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Author Topic: DCDC satellite distribution for a single screen Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-17-2019 02:00 PM                     quote: Ken Lackner There is no difference between TMS and LMS Well, the names are specific... Library management System, and Theater Management System. I guess this happens when you let the front office gals name your new invention.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 08-17-2019 07:17 PM                     A TMS just handles talking to the servers/projectors...etc but has no associated storage associated with it. An LMS is a storage system as well. So, typically, an LMS has an assoicated TMS with it but the same is not true in reverse, a TMS does not necessarily include an LMS (storage that is essentially part of the TMS system).  |  IP: Logged Brent Barnhart Film Handler Posts: 12 From: Terre Haute, IN USA Registered: Jan 2018 posted 08-17-2019 11:54 PM                        Also, if you miss a movie on the break and don’t have it downloaded they will send a hard drive. In fact, they will do that if the satellite transmission fails. I don’t know their requirements, I have it in all 3 of my twins and 1 of my single screen Drive-Ins (about to convert the other). I like it. I did just meat with an owner of a single screen indoor and she said she had a hard time getting it, but pushed and got it.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-18-2019 09:56 AM                     quote: Steve Guttag A TMS just handles talking to the servers/projectors...etc but has no associated storage associated with it. Steve, Are you nuts! There is that nice "Manage Media" tab on the GDC TMS just to the right of the "Create Schedule" tab... It allows access to and movement of all media loaded on any of the servers. You can even move the media at a predetermined scheduled time and you can move media between all screens at once if your CPU and network is powerful enough. It seems to me I ran both manament and media cabling for all the GDC TMS systems I built and installed. As well as for the Cinedigm systems. All of the 40+ GDC TMS I built have 6tb to 8tb of media storage. Every GDC TMS I have encountered in the field that was supplied by Stwong also has at least that much media storage, a couple had more. Cinedigm did have a small management conputer sold through Strong that had no storage at all. It was in fact an el cheapo, non IT grade, desktop Dell computer just used for logging playout lists.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 08-18-2019 11:09 AM                     And those systems with on-board storage would be considered an "LMS". However, a GDC TMS software need not have local storage to operate. One can ingest into the individual servers and the TMS software can move content about without any local storage of its own (no library). The advantage of an LMS is you have a common holding tank to put content that is NEVER showing a movie so ingest speeds are fast, even with shows running nor are you waiting until BOTH the source and Destination to finish showing a movie...once the destination finishes, an LMS can push content. There are TMS software packages out there, including "web based" that have no inherent storage with them...they just run on an available PC or browser and just use the individual servers as the storage. Those are just TMS systems.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-18-2019 01:24 PM                     Theater management system, Websters: Theatre Management System (TMS) is a software program for managing the essential operations of cinema theatres. It maximises operating efficiency by providing reliable centralised control and automation of multi-screen cinema complexes. Library Management System, Websters: "Library Management System is a term for computer-based system that manages the catalogue of a library. The main purpose of this system is to manage library daily operation efficiently. a) To build a system that can receive input and generate automatically output in easy way and short time." Interesting that LMS doesn't mention anything about controling any theater functions other than the library. It does not mention remote access, or scheduling. This is why the gals in the front office and the guys not familiar with the proper terms should never be allowed to name a new system that comes out of the lab.  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 08-18-2019 07:29 PM                        quote: Brent Barnhart Also, if you miss a movie on the break and don’t have it downloaded they will send a hard drive. This isn't necessarily the case. I get stuff published from the satellite server for off-break openings almost every time we have one. The exception being if we play something after the content has been deleted. When something is about to be deleted they will usually publish it to your system. When this happens I will download it/save it when it's something I know we might play.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-18-2019 08:40 PM                        I have never seen a theatre with the satellite delivery setup, but I deal mostly with independent cinemas, art-housey and repertory titles, and "film" festivals. Is satellite delivery at all relevant to this end of the industry? As far as I know, it isn't, but maybe this has changed. Everyone I know is still getting CRU drives delivered.  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 08-19-2019 05:58 AM                        Scott, I am not aware of any satellite distribution besides DCDC. As far as I know they only do satellite delivery for wide releases, or titles that may go wide. I don't know what a satellite delivery costs, but I suspect it would be prohibitively expensive for small releases or one off distribution. When DCDC delivers content via satellite, it is picked up by every authorized Kencast server, regardless of whether the location is booked. Then it is stored on the private side until a booking is established. At that point it is published to the public side of the server where the theatre can see it. As far as I know, DCDC only does one transmission for each movie, but may do it again if they have failures above a certain threshold - say because of bad weather. In the years we have been receiving content by satellite (7 maybe),i don't think we have had a single instance of a title not being available when it should have.  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 08-19-2019 01:26 PM                     Eclair has some sort of delivery system for indie films, but it's only available over broadband. I believe DCDC has two broadcasts for content delivery in case regional weather causes delivery failures.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 08-19-2019 05:27 PM                     In Europe nowadays, satellite is mostly used for alternative content/live. They used to do DCP transfers as well, and some systems are still up, bust most mainstream and arthouse content is now delivered through broadband, both features and trailers. In germany, we have 3 different companies dealing with these transfers, these are typically also shipping discs to non-enabled locations or in case of line issues. But we still get a solid amount of hard discs. I'd say currently, it is about 50/50. We don't pay for the transfer (at least not directly, it is certainly hidden in MG anyway). As a matter of fact, some of these companies pay a small fee to the cinema for (ab)using their broadband line for transfers. Other companies order their own line and install their own equipment, and all you provide is power and attention. I think DCDC works better in the US because it is a larger and more unified market. I also guess that in Europe many smaller urban sites do not even have a chance to install the necessary dish. But for satellite to be profitable, you have to deliver to as many sites as possible in one go, and that never took off here. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Greg Routenburg Expert Film Handler Posts: 178 From: Toronto, ON, Canada Registered: May 2003 posted 08-20-2019 02:09 PM                     Mike, being a single screen, you can actually run the Cine Digital Manager TMS out of France for free. The free version has some limitations but it would give you a good feel for what it can do and if you come into some extra dough, you can upgrade it at any point to enable the extra features. I run the free version at one of our twins and it does a nice job.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-20-2019 06:32 PM                        I just got an answer back from DCDC saying that we don't have enough "turns" to qualify for satellite distribution. But, still not saying what the minimum number of "turns" is. It's really irritating that they don't give us anything to shoot for. I could always play more movies on the break, or download movies to save for later (if that's possible). Or, I'd even be willing to pay a fee for the downloads, as long as it would be the same or less than we're paying now for UPS deliveries. I'd like to have the convenience more than anything. I wrote back and asked a few of these questions, so let's see where that goes.  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 08-20-2019 06:49 PM                        It was my understanding that the theatre pays a fee for each movie that you get from their system. Isn't that how it works?  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-20-2019 07:27 PM                        That's how I understand it. The relevant number here is, in the last year we played 30 movies within their four-week window before the content gets deleted. According to their note, that's not enough, but she didn't tell me what "enough" would be. I wrote back and asked what that number would be, and also if it would be possible to download content we anticipate playing (and pay the appropriate fee) and save it for later. I usually have about a 90% idea of what we're going to play. So we'll see.  |  IP: Logged

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