This is topic CP500 remote/local fader automation-any ideas? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Neil Di Scala (Member # 592) on 09-10-2000, 08:40 PM:
I took the advice offered elsewhere on this site (thank you) and installed the auditorium fader on our CP65's. It was a complete success. Anyone thinking about doing this, it is worth it for the sense of power alone. It cost less than $5.00/screen. The CP500 does not (apparently) offer the same option. I am going to use the Dolby A preset for trailers for now.
I did order the cat. 734 remote fader, mistakenly thinking that it would allow a data input to the processor. There is cat. 689, with more options, but still not this one. It seems like there could be a small program redirecting the automation cues (maybe a menu?)that would include this option.
I know that the trailers are not really loud, and it is my imagination, but we now get to play the feature at a nice volume and with virtually no complaints.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-10-2000, 11:34 PM:
You don't need anything to do this on a CP500. Just go into the menu and select a custom screen. Take something you don't need (like mono or perhaps 70mm mag) and replace it with a second SR button. Set the fader preset for that one to your desired trailer level. Cue your automation to pulse into that "format" when the douser opens and then to pulse into SRD when the feature hits. Trailers play nicely in SR, feature plays in SRD. If you need, I can document this a little bit better.
Posted by Neil Di Scala (Member # 592) on 09-11-2000, 09:01 AM:
You are right, with a couple of caveats. If you have a DTS in the system, it will cue itself during the trailers, and the trailers do not play in digital.Using SR instead of A is an upgrade to what I am doing now, and will certainly work. I didn't consider a second SR format button.
If I created a second Digital button, couldn't I do the same thing? I don't have the book in front of me, but what if I created two alternatives, one SR and one D, the "second" digital default to the "second" SR? That way the trailers play in D, default to a preset SR, the feature plays in a different D, with a different SR backup. I will check this out Wednesday.
I will have to think about the DTS in this scheme.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-11-2000, 01:45 PM:
Take the automation cable from a DTS player and pull the pin #25 out of the cable. Then your DTS will not automatically pulse itself into digital, but will pulse OUT of digital should there be a dropout. Should you ever decide you want to put things back to the way they were, simply swap the two 25 pin cables. Nothing is carried on pin #25 on the audio cable anyway.
Posted by Steven Gorsky (Member # 603) on 09-12-2000, 12:54 AM:
I would like to set this up on our CP-500's also, but our current cue set-up doesn't work
that way. We have a total of 8 cues:
1 - end of show
2 - half-light
3 - flat Dolby A
4 - scope Dolby A
5 - flat Dolby SR
6 - scope Dolby SR
7 - lights to dim
8 - interlockIn other words our CP-500's are set-up to automatically go to Dolby Digital, but since we have no cue for it I shouldn't disable auto-digital. Otherwise we would have to switch it manually. Our cues may change, as in 2-3 weeks our automation system is getting replaced with a newer computerized one. (The current automation is only 2 months old, we just opened with all new equipment, after closing our 4-plex.)
Steven Gorsky
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Projectionist
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-12-2000, 01:51 AM:
Simple Steve, just replace your "Dolby A" with "SRD". Use the custom screen I mentioned above to do it. Then program in "Dolby A" in the "old SRD" slot. That way you don't even have to change wiring.
Posted by Steven Gorsky (Member # 603) on 09-12-2000, 08:30 PM:
Thanks! 
I give it a try tomorrow evening. I am not sure why we have a cue for Dolby A. It doesn't make to much sense when just about everything is SR anyway. I can probably do this on our 3 SDDS houses too (they don't automatically go to SDDS anyway - although they don't have CP-500's I can probably do something similar). We do have some DTS houses where I'll have to do the cable modification, but I'll buy some gender adapters and modify them so no one can complain. Well maybe not, now that I think about it. I could leave that alone, and set-up a second external 6 channel button in place of Dolby A.Steven Gorsky
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Projectionist
Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 09-13-2000, 03:57 AM:
Hello,I resolved your problem with my CP500 in the following way:
My automation can pulse SK1 (Mono), SK2(Dolby A) and SK4 (SR.D).
I substitute the original format with the following:
SK1 From Mono to SR (adv)
SK2 From Dolby A to Dolby Digital
SK4 SR.D/DTS
Then I've assigned a Fader setting to each format: SK1 has 3.0 (since adv are recorded at the same level of "Star Wars"...), SK2 has 4.0 (trailers).
SK4 has different volume for the film (from 6 to 7.5 usually).
Then I've reprogrammed my automation to project ADV in mono, Trailers in DOlby A and film in Sr.D. Volume level change when you select the format.
Before make this modify I had many compliant since it is impossible to project ADV at 6.5...
Hope to has been useful...
Antonio
Posted by Neil Di Scala (Member # 592) on 09-13-2000, 08:02 PM:
Thanks again. I was at a twin that I take care of this morning, and the volumes were at 4.5 & 3.9. This means that no one will ever have to come upstairs to turn the volume down, no matter what. I can't complain, they are not scratching film at an alarming rate. They don't seem to mind having to learn something new, only when it actually takes more effort when things get tough.Booth Motto-
'Sex, Drugs, & Rock-&-Roll, I don't care, scratch the prints, you're fired.'
Posted by Steven Gorsky (Member # 603) on 09-13-2000, 11:17 PM:
I didn't get the chance to try this tonight, as our booth manager wasn't there so I couldn't discuss it with him first. I am hoping he'll agree to this though as I have basically been doing this manually, i.e. fire exits snipe at 6, 4.2 for screenvisions, trailers, policy, THX, then turn back up to 6 for the feature, with no complaints. When one of our newer projectionists runs films he doesn't do this so it gets turned down when people complain during the trailers, and stays down through the feature.Steven Gorsky
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Projectionist