Dolby Inks Deal With Deluxe for CRT Replacement Monitors

Dolby closed a key deal with Deluxe Creative Services Group, which purchased multiple Dolby PRM-4200 Professional Reference Monitors.

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Dolby declined to offer more details of the deal.

A reference monitor is a critical piece of equipment in post-production, because it is relied upon to check color accuracy during the grading and mastering process. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors have long been the standard, but they contain large amounts of toxic elements such as lead. Manufacturing of such monitors ended, although no new standard emerged, and so the scarcity of remaining CRT monitors has created a problem in post-production.

Dolby has been pushing this monitor -- which combines a greener LCD screen and LED backlight and lists for $39,995 – as a replacement for the CRT.

The Deluxe Creative Services Group includes a string of post-production and VFX businesses including Company 3, Deluxe New York, and EFILM in the US; and Rushes in London. “The Dolby Professional Reference Monitor allows us to help content creators realize their artistic vision with the confidence of the highest level of color accuracy available today,” said colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld, president, Deluxe Creative Services Group, in a statement.

A Dolby representative told The Hollywood Reporter that its monitor—launched roughly a year ago—is in use at AMPAS as part of the Academy’s development of an Academy Color Encoding Spec (ACES), which aims to make color more consistent throughout the production and post processes.