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Author Topic: DTS OR DOLBY DIGITAL Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-24-2004 11:22 PM                     My apologies Steve, I misread your post.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 07-24-2004 11:48 PM                    Not at all, your bedtime story was most enlightening.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-25-2004 12:03 AM                     "My question was actually directed at Mark and his comment that every company out there has screwed over independents pretty much... I just don't think that's true." _________________________________________________________________ Just ask any independent or small chain owner. They can fill your ears with alot of examples. There are those few companies, the smaller ones, that do treat all customers equally though. Generally thats why you find their equipment in many independently owned theatres even if its somewhat substandard. I agree with Brad thouugh on the DTS vs. SRD debate. Both of them are excellent sounding systems and we get great service from both companies at CLACO. The CSP1200 vs. 650 debate is however a worthwhile arguement which has its merits. Nighty night boys! Mark  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-25-2004 10:35 AM                     I know I wasn't trying to start (or finish) a CSP1200 vs CP650 debate on this thread. I was merely responding to what I felt were very wrong statements regarding the CP650 since those statements would not help the original question (which do I buy, DTS or Dolby). Take, for instance, the recent EX statement: quote: Mark Gulbrandsen Thats hardly a cost effective to those that may want EX but never use the other options. This is all part of the scam that makes it cheaper for Dolby to produce the 650. Covering the R&D cost of other options by forcing people to have to buy them that may in all probibility never use them. The Panastereo EX decoder also wins hands down and its also the easiest to set up. The EX option on a CP650 is street price under $1000. It provides 4-channels of 1/3-octave EQ and also allows for auto-detection of surround-EX. Lastly there is not set up with it...you just tune all four surround quadrents. The Pana SP23 (which is ineed an excellent unit). However, it costs more than the EX option on a CP650 with 1/3-Octave EQ...it only has 3-equalizers (again comparing same-same...1/3-Octave EQ) so in 5.1 mode, the SP23 uses only two of its 3 EQs...where as the CP650 will apply the proper EQ to all channels all the time. The SP23 doesn't currently offer Auto-EX detection...which in a main-stream theatre is a good feature since the word on Surround-EX is so poorly distributed. So you have the CP650's EX option costing less and giving more...yet it is characterized as losing "hands down." How does that sort of "information" help with the original question of DTS or Dolby Digital? It is misinformation. The CP650 is very relevent in the discussion since it is key nowadays to a Dolby Digital installation at its lowest cost. As to D/A conversions...no not all are created equal. To presume the CP650 and the DA20 share the same devices or methods is silly. In fact, D/A conversion is often key as to how a digital device sounds. Sure the DA-20 has gone through a major board revision (older ones were through-hole Technology, current ones are surface-mount technology, SMT). Did they change the D/A converters on that revision beyond the package style? They did add a relay so, if properly modified one can have the subwoofer switch through. They still don't have Le and Re on the relay system...grrrrrr. Now if you want to say the DA-20 is WAY overpriced and causing the DA20/CSP1200 system to be too much you'd have something. If you wanted to compare the SP23 to the SA-TEN again you'd have something...the SA-10 costs more and does less and takes up more rack space not doing it. So back to the original question...if one is going the Dolby Digital route...the CP650 is an excellent choice if your theatre fits within its design contraints. Most theatres do indeed fit. If your are going the DTS route...then the CSP1200/XD-10 is an excellent choice. Steve  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-25-2004 12:01 PM                     Okay lets agree that the D/A converters are the problem and lets just go back to analogue 4 track mag prints exclusively  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 07-25-2004 01:03 PM                        Let's go back to Vitaphone.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 07-25-2004 02:12 PM                    Wurlitzer. If you really need to hear a human voice get a Benshi.  |  IP: Logged Ron Yost Master Film Handler Posts: 344 From: Paso Robles, CA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 07-25-2004 02:49 PM                     WurliTzer Ron Yost  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-25-2004 03:32 PM                     I did a little more research on the DA-20...The D/A conversion is done on the Cat. 686 card (18-bit D/A). Have there been any major updates on that card since the DA-20 came out? Next time I pop open a DA-20...I'll take a look-see. In my post above, I thought the Cat. 611 or 611A had the D/A. The 611A is the card that has the SMT updates. I'd have to defer to someone like Ken at Dolby as to any improvements that have been made in the DA-20 or CP650 but I stand behind that it is most likely that the CP650, with many years of later technology would be afforded better D/A converters. Steve  |  IP: Logged Will Kutler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1506 From: Tucson, AZ, USA Registered: Feb 2001 posted 07-25-2004 04:18 PM                     DTS and Dolby are both capable of excellent sound. The theatre where I worked was equipped with DTS, SDDS and Dolby Digital, including one (EX) screen. Problems do exist with all digital formats, and ya know what...it was always the old fashioned analog track that saved the day! Without getting into all kinds of audiophile technobabble, I'll say this: Dolby in some form is more or less standard issue on todays prints. DTS is not necessarily standard issue, especially with film studios/production companies associated with Sony! Keeping track of DTS discs can be a real pain, especially where minimum wage kids run the booth. Lord knows how many times kids "forget" to load the updated disc for the proper trailers, forget to change-out discs on a double feature screen...etc, etc! Also at my old theatre, I regularly ran "sneak features", press screenings, etc...and the discs would not be issued for these screenings! And there would be an occasional mis-shipment of discs from the distributor.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Fuentes Mmmm, Dr. Pepper! Posts: 1168 From: Corpus Christi, TX United States Registered: Jan 2004 posted 07-25-2004 05:32 PM                     quote: Will Kutler especially where minimum wage kids run the booth. Lord knows how many times kids "forget" I would say that maybe somebody should pay these kids more, but that has been discussed over and over again, so nevermind.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-25-2004 07:12 PM                     While I agree with Jeremy, I have seen professionally ran booths occasionally forget to move discs when other things were happening, such as needing to work on a down auditorium, or some last minute auditorium change because of a rental while trying to build new films for the weekend and such. SRD never has that problem.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-25-2004 09:15 PM                     networked XD10's and it isn't a problem either  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 07-25-2004 09:30 PM                     From the point of view as a customer, I would be pretty annoyed with the booth staff if they forgot to load the correct DTS discs or just not load them at all. Out of all the things one has to do in operating a projection booth, loading the correct DTS discs is one of the most simple tasks on the list. It is certainly a lot easier than correctly threading a print. This is one specific reason why I flatly refuse to visit the mall theater in my town, because I know for a fact they rarely ever bother to load the CDs in their two DTS equipped auditoriums. At least for this theater, I call it laziness and not a fault at all of the format. Hell, this theater doesn't even have automations worth a damn and they have to manually punch in optical stereo surround much of the time (whenever they bother to do it). It is that bad. Perhaps I might be more tolerant of DTS disc use errors if the multiplex has a multiple digital format environment, which would add to the confusion. I've never seen the Carmike theater here mess up any DTS shows. Since they have DTS on every screen, the same procedure has to be followed unless it is one of those rare cases where a movie has no DTS discs. I've always been a big DTS fan. But overall, I think a multiplex should be equipped with one digital format on every screen -be it Dolby Digital or DTS. Mixing up the two could arguably buy trouble. At the very least, a mixed environment makes it difficult to use the sound format snipes on a print. It seems the best thing to do is go all the way with one format. And then if another format is needed have it in one or two rollaround carts so it can follow that print.  |  IP: Logged Kyle Watkins Expert Film Handler Posts: 185 From: Stuart, FL, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 07-25-2004 09:45 PM                     How long does the DTS drives usally last and the LED of dolby readers. And what is the cost difference between them. Kyle  |  IP: Logged

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