|
|
This topic comprises 4 pages: 1 2 3 4
|
|
Author
|
Topic: Why are there very few movies mixed in SDDS currently?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012
|
posted 08-24-2014 02:04 PM
quote:
The average audience could not distinguish between the analog sound coming from a clean print and properly maintained projection system vs. a digital track. The only time they could really distinguish was when the digital track would fail and switch to analog. More often than not, we would be running silent films if not for the good ole analog!
Honestly, I have never really liked digital sound all that much, the sound from analog stereo always sounded fuller and richer to me, perhaps this was because the sound was in fact not discrete.
I also found that a lot of 35mm digital houses would play digital soundtracks way too loud. I would probably estimate that that 9 out of 10 auditoriums close to me present movies at volumes that are way to loud. Even the Atmos screening room has volume levels that are dangerous IMO.
I don't recall ever having any issues with THX auditoriums. The sound was always great.
With D-Cinema, the playback levels are even worse at Cineplex than ever before. That along with scope films projected on a open flat screens really makes me want to avoid Cineplex at all costs. (But I don't think the average person cares)
quote: Jarod Reddig
Most choose to just not come back but I digress.
I once tried to ask why the projectionist why are they playing all the movies on flat screens with digital masking. I gave up after a few minutes. I just choose not to go to Cineplex anymore, I go out of my way to find a theater with masking. (I should mention, I don't mind no masking at all IMAX/ATMOS/VIP) it is the projected masking on a open flat masked screen that really bothers me. Luckily for me, these masked screen play the movie at an acceptable volume level.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marcel Birgelen
Film God
Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012
|
posted 08-24-2014 05:22 PM
quote: Sean Weitzel
Now that Sony has pretty much abandoned SDDS, and the website (that used to list all upcoming releases in sdds) is dead, I wonder if it is technically no longer possible to shoot the track because of the licensing aspect of it.
I doubt that Sony was paid any licensing money by the studios for SDDS mixes, because that would've seriously hurt the adaptation of the system. They were already late to the party and their system wasn't the cheapest either. Also, there are still movies released with SDDS tracks. So, if a license is required, that system still seems to be operational for now.
quote: Mike Blakesley
During our film years we only had a couple of occasions where the digital track wouldn't work and we had to drop back to analog sound.
SRD and especially DTS/DATASAT are more reliable on worn-out and damaged prints than SDDS. Although SDDS has the most error correction of any digital audio format, it's located on the most vulnerable positions on the prints.
quote: Mike Blakesley
I remember one odd occasion, it was just reel #1 that wouldn't play in digital. But for some reason, on that reel only, the system wouldn't switch to analog like it normally would; it would just go to silence.
I guess that something extraordinary must have happened to the timecode on that reel, triggering some bug in the DTS decoder software. Besides trashing the timecode on the print entirely, DTS was virtually unaffected from any print damage whatsoever.
quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
Honestly, I have never really liked digital sound all that much, the sound from analog stereo always sounded fuller and richer to me, perhaps this was because the sound was in fact not discrete.
I also liked it better when the pianist in the room provided the music. It was so much fuller and richer to me. Perhaps this was because the sound was, in fact, not recorded?
quote: Jarod Reddig
Another thing I notice is that I still see SDDS icons at the end of credits. Wonder when thats gunna stop?
Those that do show the SDDS logos still have an SDDS mix (or at least those who created the credits were convinced it still does ![[Wink]](wink.gif) ), at least in their original language mix. As Carsten has indicated, there don't seem to be any new German dubbed releases in SDDS, but they will sure as hell just bear those SDDS logos if their original version does have it.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
|
posted 08-25-2014 12:46 PM
I agree with Brad that Monte's system sounds like a not very well thought through installation.
Admittedly ours is unusual, because we're a rep cinematheque with a stated mission to be able to show everything from full gate silent at 16FPS to 4K DCPs in as near to original technical conditions as possible. But what we've got strikes me as the sensible way to install multiple film sound systems to interact with each other, and I'm guessing that the same approach will have been taken elsewhere.
We have processors for Dolby digital, DTS and SDDS. They all sit between the output of a CP200 and the input to a DMA8+. So when a processor is pumping out digital sound (i.e. it's reading from the film and getting good data), it's blocking the analog output from the CP200 from getting to the DMA8+. If the digital audio fails or there simply isn't any, the digital processors let the audio from the CP200 through to the DMA8+ and thence the power amps.
The advantage of this is that it'll drop to whatever the CP200 is set to. For example, there were some Universal DTS titles from the 1990s which didn't have a proper SR track as a backup, but a ripoff stereo variable area track badged "DTS Stereo", which sounded better played as A-type than SR. So if we set the CP200 to 04, then if the DTS drops out, it does so to A-type, not SR.
I don't know how our system would work if multiple digital tracks were in use - I've never tried it. It would be theoretically possible to thread film through both Dolby digital and either DTS or SDDS on our setup. I don't know if it would be possible configure DTS to drop to Dolby digital and then Dolby to drop to SR: I haven't been working there long enough to have experimented in that level of depth. One of these days...
| IP: Logged
|
|
Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!
Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999
|
posted 08-25-2014 01:34 PM
At the AFI/Silver...one can have Dolby and any one of the other digital readers. The reason isn't electronic but one of lip sync. Since both DTS and SDDS are "above" the gate readers, the film path would enlarge to accommodate both and unnecessarily wear out one reader (particularly the SDDS since it has a sprocket in the path) if one always had to thread both all of the time.
We did devise a circuit so that they could choose their digital priority of DTS or Dolby if both are available.
We chose to let SDDS come AFTER the CP200 (or CSP1200 in the two smaller theatres) rather than be part of the loop. This was done for multiple reasons, not the least of which was to allow it to be unencumbered by the CP200's B-chain, it provides a real nice 8-channel VU meter for ALL FORMATS (which is its primary function because...how many SDDS titles are there out there versus Dolby?) DFP-D2500 has a hard relay bypass so when SDDS is not going to be used, it has zero chance of interfering with the audio. It is a balanced output device and there is no point of sending it into a an unbalanced input that is ultimately JM-21.
All three digitals can share the Surround-EX decoder too.
It has never caused issue either. Oddly enough, I don't think the AFI/Silver ever had a problem running any SDDS titles. If they did, they didn't tell me about it. Though rare, the DFP-D2500 was Sony's best decoder, in my opinion, particularly for 2-projector systems...it had dual inputs, not a matrixed one like Dolby used on their DA series or Sony used on all of their other decoders. Unofrtunately, the DFP-D2500 was very rare...the serial numbers at the AFI are in the 50s.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 4 pages: 1 2 3 4
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic