This is topic Can a DTS reader be intalled upside down? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Bill Langfield (Member # 818) on 06-03-2001, 11:54 AM:
I recently we had a DTS unit returned
that had gone out on loan.During remounting the reader, we noticed we could create a better film path if we installed the reader upside down.
(This is on a BauerU3. No comments thanx) 
I think it won't work. But it all depends
on how much of the code the reader see's
at a time (time and code being key words)
I was thinking it would see
---..-- as --..--- and therefore fail.
Or does it see EACH dot/dash seperately
under a time base.
There are many other things to consider,
the main one being, shining the LED through
the base side rather than the emulsion side.
(come to think of it, I think DTS do! I'll have to check that out, that would be weird)
Or reversing the internal electronics inside
the reader. (Very BAD idea, but a thought)
Looking at the reader there is not a
'this-way-up'. The id/serial sticker is on sideways, so that gives no hint.
We dont have installation manuals, just
user manuals, Im sure something weird goes
on with manuals, we can have 10 projectors
10 slide projectors, 40 Amps... you get the idea, but only one manual for each or NO manual for some stuff, erm where was I.
Oh yeah, Will it still work?
The DTS reader mounted upsidedown, that is!
Bill.
Posted by Bill Langfield (Member # 818) on 06-03-2001, 12:00 PM:
In the topic/subject line...
typo noted.Bill.
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 06-03-2001, 12:00 PM:
YES it will work inverted! Look at some of the pics in the Warehouse (The Northpark I/II come immediately to mind) and you will find a few DTS readers that are installed inverted for either clearance issues or to set them up as a 'reverse-scan' type of thing, supposedly with better results...Aaron
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 06-03-2001, 12:14 PM:
The DTS reader will function quiet happily mounted backwards (standard bracket arrangement for a JJ)
just move the black roller to the other shaft
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-03-2001, 01:14 PM:
Of course it works. In fact it does seem to be able to track even better when mounted in this fashion. 
Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 06-03-2001, 04:30 PM:
Isn't that top photo a shot of one of the creatures from the Tomb raider trailer?I hope you don't ever invite Angelina Jolie to one of your screenings...
...then again... 
Bill...yes, it will work either way.
Posted by Pete Lawrence (Member # 130) on 06-03-2001, 11:02 PM:
OK, stupid question number one: is it common practice to thread through ALL the digital readers as Brad shows in some the pictures, or do you just pick the ones you want to use for a given show and bypass the rest???? I would think it makes no sense to thread through a SDDS reader if the print is not encoded for it. But, for argument and assuming you have the stack of readers Brad has, let's say a print has all four sound formats, which one would you choose to run and why?
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 06-03-2001, 11:17 PM:
Any good tech worth having will set them up so that on a triple stack of digital penthouses like is shown above, a quad track print will have TWO digital failsafes, should the primary unit fail or dropout during the show. Setting up the readers in this manner also makes it simpler for the "popcorn kids" to handle threading, since the philosophy "if it is there, you must thread it" will ensure that ALL films are played in some form of digital. I've been to too many theaters where there were 2 or more readers stacked on the projector and the projectionist threaded the wrong reader for a track that was not on the film and even worse...threaded a reader, but took a different route to bypass the ones underneath and ran the show out of sync! It just makes good sense this way because it is virtually impossible to screw it up if the projectionist gets in the habit of threading ALL of them.As far as to which digital player is wired as the primary, which one is secondary and which one is the final backup is up to the tech. However as a general rule, I set up SDDS as the final backup format for the simple reason that it is the only digital system that has it's own "backup track". The problem with it is that it is of substantially lower quality than the primary track and is VERY noticeable when it switches between the primary and backup track...yet it will not simply fall back to analog. Placing the SDDS last in the chain means that if the SRD or DTS drops, the audience will never hear it, nor that lower quality backup track on the SDDS player. (This assums you do not use the "built in" eq circuitry and input a flat signal from the SDDS into your good old fashioned Dolby processor.)
By the way, does anyone know how to defeat that backup SDDS track from playing? That would be a fantastic improvement to the system. If someone can pass on the trick, I could then start setting up the SDDS player as the primary digital source to benefit from the 8 channel if it is there.
Posted by Pete Lawrence (Member # 130) on 06-03-2001, 11:43 PM:
Like I said, a stupid question. After some thought, and Brad's response, I now realise that the delays programmed into each digital reader could be off if other readers in the stack were by-passed. But, if you don't know how to program the processor, you do seem to be at the mercy of what format your tech decides is primary, secondary and so on.
Posted by Karen Hultgren (Member # 395) on 06-07-2001, 01:43 PM:
Bill,Yes, it will work.
Karen at DTS