fly,' it is crucial to have a strong second-level dust and scratch removal software such as Revival for the final touch up," said Elfi Bernt, ARRISCAN product manager. "ARRISCAN's innovative design is suited for almost any scanning application including digital intermediate, visual effects, restoration, and archival. We are proud to have da Vinci as a partner to support the KODAK DIGITAL ICE format for the ARRISCAN output. This clearly streamlines the post-production process tremendously and will leverage the whole DI workflow."

Revival with the new Dirt Matte option is now available as Version 4.6.

www.davsys.com

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