My client has a movie that was shot on a PAL camera in SD widescreen at 1024x576. Then it was edited in FCS and mastered to NTSC widescreen 720x480. They would like to prep it for theatrical release, and possibly Blu-ray.

I'm using Production Premium CS4 and I have Boris UpRez, but I don't think the results are good enough for theater projection.

What recommendations do you all suggest? Is there better software or hardware I can buy to upscale the movie to HD, or should I send it out to a Post house for upscaling (and if so, who do you recommend)?

Or, should I advise them to just leave it in SD?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Leave it in SD or reshoot.

Leave it in SD - Tell the client that they are best to project from a theatre from Digibeta if they want the best SD commonly used origination. Deliver on Bluray as SD and let the Blu Ray players or the TV's handle the upres in their hardware, it will generally generate acceptable results.

A Blow up for theatrical onto film is possible from an SD source - but you'd want to take the original footage to a high end conform place that regularly does film or DCI transfers to get the best possible results (in other words spend a lot of dollars.).

If it's for festival style distribution, Digibeta is still generally an accepted secondary format for screening at festivals.

Thanks Harm & Craig for the responses.

It's already done the "Indie" circuit and picked up a few awards. Now they're looking to get commercial theatrical distribution for general public viewing.

So the best bet is to project it in SD from Digibeta tape? Do most commercial theaters (Regal Cinemas, etc.) have that capability?

What about sending it out to a PH that has Teranex converters? We don't have an unlimited budget, but we do want the best possible viewing experience for the audience.

Thanks Harm & Craig for the responses.

It's already done the "Indie" circuit and picked up a few awards. Now they're looking to get commercial theatrical distribution for general public viewing.

So the best bet is to project it in SD from Digibeta tape? Do most commercial theaters (Regal Cinemas, etc.) have that capability?

What about sending it out to a PH that has Teranex converters? We don't have an unlimited budget, but we do want the best possible viewing experience for the audience.

Commercial Theatrical will require prints or DCI - although because of digital increasingly cinemas are 'capable' or playing alternative sources (but probably not all that willing). I'd get quotes from post houses that specialize in doing DI and conforming for DCI/Print, letting them know the added complication that it's from an SD source and get their advice on methodology and cost. It's not something I'd leave to anyone who doesn't do DI and conforming for Print/DCI (or reverse Telecine if going the optical route) on a daily basis.

Best possible viewing is limited by originating source