Player 4.2.32 · release · Manual updated 31 October 2026

Complete interface reference

A page-by-page reference for D‑Cine Player 4.2.32. Follow the focused guides for full procedures and use the exact on-screen labels when commissioning.

1. Commission and sign in

Open the local application or the configured player web address and sign in. Account role, licences, native capabilities and current operating state determine which actions are available. Complete the commissioning sequence before scheduling public playback.

Confirm site/screen identity, installed version, licence, trusted time, disks, output and upcoming sessions. Use the top Lock control when leaving the console. The separate Unlocked/DDL1/DDL2/DDL3 indicator describes display protection, not login state.

2. Main pages

Theme, clock and tables

Choose Config → System → Display & Time → Interface settings → Theme. Light/Dark applies immediately and is remembered in this browser’s local storage. Save time display saves the player’s separate 12/24-hour preference. Dark mode includes timelines, dialogs, Control, meters and tables. Status timestamps use player timezone; calendar editing uses browser-local dates/times, so align a remote browser with the venue.

Click sortable headings to change order; Enter/Space work when focused. Sorting is a display choice and never changes job priority or show running order. Click selectable content rows to toggle their selection; row action buttons act independently. Hover a shortened name for its complete label.

3. Ingest and inspect content

1. Open Ingest. Configure/select a filesystem, attached-drive or FTP source; source administration is under Config → Ingest.
2. Choose its asset type: DCP, IMF, EAR, media or KDM. Scan, review candidate package/composition identity, then ingest/import the intended delivery.
3. Monitor Ingest Jobs through transfer, integrity and indexing. Keep source media available until work finishes.
4. Open Content to inspect duration, frame rate, picture/audio properties, UUID, encryption and readiness. Check matching keys for the full intended show window.

Supported DCPs use SMPTE/Interop packages. IMF playback covers supported unencrypted compositions; encrypted IMF is detected and refused. EAR‑Tech handles its own encrypted-at-rest media/KDM format. Ordinary-media support depends on the bundled codecs/container path. Read-only FTP library views separate /DCP, /IMF, /EAR and /media.

Ingest Jobs

D-bytes is downloaded bytes; Total is the transfer total; Q is queue position. Download and integrity progress are separate. A completed transfer does not mean indexing, missing-OV dependencies or readiness are complete. Unknown totals/ETA remain unknown.

Queued priority controls choose which waiting work starts sooner; a higher numeric priority does not preempt a running job. Cancel remains Cancelling until execution stops. Retry links to the previous attempt; use Reconcile for an uncertain action response.

Hide history is an administrator action with an in-page Yes/No dialog. It hides completed/failed/cancelled rows for that account, preserving durable jobs, audit records, content and active work. It is not a show/hide toggle; this UI has no restore-hidden-history button.

4. Make and edit a show

1. Open Show Editor, choose/create the show and give it an operationally clear name.
2. Add searchable clips in running order. Type graphics distinguish DCP, IMF, EAR and ordinary media.
3. Use Special items for timed black, delays, event streams or supported SDI input where applicable. Set required durations explicitly.
4. Add cues/macros with start-relative or end-relative timing. Review item duration, offset and the show’s total running time.
5. Save, reload and preflight the stored show, then rehearse on the final output before scheduling.

A show’s Last played comes from an observed start, including one later interrupted. Loading, editing or booking a show does not update it. Never played and History unavailable have different meanings.

5. Configure cues, macros and triggers

Open Config → Automation. General sets cue timing context; Devices defines auditorium endpoints; Cues defines individual named actions; Macros orders cues and delays; XML provides the same configuration for controlled bulk review/editing. Back up before large changes, resolve validation and test against the intended equipment.

The Control page fires configured auditorium/audio/display cues and macros. A successful transport response does not alone prove the physical equipment reached the intended state. Use line of sight and appropriate emergency control when testing shutters, masking, curtains, lifts or lighting.

Standard names with no actions

Under Config → Automation → Cues → Default TMS cues, Check default TMS cues shows the 13 core and 4 optional names. Create missing empty TMS cues adds only absent names and preserves existing actions/IDs/custom cues. Empty cues execute successfully without sending a device command; they do not configure the cinema.

To assign an action, edit the cue and untick Empty cue (no actions). The separate Recreate default TMS cues as empty operation clears actions on all 17 standard names and requires confirmation. Download a configuration backup first. Installs/upgrades do not silently create or reset these cues.

Config → External Triggers maps incoming commands to cues/macros. Restrict the sending network and use unique documented mappings.

6. Schedule and confirm sessions

1. Save/preflight the show and open Scheduler. Select the required week and create a session in an empty slot.
2. Confirm the show name and local start/end. Short sessions retain proportional height: hover/focus/select to reveal the full name and controls. Use Zoom for fine editing.
3. Use Properties, Push Up/Down, copy above/below or next/previous day where offered. Day/week copy respects the configured operating day, placement interval and minimum turnaround; conflicts are reported rather than silently overwritten.
4. Align the browser timezone with the venue. Check daylight-saving changes and exceptions in copied weeks.
5. Enable SCHED only when the plan is correct. It is persistent and disables ordinary manual transport; leaving Casting does not enable it.
6. After the start, verify observed playback in Status/audit. Booking or loading alone is not proof of playback.

The backend dispatches against trusted player time. Already-active playback, failed preflight, licence restrictions or an entry too late can produce a skip/failure; inspect the logged outcome. Config → Scheduler sets first weekday, retention, operating day, placement grid and minimum gap.

7. Player controls and live modes

Load the intended playlist and inspect its item/show timelines, readiness and persistent warnings. Use Play/Delay Play as appropriate; the delayed session offers a visible countdown and controls for deliberate changes. Stop cancels the current operation; verify external auditorium state independently.

Manual pause, seek, resume and item navigation are state-aware. Seeking/jumping can cross automation boundaries; skipped cues are suppressed, so confirm the auditorium state or fire the required action deliberately. Wait for pending timeline/command completion before issuing more navigation.

AirPlay Casting is below the transport buttons. Configure/enable it under Config → Casting, then enter with playback stopped and SCHED off. It reserves outputs until Leave Casting/Stop completes. Follow the full presentation guide for interface binding, code, sender connection and return to shows.

Config → Event Streams creates named local sources or imports Authority registry templates. Local arguments/secrets stay on the player. Show Editor → Special → Event Stream stores the configuration ID and duration, not credentials. View Now is an idle-player action. Only supported protocol/security combinations play natively; an external-CDM template is not a promise of DRM support.

8. Picture, audio, HUD and display diagnostics

Local controls

Focus the playback window. ? opens keyboard help, h toggles HUD, Escape changes fullscreen/windowed, n/p navigate items, r restarts and Shift+Q closes the application. Local workstation controls also offer saved-playlist/file selection and keyboard pause/seek.

Picture and sound

Config → Playback contains audio, buffering, JPEG 2000 and display settings. Select the physical device, matrix/channel profile, decode mode and workers for the installation. Audio & Image Calibration supplies channel identification and picture patterns. Use a safe level, check each route and save venue-specific profiles. Separate SDI/local matrices and local/embedded audio choices need physical sync/routing checks. Image calibration patterns currently target the desktop only; use representative media to test DeckLink SDI.

Config → Video I/O selects a compatible DeckLink device, supported input/output mode, link, pixel format, colour profile and image fitting. SDR DCP output profiles include XYZ, P3 and Rec.709 choices; supported 8/10/12-bit combinations depend on hardware. Native/fit/fill geometry is independent of colour encoding. SDI has a separate DDL1 policy and refuses DDL2/DDL3 requirements; enrolment alone does not forbid DDL1 material. Do not assume SDI satisfies EAR’s protected-output policy. Detailed SDI policy and controls.

Read the output, not just the file

In Config → System → Display & Time → Attached display information, choose Refresh displays. Inspect active resolution/refresh in Hz, pixel clock in MHz, connector status, EDID identity/serial, advertised timings and OS properties. Expand raw EDID or Download EDID. Preferred EDID timings are distinct from active output. Missing values say Not reported; invalid checksums and emulated outputs are identified. This read-only view does not enroll or change a display.

Telemetry tabs are Overview, Playback, Video, HDR, Audio, Audio Matrix, Sync and Findings. Start with Overview/Findings, then compare the affected signal or timing view. Missing observations stay unknown; readings are diagnostic evidence rather than a guarantee of output quality.

HUD and Telemetry expose source/output signal information, frame rate/drops, CPU, decode workers/cache/buffer and audio/sync observations. They support investigation, not hardware certification. Performance investigation checklist.

9. Config group map

Storage procedures and device/screen declarations explain the System Details panels. Config → System → Contributions acknowledges licensed Kakadu JPEG 2000 decoding, the optional DeckLink SDK, UxPlay and other contributing open technologies. Included notices can be read/downloaded offline and load only when requested.

10. D‑Cine Display Lock

Connect and select the final display chain, authenticate HDCP, then use Config → System → Display & Time to enroll approved displays with authorised Authority credentials. Review requested/achieved level, connector, EDID identity/fingerprint and activity. Removing a display is a separate authorised operation.

DDL1/2/3 is selected by content policy, including signed KDM AnnotationText where supported. DDL2 relies on approved EDID identity; DDL3 requires a qualified authenticated receiver-identity path. DDL setup and limitations.

The Upgrade page’s DDL3 Driver Support installer requires an approved signed package, eligible AMD PCI ID, appropriate Secure Boot state and an idle player. No GPU is currently production-qualified for DDL3 in the documented release; an unqualified card is not enabled by installing a kernel. Retain the stock-kernel recovery choice.

11. Signed upgrades, logs and clean quit

Config → System → Upgrade lists distribution packages newest first. Read the release/beta classification and notes, finish playback/ingest and near-term schedule work, then install through the signed workflow. Manifest/package signatures, SHA‑256 and package identity are checked before installation. Confirm running version, content, outputs, audio, automation and schedule afterward. Detailed installation and backups.

Use Status for readable events and Operational Audit for journal/export health. Monitor and verify playback.

Shift+Q in the focused local window, its window-close control, or Config → System → Power → Close Application cleanly closes the application and its services while leaving the computer on. Scheduling and ingest stop too. Closing only a browser tab leaves the player running. System reboot/shutdown are separate administrative actions with activity interlocks.

12. End-of-day checks

• Confirm the next day’s programme, readiness and intended SCHED state.
• Leave Casting/live sources and return auditorium equipment to its agreed state.
• Review failed ingest, missing content/cues, expiring KDMs, errors and low disk space.
• Lock the web session; leave the application running if it must ingest or start a scheduled session.