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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: Christie don't recognize Ext2 formated disks
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Carsten Kurz
Film God
Posts: 4340
From: Cologne, NRW, Germany
Registered: Aug 2009
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posted 06-08-2017 07:36 AM
I have put this issue to the ISDCF mailing list. Let's see.
At least so far it served to bring the current revision back:
http://isdcf.com/papers/ISDCF-Doc3-Disk-Drive-Recs-2015-07-21-Clean.pdf
As far as I know, ext2 and ext3 are so identical, that even old linux systems prior to ext3 introduction will be able to read and write to ext3 discs - they will just not make use of the journaling feature. As such, an ext3 capable system would need to exclude ext2 on a formal level - that is, detect ext2, but won't use it not because it can't, but because someone tells to ignore it. That would be very stupid given the current distribution system. If there is actually something in Christies current IMB-S2 software that prevents ext2 usage, it must be a bug of some sort. Until then, you are safe using ext3 for all servers.
- Carsten
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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 06-08-2017 11:31 AM
quote: Scott Norwood
Most, if not all, servers will read NTFS, but it is not an open
standard and not a common format for DCPs.
I'm not going to disagree with your basic comment, but as a person
who does a wholebuncha festival & rental screenings, it's not all that
uncommon for me to get NTFS format drives from amateur & semi-pro
film-makers on a regular basis.
In fact, if I'm working an event that insists on only DCP content, and
a film-maker is going to 'burn his own' DCP, I actually ASK for NTFS.
I'll tellya why:
NTFS can easily be done natively on almost any Windows machine
or on MAC with some freely available 3rd party software, and most
importantly, it's almost impossible to muck up & format NTFS "wrong".
As for ext-2 or ext 3, Dave Macauley said it best:
quote: Dave Macaulay
Formatting Linux ext2/3 drives is something of a black art.
I've gotten my share of 'bad' ext2 & 3 drives from people who
I had assumed or who assured me that knew what they were doing.
But I've had ZERO issues in 2 years of asking for NTFS if I'm 'in charge'
at a particular festival at a venue that I know will accept NTFS formatting.
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 06-08-2017 09:21 PM
As a general rule, if the DCP supplier is unable to provide Linux-formatted media, I would ask for the following, in this order of preference:
NTFS
HFS+
FAT32 (only an option if the DCP is smaller than 4GB)
exFAT
This is because, as Jim points out, most servers can read NTFS. Many can also read HFS+, but cannot if the drive has a GUID partition table, which a completely blank drive formatted in a Mac will do (though on some Macs at least, a USB flash stick or portable drive that was sold as "for PC" and then reformatted in a Mac will keep its MBR partition table and simply have the NTFS content partition replaced with an HFS+ one). I have encountered some Dolby servers that will read exFAT and some that won't - probably depends on the software version. But in my experience, exFAT is the volume format least likely to work with a DCP server.
The scenario outlined by Jim is why I believe that a Linux PC with plugins that enable it to read NTFS, HFS+ and exFAT is an essential accessory for every booth that handles festival and other DCP content that comes from sources other than the major studios.
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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 06-09-2017 10:34 AM
Sit down. . . this is going to take awhile:
I am really puzzled by Christie's response, especially this quote:
quote:
EXT 2 was standard on the older Doremi and Dolby servers however
this is not industry wide and not all servers accept it. From my personal
experience more and more drives are either EXT3/4 or NTFS,
- - which makes me wonder if the author has ever been anywhere near an
actual projection booth recently.
1) I checked with a contact at Deluxe and in his reply he said:
"EXT2 is the agreed upon recommendation for drive format between
the studios, distributors, vendors, and manufacturers"
2) I checked with two DCP duplicators here in San Francisco that know
me and both pretty much said that their default policy is that EVERYTHING
they ship out is on drives formatted ext-2, unless a client instructs otherwise.
3) Just for fun, yesterday at one in one of the screening rooms I work at,
I pulled 15 assorted professionally duplicated DCP drives off the shelf at
random containing both major studio & independent theatrical releases.
Most were from Deluxe. The oldest one was 6 months old, and at least
three drives contained movies that won't be released till mid summer.
I connected each to a Linux enabled computer to check their parameters.
>Every friggin' one of them was formatted Ext-2<
(Confirming somewhat what Deluxe & other DCP duplicators told me)
4) In my line of work, I get to travel around a bit to various venues, both
here in San Francisco, and in other states. Last year, I traveled with a set
of "test" USB thumbdrives I had made. I had them formatted as NTFS, Ext2,
Ext 3, & Ext 4. Each one contained content at several different frame rates,
and except for the formatting they were identical.
During the course of the year, I tried them out on at least 16 assorted
servers, at about a dozen different venues at various locations.
ALL of them played NTFS, ext2 & ext3, except for ONE location that had
an 'older' DSS 100 with early software which couldn't handle NTFS or
any frame rate other than 24fps. NONE of them could recognize ext4.
Disclaimers:
> All of these tests were ingested directly into servers, and not through
a TMS/LMS, etc
> Systems were GDC, Dolby, Christie, & Doremi, with various software vintages
> I did not encounter any SONY, QUBE, or 'other' brands.
I still say that given the fact that it seems like over 90% of commercial
theatrical content, at least here in the US, is distributed on ext2 drives, and
that duplicators and distributors seem to have no intention of changing that
anytime soon, it would be nothing short of ludicrous for Christie to come up
with a software version that wouldn't recognize that format.
There's GOT to be something else going on with your systems that aren't
recognizing ext2 formatted drives, no matter what Christie tells you.
- - and that's my $.02 cents worth of opinion.
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Leslie Hartmier
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 100
From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Registered: Jul 2012
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posted 06-17-2017 06:46 PM
Just as a bit of information, we (Gordon and I) installed a Solaria One (quiet...just be quiet) with a firmware version of 4.7.0 (1), and the IMB-S2 was updated to 1.8.1 software, 4.6.2 firmware in a location to remove a problematic Barco DP100, and having done so before we hooked it into the TMS network, we ingested from three EXT2 CRU drives without a moment of trouble.
I would say that it is unlikely (ridiculous, really - especially considering that EXT3 itself will read EXT2) that Christie would have found some way to prevent EXT2 drives from being read, and further, it would make no sense to waste time on doing that at all.
Leslie
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