DCPs are meant to be played on a professional digital cinema server. That’s why the only real option to test your DCP is in a theater with a professional digital setup.
There are software tools for PC / Mac that can play DCPs on your local machine – but there’s some basic limitations you should know about when you test your DCP with software players:
- Only powerful machines (with modern CPUs, RAM, Graphic Cards and harddisks) will be able to play your DCP
- In most cases, your monitor won’t be able to display your DCP in the correct colors, since it operates in a different color space from your DCP
- In most cases, your monitor won’t be able to display your DCP in its native framerate of 24 FPS
- You’ll need a sound system that supports your DCP’s sound field configuration (e.g. 5.1 / 7.1)