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Author Topic: Incredible shrinking shipping cases Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 10-14-2015 06:22 PM                     quote: Ken Lackner What is so special about the "DCmini Cartridge" that is meant to accompany the above case? Unless I'm missing something, it looks like it's just a portable USB hard drive. The DCmini is CRUs meant-to-be successor for the 'old' standard CRU caddies. It was built to allow much smaller shipping boxes - those that you see when you follow above links. That allows for lower shipping cost and insertion of shipping cases in post boxes, ultimately without any need to sign reception. It's a full set of CRU adaptor, DCmini cartridge with USB 3.0/2.0 + SATA interface+ cable+fitting shipping case. DCINEX uses it exclusively in europe. Don't know about other countries. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-14-2015 08:38 PM                        quote: Monte L Fullmer Once in a while, I'll get these without paper info in them, and as with you, I have no idea on credit offset. Actually the "published" credit offset is mostly useless anymore anyway, since most movies now have the "major" credits with some extraneous content pasted in with them, even though most of the audience doesn't give a crap and starts walking out in the dark. So I usually adjust the lights-up to happen just after the first credits hit the screen, unless there is actual meaningful content in that "pre-credits" sequence.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 10-15-2015 06:58 AM                     You all do know you can go here: http://digitalcinema.bydeluxe.com/ For the PDF version of most of those crumpled up sheets. Not everyone participates but most do of the majors.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 10-15-2015 02:24 PM                    Should we be concerned that CRU's site is labeled CRU Acquisition Group? Was there a bankruptcy or buy-out? They should just take the final plunge and go to thumb drives which can be sent in a padded envelope. Since regular USB is a far slower connection and ingests can take hours, they should be USB3. Since many lack that connection, CRU or a third party could offer a dummy DX115 DC (the HD shell movie hard drives come inside) that would plug in to the existing CRU drive bay but offer a USB3 connection to the outside.  |  IP: Logged Marcus Ionis Film Handler Posts: 3 From: los angeles, ca Registered: Apr 2013 posted 01-05-2016 04:01 PM                  We are a small lab and our client is interested in moving towards the DCMini. The goal is to ship out the Protective Case, Drive & USB 3.0 cable. Currently we ship the larger CRU Cases, DX115Drive w/move dock & power cords. I'm curious if anyone has had good, bad or otherwise experience dealing with the DCMini vs the DX115. Appreciate any input or advice as well.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 01-05-2016 06:12 PM                        Given that even consumers can now buy a 265gb USB thumb drive for under $100, I'm surprised that Deluxe is still shipping CRU hard drives at all. I guess the reason to be that either they have worries over the reliability of large capacity thumb drives, or that there are a significant number of servers in the field that don't have USB outlets but do have CRU ones. You could send a large capacity thumb drive in the regular mail. Even if you didn't want to do that for security reasons, FedEx or UPS would surely charge a helluva lot less to deliver one than a CRU hard drive, however small the container it ships in. Furthermore, the cost of 128GB USB sticks is now down to the point of being effectively insignificant, and 99% of DCPs in mainstream distribution would fit on one. I'm surprised that Deluxe/Technicolor is still shipping hard drives around at all.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-06-2016 07:41 AM                     Well...for one...you can play the movie right off o the CRU drive on all but a couple servers. Most servers don't support USB 3 so you have significant ingest time increases too with USB.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 01-06-2016 10:52 AM                        As Steve (Kraus) points out, the USB3 issue could be solved by someone making a CRU to USB3 converter, with the replacement unit having both outlets. I suppose some exhibitors would not be keen on the cost of buying one of these, but if they were to get the benefit in reduced shipping charges, that might appease them a bit. But even then, the upgrade wouldn't be essential, if the exhibitor is willing to put up with USB2 ingestion time. I use 128GB USB sticks to transport DCPs I make for our shows all the time: a full one will ingest into our DSS200s in about an hour and a half. OK, that's significantly longer than CRU, but still not a problem for many places. Yet another advantage to using thumb drives would be an end to mechanical failures of hard drives caused by handling and/or shipping accidents.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-06-2016 11:14 AM                     That is a chicken/egg situation. I agree that it would be great if there was a CRU/USB 3 adapter...so great that I've requested it from CRU. Note, I've seen a fair number of USB ports trashed too. I can't remember if I've ever had a CRU receiver go bad...just the occasional bad HDD within the carrier. Note, there are bad USB sticks as well.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-06-2016 11:22 AM                        One issue with the flash drives may be write speed. If a lab (or whoever does this) needs to make thousands of copies of a DCP, this is probably a major sticking point, especially since the infrastructure to deal with cloning large numbers of hard disks already exists. Also, paradoxically, the small size of flash drives can be a problem, especially for "film" festivals, where it is necessary to keep track of many items that may need to move from venue to venue over the course of the event. As odd as it may seem, the larger form factor of a hard disk in a CRU carrier is actually more convenient, as it is less likely to become lost. On the other hand, hard disks rarely survive being dropped.... If I were a "film" distributor, I would want to send out my distribution copies in the most common format, since that is least likely to cause confusion at theatres. For now, that would be a hard disk in a CRU carrier. I wouldn't send out flash drives for the same reason why I wouldn't ship out 35mm prints on cores to theatres in the US--any "odd" format is likely to cause confusion and possibly lost shows. I do question the hardiness of the cardboard boxes that Deluxe is using to ship out CRU disks, but they are most likely far cheaper than Pelican cases. No doubt, they wouldn't be using the cheaper packing material if damage to the disks were a major problem.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-06-2016 02:17 PM                     quote: Scott Norwood I do question the hardiness of the cardboard boxes They'll be hardy enough to last quite the time. Inside, the entirety - both lid and base - is lined with hard compressed ESD pink foam where the slot where the drive is placed is slightly smaller to ensure a snug fit for the drive. When the lid closes over the drive, the lid foam is thick enough to almost "seal" the drive within the case, which the case itself is made from a compressed cardboard paper material to have the endurance of not being easy to tear or rip. Outside of the case on the label side, is a coating where labels can be easily removed without leaving any residue or difficulty of label removal. This design is a lot better of what we had before along with shaving five pounds from shipping, and a lot easier to store on shelves. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-06-2016 03:30 PM                        quote: I do question the hardiness of the cardboard boxes that Deluxe is using to ship out CRU disks, To add to what Monte noted above, the boxes are constructed such that all the flaps fold in on the sides to make it double-walled on all sides, plus it has the tuck-in flaps on three sides. The outside is finished with a slick coating to make it resistant to moisture and it has a couple of metal grommet-holes to allow for the zip-tie "security measures." (About half the time they forget to include the zip-tie, so I put a strip of packaging tape on.) Overall I would call it a major improvement. Another plus is since the drive isn't moving around, any insert paperwork doesn't get torn up like it did with the big boxes.  |  IP: Logged Marcus Ionis Film Handler Posts: 3 From: los angeles, ca Registered: Apr 2013 posted 01-06-2016 07:56 PM                  We received a sample DCMini for testing purposes. The internal drives is a WD5000LPVX with a casing supporting USB 3.0 and SATA connection. The casing appears pretty solid with no possible loose screws or easy to break plastic. The protective case does keep the drive snug with light/mild padding and the weight is quite less. So far the weight difference looks like 1 vs 7lbs. Which makes a pretty good cost difference. We were given a CRU Drive Bay Adapter for the DCIMini which would allow us SATA capabilities. Don't know if this would allow proper playback speeds, but I'll find out from the developer. http://www.provantage.com/cru-6603-6500-0500~7CRUD2C0.htm There's no room for misc materials, only the USB 3.0 cable. We are looking at the FED EX bubble wrap packaging and other options for additional protection. For security purposes you can zip tie the protective case or add a lock. Right off the bat, we do like the overall size for shipping purposes. With the traditional DX115 DCP Kits, quite often don't get back the Move Dock and cables. Assuming we don't send out the Drive Bay Adapter in our package. This does help eliminate that headache when pieces are not returned. However, I am concern if the Drive Bay Adapter is an essential item for Projectionist.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 01-07-2016 10:18 AM                     We receive features on DCmini drives regularly. They are used by the largest european distributor for around 2 years now. We had some minor issues at first, but now they seem to perform flawlessly. Ocassionally we had connection problems through either the SATA or USB connection, but switching to the respective other connection always allowed a proper ingest. Some very few systems with USB2.0 only ports have trouble with DCmini+drive combinations eating more then 500mA. As these cartridges were built for smaller shipping boxes, it is probably not possible to ship a small USB-Wall-Plug with them, but I would advise to include a dedicated USB-Y Power cable to take care of the current consumption issue. Or at least send one out with the CRU-converter. Note, these cartridges have full dual USB3.0 and SATA capablities, it is not a converter between one of the two. So there are no compatibility issues using either interface. I attached a thin loop of gaffer tape to the bottom of the CRU-conversion slot, so it's easier to pull it out without having to grip into the slot. Some people are reluctant to put their fingers into machines... BTW - we never close the locks on the converter, just pop in and out the drive. We also usually leave the CRU converter stuck in the server CRU slot, as it seals the CRU slot against air and dirt passthrough. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Marcus Ionis Film Handler Posts: 3 From: los angeles, ca Registered: Apr 2013 posted 01-08-2016 12:27 PM                  I had contacted CRU if using the DCMini & Drive Bay Adapter will allow realtime playback and they said it should. Thanks for the info and tips. This is pretty helpful. Any other thoughts, experience or tips is much appreciated.  |  IP: Logged

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