Digital Camera Systems (DCS) has announced the acquisition of UMeT, a frame-accurate media metadata application developed by CineDev. This move marks DCS’s strategic expansion from on-set capture hardware into broader VFX software and workflow solutions.

DCS is recognized for its Lens Data Translator (LDT) ecosystem, which captures lens data frame by frame into camera RAW files and streams live lens information to virtual production tools. With the addition of UMeT, DCS now offers post-production teams enhanced control over metadata, allowing them to extract, modify, and re-inject frame-by-frame metadata from both sidecar files and embedded media. UMeT’s node-graph workflow is specifically designed for integration into production pipelines.

In today’s VFX and virtual production environments, accurate lens and camera metadata is essential for efficient transitions from plates to matchmove, compositing, and final output. However, metadata can often become incomplete or inconsistent as footage moves through the pipeline, especially in facilities without extensive proprietary tools. Through this acquisition, DCS aims to help productions achieve over 99% frame accuracy for lens metadata wherever DCS solutions are used.

“Since founding DCS, we have focused on capturing accurate lens data on set, but we have also seen how often that metadata gets degraded, lost, or becomes inconsistent once it reaches the pipeline,” said Gary Keller, general manager of DCS. “Bringing UMeT into DCS helps close that gap. It gives VFX and post-production teams practical control to normalize, repair, and carry lens metadata through to final delivery. Our goal is to make metadata reliable enough to trust, shot after shot, frame after frame.”

Andrea Michelon, co-founder of CineDev, added, “We built UMeT to give teams frame-by-frame control of metadata, so it survives the journey from set to post. DCS has earned trust in the industry through its lens data work and customer-centric mindset. We believe UMeT is in the right hands to scale faster, reach more users, and better serve the wider lens metadata community within the DCS ecosystem.”

UMeT is designed to work directly with frame-by-frame metadata across camera RAW and common media formats, offering both user interface and automation options. Key features include:

• Frame-accurate metadata hand-off between camera, VFX, and finishing stages
• Node-graph interface for frame-by-frame metadata control, including modification, interpolation, conversion, and conformance
• Workflows for extracting, manipulating, and re-injecting metadata using embedded data or sidecars, with options to save back to original files or export new media and sidecar CSVs
• Automation and pipeline integration via command-line interface and Python API, designed for studio workflows
• Integration across DCCs and render pipelines to maintain consistent metadata throughout CG, VFX, and finishing processes
• Cross-platform support for macOS, Windows, and Linux

DCS plans to build on UMeT’s foundation by expanding software development for VFX and post-production teams. Future developments include a stronger API-first approach, cloud deployment options, and broader support for formats and metadata mapping required in VFX deliveries. The long-term vision is to move beyond lens metadata to capture and manage a wider range of camera and scene metadata, supporting a more comprehensive digital representation of production inputs. This acquisition is the first major step in that direction.

UMeT will be rebranded and fully supported by DCS as it becomes part of the DCS ecosystem, with a dedicated support hub and expanded roadmap planned for 2026. UMeT will be available for purchase directly from DCS in 2026. Currently, UMeT offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required and is available as a version-locked, perpetual license with no subscription needed. Pricing starts at £950 plus VAT (one-off payment), subject to change.

The DCS team will be present at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 in Barcelona from February 3 to 6, 2026, and is available for meetings during the event.

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