Also, I've witnessed a DTS6D hooked into an Ultra unit where the projector was shaking enough where it wouldn't track a solid timecode and lost timecode for a few minutes at a time. The problem with it not reverting was that jumper had fallen off as units were moved around! Once it was replaced, analog fallback commenced again normally. This was just last year. Besides, no studio is making "A" tracks anymore, so a forced fallback to SR wouldn't matter if you have the cards. The jumper is desirable in most cases, but as you pointed out is not necessary in a booth like yours that is fully equipped.

Knowing the model number of the processor will help greatly.

Regardless, since it never happened before and hasn't happened since, this will be very hard to track down. Heck, it could just be that the platter's brain wasn't threaded quite on track that one show and was bouncing the film. I've seen this sort of misthread happen once on a Strong platter where the film was bouncing significantly, and a Potts is basically the same thing.

Sorry for the delayed response, but I just read your posting.

If DTS drops out, it should always revert to an optical format. If this is not happening, be sure the logic board to the CP is connected. Then check the DTS unit by removing the movie discs and loading in a Setup disc (hopefully you have one of these). Once loaded, the disc should play by itself and automatically switch the CP into the format that DTS is using (format depends on the CP). Then, eject the disc and the DTS should pluse the CP into an optical sound format.

If this is not happening, then call your service tech and ask for a full check on DTS and the CP (maybe the CP automation has a problem?).

Another thing that is probably related, but may or may not help diagnose the problem. Today it wasn't kicking into DTS AT ALL! I have no clue how this (or any) automation is wired, but I've been doing all my lights, douser, and sound selecting manually because I'm in the process of figuring out how this cueing system is set up. They haven't been cueing the movies when they build them, because until I came, it was basically high school kids running the place (no offense to you young whipper-snappers out there). So I'm wondering if the DTS isn't kicking on when the automation "thinks" that we're still in intermission. But from my limited experience with this sort of thing, I'd think that it wouldn't matter. If the reader finds timecode, it sends it to the drives... if the drives find the same timecode, they tell the processor to change over to DTS... right? This should be totally independent of the automation, right?
I just can't think of anything ELSE that it would be. The light on the reader is uninterrupted, so it's gotta be the drives.
Karen- can I order some setup disks... or even better, can you (or someone else there) send me some free ones to show off your incredible customer service?! If you do, I'll be sure to post a topic here entitled, "Golly, DTS sure does rock!"

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Scott A. Magie

scoooot@hotmail.com
"Anybody wanna peanut?"

You may want to check that the CP automation is working OK. Use a peice of wire from ground to each sound format connection. See if the CP will switch properly.

Please give me a call at (800) 959-4109 Monday thru Friday from 9am until 6pm pacific time. We'll discuss the details.

we had recently got some new drives in for our dts and on a couple of instances for some strange reason, it would play the wrong soundtrack for the trailer on screen.
For example we were once showing a kids movie with a kids trailer but,... it was playing the soundtrack for some evil movie. this scared the kids of course. kinda funny. could not figure it out. oh well just something funny i thought i should share.

THX
EH

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Today I was able to observe the DTS "dropout" for a long time because no one was in the auditorium (Battlefield Earth... SURPRISE!) Anyway, what happens is this. The DTS kicked in for the attached preview and was perfect until maybe 15-25 minutes into the show. Then, out of nowhere (not at a reel-change or anything) it went silent. So I now know for sure that it is failing to switch to SR when this problem occurs. Here's the weird thing... it's not completely silent. There are pulses of sound that occur slightly more than once a second (but not quite twice a second). I counted 75 pulses per minute. At first, they were long enough to sometimes catch a syllable or sound effect from the actual soundtrack, but eventually, the pulses were shortened to just a regular cadence of clicking. This was my observation in the auditorium. Then I went up to the booth to see what I could see. The light on the DTS timecode reader remained perfectly steady, so apparently the timecode was being read properly. But on the DTS unit itself, there were some interesting things going on. The indicator lights on the two drives in use were blinking to the same cadence as the sound pulses (which could also be heard thru the monitor). Also blinking to that same cadence was the indicator light marked "digital". With the movie still playing, I ejected the disks (the CP55 still didn't switch to SR) and re-loaded them. The same clicking resumed once the unit found the timecode on the disks.
This is not the first film to have problems in this auditorium, but we HAVE had a few flawless shows here and there, so it doesn't seem to be consistent.
Once again, I ask for your dumbed-down assistance. I'd like to get this figured out so I'll know what parts to order before the tech-guy comes... otherwise I'll have to install them... and I'd rather let someone who has half of a clue be responsible for the expensive stuff.

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Scott A. Magie

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The problem is that DTS allows the audio files to run to the end of the reel, including leaders, tail pop, vocal identity. They should be edited to cut off immediately at the end of active audio.

Why?

The newer DTS units can be set up for direct control of changeover but the traditional way (and the only way on the older units AFAIK) is that the audio changeover is controlled by the timecode. When the box sees timecode from the new reel it switches over to the new audio file for the new reel. It's automatic.

The problem is that if the timecode reader on the incoming machine is defective or, in my case one evening, out of adjustment vis a vis the lateral position of the timecode on THAT (the incoming) reel, there won't be any timecode from the new machine. That would be no problem if the audio file of the outgoing reel ended dead with the end of the reel. In that case with the file at an end and no new timecode the box would simply switch the CP back to analog (which would be on the new projector since the analog track has changed-over). But because the audio files tend to run out the reel under such conditions the DTS won't drop out for many seconds leaving the audience with (variously) silence, a beep, audio gobbledygook, etc.