What Cinnafilm does

Cinnafilm, Inc. is a privately-held software company founded in 2004 and headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that develops GPU-accelerated video and audio processing software built on NVIDIA CUDA architecture for the professional media supply chain. Its product portfolio centers on the PixelStrings platform — a 64-bit media transformation platform launched in 2020 — alongside a suite of modular tools: Tachyon for motion-compensated standards and frame rate conversion, Tachyon LIVE and IPx LIVE for real-time live IP video transcoding, Dark Energy and Dark Energy Xenon for grain/noise reduction and SDR/HDR conversion, Wormhole for precision runtime retiming, the PixelStrings Transcoder as the codec engine, and Skywalker Sound Tools for audio versioning (co-developed with Lucasfilm's Skywalker Sound).

The company sells into major studios, streamers, broadcasters, and live sports production organizations (named users include Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC Olympics, Microsoft, Sony Pictures, Paramount, Universal, 20th Century Fox, BBC, CBS, Viacom, Deluxe, and Skywalker Sound). Cinnafilm monetizes through three deployment models: PixelStrings FLEX (annual per-machine license on customer infrastructure), PixelStrings GO (low-cost hosted SaaS for budget-sensitive workflows), and PixelStrings PLUS (scalable SaaS with usage-based charges and managed storage). Distribution combines direct enterprise sales, OEM embedding (SDVI Rally, Glookast Media Producer, EVS XTAccess), a partner portal for resellers, and pay-as-you-go AWS Marketplace listings for Tachyon LIVE. The company maintains strategic technology partnerships with NVIDIA (AI super resolution, April 2025), swXtch.io (cloud-agnostic live conversion, 2023), Perifery (object storage integration, 2023), EVS (live production, 2024), and Glookast (2026).

Cinnafilm is actively operating with 11–50 employees under founder/CEO Lance Maurer and CRO Ernie Sanchez; revenue, ownership beyond founder control, and outside capital are not publicly disclosed. The single historical funding event on record is an undisclosed round from Flywheel Ventures in July 2012.

Name

Cinnafilm

Legal name

Cinnafilm, Inc.

Website

https://cinnafilm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cinnafilm develops GPU-accelerated video and audio processing software built on NVIDIA CUDA architecture, including the PixelStrings platform and Tachyon standards/frame-rate conversion tools, serving major studios, broadcasters, streamers, and live sports production organizations worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Processing and Media Transformation Software

NAICS

Postproduction Services and Other Motion Picture and Video Industries (51219), Software Publishers (513210), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Standards Conversion & Restoration (Frame Rate, Deinterlacing, Upscale) (MPAHAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Codec & Format Support (HEVC/AV1/VVC, HDR, IMF, MXF) (MPAHAHAE), Content-Aware/AI Media Processing (Per-Title Encode, Scene Detection) (MPAHAHAH), Audio Encoding & Processing (Surround, Atmos, Normalization) (MPAHAHAI), Media Processing at the Edge (Transcoding, Packaging, DRM at Edge) (HDABAGAD)

Keywords

• Video transcoding software
• Standards conversion tools
• Broadcast video processing
• GPU video acceleration
• Media transformation software

Headquarters

HQ city

Albuquerque

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. PixelStrings FLEX (Annual per-machine license): Annual per-machine software license for deployment on customer infrastructure (physical, virtual, or cloud). Supports multi-machine clustering for high-volume processing. Customer manages their own compute resources.
2. PixelStrings GO (Annual subscription + usage): Hosted SaaS option with annual subscription license plus usage-based charges for some features. Single-machine only. Best for low-volume, budget-sensitive processing.
3. PixelStrings PLUS (Annual subscription + usage SaaS): Fully hosted SaaS platform with annual subscription plus usage charges. Supports up to 100 simultaneous jobs per account. Managed storage included with S3-compatible cloud storage connectivity.
4. Marketplace listing (AWS Marketplace): Tachyon LIVE is available through the AWS Marketplace, enabling pay-as-you-go cloud deployment for broadcasters worldwide.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cinnafilm develops and sells GPU-accelerated video processing software that performs standards conversion, motion-compensated frame rate conversion, deinterlacing, grain/noise reduction, AI-powered upresing, and SDR/HDR conversion for professional media and broadcast workflows. Its PixelStrings platform consolidates transcoding, image enhancement, retiming, and audio versioning into single-pass, API-driven workflows deployable on-premises, in the cloud, or via SaaS.

Product overview

Cinnafilm offers a modular platform-plus-products architecture centered on PixelStrings, a high-performance media transformation platform. PixelStrings serves as the core orchestration layer and is available in three deployment variants: PixelStrings FLEX (customer infrastructure with per-machine licensing), PixelStrings GO (low-cost metered-usage SaaS), and PixelStrings PLUS (scalable SaaS with OPEX pricing). The platform integrates specialized processing modules: Tachyon for standards and frame rate conversion, Tachyon Wormhole for runtime retiming and super slo-mo, Dark Energy for noise/grain reduction, Dark Energy Xenon for SDR/HDR conversion, PixelStrings Transcoder as the core codec engine, and Skywalker Sound Tools for audio versioning. For live workflows, Cinnafilm offers Tachyon LIVE (real-time motion-compensated standards conversion) and IPx LIVE (real-time IP video transcode engine) deployed via AWS Marketplace or partner cloud platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PixelStrings: High-performance media transformation platform for file-based media, trusted by leading studios, streamers, and broadcasters.
• Tachyon
• Tachyon Wormhole
• Dark Energy
• Dark Energy Xenon
• IPx LIVE
• Tachyon LIVE
• Skywalker Sound Tools
• PixelStrings Transcoder

Products and services

• PixelStrings High-performance media transformation platform for file-based content, trusted by leading studios, streamers, and broadcasters. Brings together Cinnafilm's advanced processing tools including transcoding, standards conversion, retiming, noise reduction, HDR conversion, and audio versioning in a single platform.
• PixelStrings FLEX Customer infrastructure deployment (physical/virtual/cloud) variant of PixelStrings with annual per-machine license. Supports multi-machine clustering for high-volume processing. Includes REST API and all tools: Transcode, Tachyon, Dark Energy, Skywalker Sound Tools, Tachyon Wormhole, Dark Energy Xenon.
• PixelStrings GO Hosted SaaS deployment variant of PixelStrings with annual subscription license plus usage-based pricing. Single-machine, low-volume, budget-sensitive processing. Includes Transcode, Tachyon, Dark Energy, and Skywalker Sound Tools.
• PixelStrings PLUS Highly scalable SaaS / OPEX operation variant of PixelStrings with annual subscription plus usage charges. Supports up to 100 simultaneous jobs per account with managed storage included and S3-compatible cloud storage connectivity.
• Tachyon Standards and frame rate conversion, deinterlacing, and pattern correction for file-based workflows. Performs motion-compensated frame rate conversions between any combination of professional frame rates with broadcast-grade quality.
• Tachyon LIVE Broadcast-grade standards conversion for live IP streams. Real-time motion-compensated frame rate conversion, advanced deinterlacing, resolution scaling, and colour space adjustments executed with broadcast-quality precision and low latency. Available in cloud or on-prem deployments and on AWS Marketplace.
• Tachyon Wormhole Runtime retiming, format compliance, and super slo-mo creation. Runlength conversion capabilities for altering content run-length for new ad insertions or specific runtime requirements without cutting frames.
• Dark Energy Grain and noise reduction, texture management, and AI upresing for pristine output quality and content rejuvenation/archive restoration.
• Dark Energy Xenon Dark Energy with SDR/HDR conversion using Technicolor tone mapping. Handles dynamic range conversions between SDR and HDR formats.
• PixelStrings Transcoder Core transcoding engine supporting MXF, QuickTime, MP4, MPEG TS/PS, GXF formats; codecs including ProRes, DNxHD/HR, MPEG2 XDCAM/IMX, H.264/AVC, DV/DVCPro, JPEG2000, HEVC; audio formats including PCM, AAC, Dolby Digital; and caption/subtitle formats 608/708, SCC, XML.
• Skywalker Sound Tools Audio versioning tools developed in partnership with Skywalker Sound (Lucasfilm). Provides loudness regulation and audio remapping and mixing capabilities.
• IPx LIVE Real-time, software-based IP video transcode engine. Live IP signal transcoding supporting industry-standard IP video protocols including SMPTE 2110, TR-07, SRT, and NDI. Enables frictionless conversion between different IP video formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• Discovery+ launch achieved by converting 60,000+ archive assets to build the industry’s largest on-demand OTT library, while simultaneously processing Scripps and legacy Discovery daily volumes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability7 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core / flagship and core.

• GlookaststrategicOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 20 April 2026Cinnafilm Tachyon integrated as a plugin for Glookast Media Producer and Media Services, bringing GPU-accelerated professional video processing to broadcast and post-production workflows. Announced at NAB Show 2026.
• NVIDIAcore / flagshipTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2025Strategic technology collaboration to integrate NVIDIA RTX AI Image Processing SDK with Cinnafilm's image processing engine for AI-powered super resolution HD and UHD upconversions. Combines Cinnafilm's 20+ years of GPU-accelerated signal processing with NVIDIA Tensor Cores and RTX AI. Cinnafilm estimates 25-30% quality gains over its prior upresing solution. Available within PixelStrings platform.
• EVSstrategicTechnology or Integration · 9 April 2024Cinnafilm Tachyon integrated with EVS' XTAccess media transfer and processing engine (via XFile3) and VIA XSquare orchestration platform. Enhances EVS live production workflows and archive processes with Tachyon's standards conversions and frame rate versioning.
• Perifery (DataCore)strategicTechnology or Integration · 15 November 2023Perifery's Object Matrix and Swarm object storage integrated with Cinnafilm's PixelStrings platform, allowing seamless conversion and upscaling of media assets stored in Perifery's object storage within the PixelStrings platform. Enables efficient archive digitization, scalable archiving, and content categorization.
• swXtch.io (IEX Group Inc.)core / flagshipTechnology or Integration · 25 September 2023cloudSwXtch virtual overlay network integrates Cinnafilm's IP-XCode and Tachyon LIVE for live IP video conversion. Enables NDI, SRT, and SMPTE 2110 input streams to be standards-converted in cloud with sub-millisecond latency. cloudSwXtch is cloud-agnostic across Azure, Oracle, Google Cloud, AWS. General availability announced September 2023.
• SDVI (Rally through PixelStrings)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPixelStrings transcoding engine available as OEM integration within SDVI's Rally media transformation platform, enabling joint customers to access Cinnafilm processing through SDVI's orchestration fabric.
• Skywalker Sound (Lucasfilm Ltd.)core / flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkywalker Sound audio versioning tools (loudness regulation, remapping and mixing) developed in partnership with Skywalker Sound and integrated into PixelStrings. Steve Morris, Director of Engineering at Skywalker Sound, stated that Cinnafilm's expertise in video processing combined with awareness of emerging industry standards gave confidence the joint solution would be cutting-edge and future-proof.
• SDVIstrategicTechnology or IntegrationCinnafilm participates in joint webinars with SDVI (Geoff Stedman, CMO; Simon Eldridge, CPO) discussing media supply chain transformation and how PixelStrings integrates with SDVI Rally orchestration platform.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)strategicTechnology or IntegrationTachyon LIVE and IPx LIVE listed in AWS Marketplace for on-demand procurement. NVIDIA GPU instances on AWS power the real-time conversion capabilities. AWS infrastructure supports cloudSwXtch deployment.
• Embrace, Emotion Systems, Venera TechnologiesstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner4-company technology partnership for integrated media supply chain automation: Embrace (orchestration), Cinnafilm (video transformation), Emotion Systems (audio processing), and Venera Technologies (QC). Joint solution brief published December 2024.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bitmovin: Cloud-native video encoding/transcoding and player platform widely used by OTT streamers and broadcasters. Competes head-on with Cinnafilm's PixelStrings Transcoder and Tachyon in SaaS-based file transcoding for media supply chains, with similar per-minute usage pricing models.
• Ateme: Video compression and delivery solutions for broadcast, OTT, and 5G. Overlaps with Cinnafilm on broadcast-grade standards conversion, HEVC/HDR pipelines, and contribution feeds to major studios/streamers using GPU-accelerated encoding.
• Cinegy: Software-defined broadcast stack including ingest, transcoding, playout, and MAM used by broadcasters and post houses. Overlaps with Cinnafilm's PixelStrings in file-based transcoding, standards conversion, and IP-based broadcast workflows.
• EVS: Live broadcast production infrastructure (XTAccess, VIA XSquare, XT servers) used by sports and news broadcasters. Directly comparable to Cinnafilm in live IP-based standards and frame rate conversion, and notably a Cinnafilm OEM/integration partner.
• Telos Alliance: Broadcast audio solutions (including Linear Acoustic loudness / upmixing). Directly comparable to Cinnafilm's Skywalker Sound Tools for audio versioning, loudness regulation, and remapping in broadcast delivery workflows.
• Wowza (StreamingBridge): Streaming media server and cloud transcoding platform for live and on-demand video delivery. Overlaps with Cinnafilm's IPx LIVE and PixelStrings Transcoder on real-time IP protocol conversion and live workflow delivery to broadcasters and event producers.
• Harmonic: Long-standing vendor of video infrastructure (encoders, transcoders, playout) for broadcasters, streamers, and satellite operators. Direct overlap with Cinnafilm's Tachyon / PixelStrings Transcoder in standards conversion, encoding, and HDR processing for the same enterprise media customer base.
• Matrox Video: Developer of video I/O cards, converters, and software-based IP video processing for broadcast and pro AV. Comparable to Cinnafilm on standards conversion, IP format transcoding, and OEM-style embedding into broadcast workflows.
• Imagine Communications: Provides playout, ad insertion, and video processing infrastructure for broadcasters. Competes with Cinnafilm in file-based and live standards conversion, HDR/SDR workflows, and audio loudness/versioning for linear and OTT distribution.

Broad incumbents

• AWS Elemental (Amazon Web Services): Hyperscaler media services (MediaConvert, MediaLive, MediaPackage) bundled with AWS infrastructure — the same cloud where Cinnafilm's Tachyon LIVE is listed on AWS Marketplace. Competes on commodity transcoding and live encoding but offers broader, integrated media tooling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/cinnafilm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/651177
• Xx.com/cinnafilm
• Facebookfacebook.com/115194378522798

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cinnafilm