OCTOPUS RAW Player Open-Source CinemaDNG Playback Tool 1.1.0 Released

Software News

by Jürgen MoorsApril 4^th, 2023

British camera manufacturer OCTOPUS CINEMA released version 1.1.0 of the OCTOPUS RAW Player. It is a RAW color science processing video player for reviewing RAW video footage from cameras recording CinemaDNG RAW .dng sequences. The player is free and can be downloaded for Mac and Windows. Let’s have a closer look at the open-source player!

In 2019, the OCTOPUS CAMERA was launched as a prototype cinema camera by OCTOPUS CINEMA, designed as an open platform with removable and upgradable parts. About two years ago, they finalized the camera with an 8K global shutter sensor that is larger than full-frame and enables the camera to capture oversampled 4K 14-bit CinemaDNG internally to CFast cards or 8K RAW externally to SSD.

OCTOPUS RAW Player

The new OCTOPUS RAW Player, originally announced in October 2022, is a free, lightweight, multi-platform RAW video player that currently supports CinemaDNG RAW .dng sequences. To open a sequence, either drag the folder containing .dng files or a single .dng frame file into the player window. Alternatively, .dng sequences can be opened explicitly under the “File…Open CinemaDNG Sequence…” menu and then selecting the folder containing the .dng files.

When a sequence is loaded, the floating playback interface provides controls for standard play/pause/seek and, additionally, fast and fast-rewind playback speeds. The interface includes the current frame timecode and the clip duration. The timecode also indicates missing or skipped frames by using a red or orange typeface respectively.

RAW controls

When working with CinemaDNG or any other raw format, you want to produce an image that looks natural. Using RAW processing tools gives you control over the development process. These controls typically include white balance/tint and exposure, but can also feature more advanced and creative options. OCTOPUS RAW Player is straightforward to use, while also offering various advanced controls. All RAW controls are located under the “Clip…” menu, which is enabled when a sequence is loaded.

Advanced color science controls

Highlight recovery
Toggle this option to choose between simple highlight handling and intelligent estimation/recreation of partially clipped highlight values.

Highlight Roll-Off
Roll-off allows for fine-tuning the saturation curve applied to near-clipping values. More roll-off creates a smoother transition from highlights to clipping.

REC. 709 Tone Mapping
The standard Rec. 709 gamma curve limits images to a fairly narrow dynamic range of up to 6/7 stops. Applying tone mapping preserves a greater dynamic range by compressing all exposure values non-linearly into the standard Rec. 709 range.

REC. 709 Gamut Compression
Similar to Rec. 709 tone mapping, gamut compression brings extreme colors outside of the Rec. 709 gamut inside by applying non-linear compression.

OCTOPUS RAW CinemaDNG Player key features

• Minimal interface
• Real-time CinemaDNG playback for 8,12,14-bit bayer or monochrome, uncompressed, or lossless compressed .dng sequences.
• RAW controls (White balance, exposure)
• Advanced color science control (Highlight recovery/roll-off, SDR Tone-Mapping)
• Timecode and metadata display
• Support for real-time 8K playback

Tested cameras and software

• Sigma fp
• MotionCam Android App
• DJI Xenmuse X5, X5R, X7
• Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5K
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera (Original)
• Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera
• Blackmagic URSA Mini 4K
• OCTOPUSCAMERA 8K, 4K, MONO
• SlimRAW (Lossless)

OCTOPUS RAW Player roadmap for 2023

• Audio playback
• Additional RAW formats
• Proof quality debayer
• Export to Apple ProRes / GoPro® CineForm

Support and developers

The OCTOPUS RAW Player project is an MIT-licensed open-source code base, for more information, please visit the GitHub repo.

Price and availability

The OCTOPUS RAW Player is now available and can be downloaded for free. However, if you enjoy using this free open-source software and it assists you professionally, please consider buying them a coffee for €4 to help support open-source software.

Use the following installer for your platform to install the OCTOPUS RAW Player:
Windows: OCTOPUS-RAW-Player-Windows-1.1.0.msi
MacOS: OCTOPUS-RAW-Player-macOS-1.1.0.pkg

Alternatively, the OCTOPUS RAW Player can be used standalone as a portable single file executable player requiring no installation:
Windows: OCTOPUS-RAW-Player-Windows-1.1.0.zip
MacOS: OCTOPUS-RAW-Player-macOS-1.1.0.dmg

What do you think about the OCTOPUS RAW Player? Could it come in handy with your workflow to have a quick and easy-to-use Cinema DNG playback option on your computer? Please leave us your thoughts in the comment section below.