A digital motion picture restoration system for film archives

A new semi-automatic digital motion picture restoration system for film archives (DIMORF) is introduced, including all stages of restoration, such as scanning, processing and recording. The featured automatism is controlled by occasional operator interactions. All main components are designed and manufactured to meet the special needs of film archive specialists. The film scanner, as well as the laser recorder, reaches a resolution of 6K. The scanner contains a line camera and is able to scan the entire surface of the film, including perforation. The laser recorder, under construction at the time of this proposal, uses a rotating mirror to reflect light onto the film positioned on the inner surface of the recorder drum. The PC-based digital processing unit includes a standalone framework and has a plug-in-based modular interface ready for forthcoming restoration algorithms. Built-in film correction includes stabilization, de-flicker, blotch detection, scratch removal, de-noising, color manipulation, and de-fade effects. Interactive user-support and adaptive algorithms are designed to help semi-automatic operation and thus reduce manpower costs.