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Author Topic: Refitting for Digital - Scaler options, Sound Processors Harold Hallikainen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 906 From: Denver, CO, USA Registered: Aug 2009 posted 12-10-2012 11:16 PM                        The SMPTE X-Curve ATTEMPTS to make the sound in the auditorium as close as possible to the sound on the dubbing stage. There are several different X-curves based on the size of the auditorium. Since the dubbing stage is a "small auditorium," the original movie should be mixed with the small auditorium X-curve. Then, when you play it back in a big auditorium, using the big-auditorum X-curve, it SHOULD sound similar. That's the goal, anyway! The USL JSD-100 and JSD-60 let you load limit curves for the RTA. It comes with curve files for all the auditorium sizes defined in SMPTE 202. Since the curve files are text, you can create your own curve. The loaded curve is used in auto-equalization. On adjusting until it sounds right, I think we have too much variation in interpretation of what sounds "right." Some people may prefer more highs than others. I think the goal is to make it sound the way the movie producer wants it to sound which, supposedly, is how it sounded on the dubbing stage. This whole area is being revisited by the SMPTE Cinema Sound Sysems technical committee, which just held its first meeting. Those who want to know where we're headed or want to head us in the right direction may want to join the group. Harold  |  IP: Logged Mark Pasquesi Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Geneva, Geneva Canton, Switzerland Registered: Sep 2012 posted 12-13-2012 11:58 AM                     Harold, The mixing 'stage' for many lower budget mixers is only their studio. That said, we've now had two groups of mixers from two different studios with 2 different types of speakers, both with pro-tools, notice the 1.5-12,000 drop. It's also visible on the USL interface. That said, the SMPTE standard was tested and put in place. It is a great base. The sound distribution in 5,1 seems to be perfect. No one notices a difference with their mix and our presentation. It's just the slight loss in the treble range that is noticeable, especially with certain voices, or sound designs. Once we realized that the JSD-100 (at that cinema) had a faulty memory, we have just had to manually open the file (we could script it) every time we launch the JSD. However, I have been unable to stop the 5,1 redistribution when we use the coaxial in. This has been ok for certain films where the matrix handles the AC3 from the Bray correctly, but I have been unable to limit it to a simple LR stereo. Could this mean we did not correctly set up our coaxial in on the JSD for a L/R stereo only project? Do we need to do a seperate SMPTE test for the stereo only? Or is this a coaxial issue? When I use the analog ins from our Black Magic video/sound card, there is no problem - we can distribute the sound as 2.0, 5,1, etc, using the computer matrixes. The JSD does not force a 5,1. Thanks, Mark  |  IP: Logged Harold Hallikainen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 906 From: Denver, CO, USA Registered: Aug 2009 posted 12-13-2012 08:28 PM                        There was a very lively SMPTE Cinema Sound Systems discussion today where a fair number of people disagreed with my idea that our goal was to sound the same in the auditorium as on the mixing stage. But, there seems to be agreement that we should reproduce the director's intent as closely as possible. I've been suggesting binaural recordings to A/B test various environments with various measured equalizations. Some have said the best way to make auditoriums sound better is to turn off equalization. We'll see where (and if) it all settles down. On the JSD-100, it should remember settings through power cycle If it does not, we may want to swap it out. On the coax input, there are a couple ways of going. There's a command you can send to change the decode method on the fly (this would be with the latest firmware, check http://www.uslinc.com ). You can also configure one of the option buttons to use any input with any decode setting. This would probably be the easiest. I have not looked at the original code in a while, so I don't remember its capabilities that well. But the latest firmware and GUI should do well for you. Thanks! Harold USL Engineering  |  IP: Logged Mark Pasquesi Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Geneva, Geneva Canton, Switzerland Registered: Sep 2012 posted 12-17-2012 02:51 PM                     Harold, thanks for your reply. Might we have the same presets on the JSD-80? It's a different cinema, but the issue this time - 2.0 stereo forced to mono, center speaker only.. The test dvd - Car wash... The mono films we tested all passed perfectly... Made in USA (Godard), Woman of the Year... The other issue was, despite an afternoon calibration with the mic, followed by the SMPTE, the surrounds were quite weak... on all films... DCP not as bad, but on the coaxial dvd's and brays.. much weaker... I'll check the firmware, but it is supposed to be a new model, so I'm assuming the firmware on the JSD-80 has been updated.. thanks, Mark  |  IP: Logged Harold Hallikainen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 906 From: Denver, CO, USA Registered: Aug 2009 posted 12-17-2012 09:20 PM                        I haven't done much on the JSD-80 recently, so I'm going to pass this on to those who work on it daily. Thanks! Harold  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 12-17-2012 09:35 PM                     Always remember to test with known good content in the same format you have heard it in dozens (or preferably, hundreds) of times. Various movies/dvds/etc will be mastered a bit differently and may not sound quite right without a little re-tweeking of the levels and sometimes EQ...but that doesn't mean the processor isn't doing its job properly.  |  IP: Logged Mark Pasquesi Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Geneva, Geneva Canton, Switzerland Registered: Sep 2012 posted 01-11-2013 04:15 PM                     Brad, Harold thanks, and good point. That's why I ask mixers to listen to their films in the cinema. And why I ask to listen to the film in their studio : ) We have had good feedback from one group on the room with the jsd-80. They really liked the fidelity to the 'air' - 2,000-16,000. Our only problem is a slight exaggeration in the 1,000-2,000 range, leaving vocal sibilance slightly aggressive... the surrounds are still off, but it's also the placement/angle.. will be improving that asap... Do you have any guidelines for stereo surround placement, especially when we have all the Sl/SR respectively amplified by one channel each...the question of timing for the rear seats/front speakers, as opposed to front seats/front speakers, and mid-seats/front speakers.... Our room opens up to the screen, so we have height to play with in the delay.... but it creates a volume problem, as these speakers are too high to have an equal volume for the rear speakers.... I think we need to revisit placement strategies...  |  IP: Logged

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