Doremi Laboratories, Inc., often shortened to Doremi Labs, was a developer and manufacturer of digital servers and format converters for the digital cinema, broadcast,
post-production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
The ...
and professional A/V markets. It was established in 1985 in
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
, United States, and was absorbed into
Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in Noise reduction#In audio, audio noise reduction, Audio data compression, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and ...
in a 2014 acquisition.
History
Doremi Labs was founded by Camille Rizko in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 1985. Shortly after, he was joined by fellow engineers, Emil Rizko and Safar Ghazal. The first product, the Digital Audio Workstation Nucleus (DAWN), was an editing device for dialog replacement and effects/ADR Foley. The product used a
Macintosh Plus
The Macintosh Plus computer is the third model in the Macintosh line, introduced on January 16, 1986, two years after the original Macintosh and a little more than a year after the Macintosh 512K, with a price tag of US$2,599. As an evolutiona ...
computer as its user interface. One of the features that set Doremi's DAWN apart is its ability to play 8 high quality audio tracks from a single hard disk. The product built a faithful following owing to its friendly user interface which emulates existing paper based workflow.
In 1994, the company foresaw the need to replace
VCR
A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...
s used heavily in post-production studios, with a new tapeless model. Doremi decided that rather than change customer habits, it will design a tapeless disk recorder which will emulate as close as possible existing VCRs in use. The only major difference would be instant locate to any point within the recorded video clip. The V1 digital video recorder/player (
DVR) was introduced to the public in 1996, and became an instant success. Doremi soon introduced models of the recorder that supports
MPEG-2
MPEG-2 (a.k.a. H.222/H.262 as was defined by the ITU) is a standard for "the generic video coding format, coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of Lossy compression, lossy video compression and ...
, Uncompressed, High Definition and
JPEG2000
JPEG 2000 (JP2) is an image compression standard and coding system. It was developed from 1997 to 2000 by a Joint Photographic Experts Group committee chaired by Touradj Ebrahimi (later the JPEG president), with the intention of superseding the ...
. The success of the V1 led to Doremi's worldwide expansion, opening facilities in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
During that same time period, to support its own internal need for a large number of high-quality, high-resolution displays, Doremi built the first
HD-SDI to
DVI
Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a video display controller, to a display device, such as a comp ...
converter, which allow users to have a low-cost high-definition monitoring system using computer displays. This innovative product was soon followed by a pattern generator. This product line was soon copied by several other manufacturers and created a whole new line of converter/generator products, which Doremi continues to pursue in the high end of the market.
In 2003, Doremi introduced the Nugget, a high quality high definition player for applications such as theme parks, museums, or anywhere where a high end
HD player is needed. The product captured the high end portion of the playback market, and was adopted by major entertainment corporations as the product of choice for their loop playback applications.
In 2004, Doremi and
Texas Instruments (TI), manufacturer of
DLP digital micro-mirror imaging devices (
DMDs), demonstrated cinema quality digital playback using TI's new 2K DMDs and a V1 DVR at
IBC IBC is an initialism that can stand for:
Broadcasting
*Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation, Channel 13, Philippines
* International Beacon Project, Worldwide network of radio propagation beacons
*International Broadcast Centre
*International ...
. Soon after, TI asked Doremi if they could build a server for the emerging digital cinema market. Doremi saw the opportunity and decided it was time to enter that market. Doremi started 2 simultaneous JPEG2000 compression based projects, one for a Digital Cinema Player called the DCP-2000, and the other for a Digital Mastering Station called the DMS-2000.
In April 2005, Doremi demonstrated for the first time to
Disney Studios
The Walt Disney Studios is an American film and entertainment studio, and is the Studios Content segment of the Walt Disney Company. Based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, the studio is best known for its multifacete ...
, a clip of ''
National Treasure
The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...
'' and a clip of ''
Chicken Little
"Henny Penny", more commonly known in the United States as "Chicken Little" and sometimes as "Chicken Licken", is a European folk tale with a moral in the form of a cumulative tale about a chicken who believes that the world is coming to an end ...
'', that were mastered on the DMS-2000 and played on the DCP-2000. The success of the experiment convinced the studio that the technology was now readily available to migrate movie playback from 35mm film to digital.
In June 2005, at CinemaExpo, Doremi showed for the first time a playback of a
Digital Cinema Package (DCP). The package was prepared by the
Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI). Shortly after, Doremi looked to master a complete movie in digital.
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
gave Doremi and
Fotokem the authorization to master the upcoming movie ''
Serenity'' in digital and have it ready by opening day. Doremi and Fotokem rose to the challenge despite many hurdles and showed the movie mastered on the DMS-2000, played on the DCP-2000 in September 2005, at Fotokem screening room. Shortly after, the movie was shown at the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) on a 75-foot screen, to rave reviews.
During 2005, Christie-AIX, a joint venture between Christie Digital and Access IT (now Cinedigm), signed a
Virtual Print Fee (VPF) contract with the studios to outfit 4,000 screens with digital playback systems. Following the ''Serenity'' demonstration, the Doremi server was selected for the rollout, and 150 screens were installed in 2005. The rollout continued with Doremi exclusively during 2006 and 2007.
In 2008, Doremi looked for other opportunities for products in the cinema market, and saw a need to design cost-effective
hearing aid
A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers su ...
and viewing aid devices for the physically impaired. Doremi saw a moral obligation to innovate in this field and come up with products that the exhibitors would buy, not to avoid lawsuits, but to increase the captive audience. The Captiview hearing-impaired system was introduced in 2010, and the Fidelio viewing-impaired system was introduced in June 2011.
In 2009, Doremi introduced the first
4K integrated media block for TI's series-2 projectors, over 2 years ahead of its closest competitor.
In 2011, Doremi achieved DCI Compliance for IMB / ShowVault, DCP-2000, DCP-2K4 and receives 4K technology patent US 7,868,879 B2 relating to decoding technologies within the 4K standard. Additionally, all digital viewings at the 2011
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
were delivered in 4K resolution with Doremi servers.
In 2012, Doremi achieved DCI Compliance for IMS1000.
On February 24, 2014,
Dolby Laboratories
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in Noise reduction#In audio, audio noise reduction, Audio data compression, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and ...
announced that it signed an agreement to acquire Doremi Labs for $92.5 million in cash plus an additional $20 million in contingent consideration. The acquisition closed on October 31, 2014
and its completion was announced on November 3, 2014.
While Doremi's corporate registration status is still active with the California Secretary of State office,
its operations have been absorbed into Dolby, its branded products discontinued and its website and domain registration removed from the internet.
Products
Digital cinema
DCI Compliant Digital Cinema Players and 4K Solutions
* IMS1000,
4K and 3D
HFR Integrated Media Server
* ShowVault / IMB (Integrated Media Block)
* DCP-2000, Digital Cinema playback server
* DCP-2K4, Digital Cinema playback server
Access products
* Captiview, transmitter and handheld device for the hearing impaired
* Fidelio, transmitter and receiver for the visually impaired
Alternative content
* LE100, 1RU video streaming and playback device
* StreamIt, broadcast MPEG2 video streamer
Converters
* AUD-DA, digital to analog audio converter
Post production / mastering
* DC-Post, Digital Cinema playback server
* Rapid, DCI-JPEG2000 mastering server
Pro A/V
Video disk recorders
* V1-D standard definition video disk recorder
* V1-HD-2K, high definition video disk recorder
* V1-UHD, high definition video disk recorder
* MCS-HD, HD video recorder and player
Play back devices
* Nugget Pro, high definition video playback solution
* DSV-J2, high quality 2D, 3D, and Stereoscopic digital playback device
Converters
* S2H-30, SD/HD/3G-SDI video signal to HDMI converter
* H2S-30, HDMI video signal to SD/HD/3G-SDI converter
* XDVI-20s, cross-converter for DVI, HD-SDI and SD-SDI video
* GHX-10, any input to any output format converter
* DSDI-20s, DVI to high definition or standard definition SDI video converter
* HDVI-20s, SDI to DVI converter
* Dimension-3D, 3D format converter
Generators
* GENeration-3D, 3D test pattern generator
* HDG-20, portable video test pattern generator
Software
The software produced by Doremi Labs include:
*
CineAsset
CineAsset is a complete mastering software suite by Doremi Labs that can create and playback encrypted (Pro version) and unencrypted DCI compliant packages from virtually any source. CineAsset includes a separate "Editor" application for generat ...
, mastering software for creating encrypted and unencrypted
DCI compliant packages
*
CineExport
CineExport is a plug-in for Apple Compressor used to convert Final Cut Pro sequences and popular media formats to DCI compliant Digital Cinema Packages ( DCP) by Doremi Labs. Using the powerful CineAsset encoding engine, CineExport can be used ...
, plug-in for
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
’s
Compressor
A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor.
Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transp ...
used to convert Final Cut Pro sequences and popular media formats to DCI compliant
Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs)
*
CinePlayer
CinePlayer is a software based media player used to review Digital Cinema Packages ( DCP) without the need for a digital cinema server by Doremi Labs. CinePlayer can play back any DCP, not just those created by Doremi Mastering products. In addi ...
, media player used to review Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) without the need for a digital cinema server
* TMS, Theatre management software
* Asset Manager, video file transfer software
See also
*
CineAsset
CineAsset is a complete mastering software suite by Doremi Labs that can create and playback encrypted (Pro version) and unencrypted DCI compliant packages from virtually any source. CineAsset includes a separate "Editor" application for generat ...
References
External links
Doremi Labs official website{{Dolby Laboratories
Technology companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles
Companies based in Burbank, California
Technology companies established in 1985
1985 establishments in California
Film and video technology
Dolby Laboratories
2014 mergers and acquisitions