Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Playing with DTS Menus

This is topic Playing with DTS Menus in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002491

Posted by Steven Pickles (Member # 785) on 07-20-2001, 09:21 PM:

I don't know if this was covered in another thread--I did search and didn't come up with anything the same, however. When I put an old DTS trailer disk into my computer's CDROM drive and execute the DTS.EXE file in the root directory it gives me the following message:

--------------------------------------------------
Just a moment... waiting for timecode reader reset
--------------------------------------------------

If I hit just about any key and it defaults and exits the program. Yet I accidently hit the up arrow and it flashes some jargon to the screen as seen here:

--------------------------------------------------
SCSI ID 4 = F
SCSI ID 5 = F
Drive 3 not found
Drive 4 not found
Drive 5 not found
Drive E is buffered
Drive F is buffered
F:\DTS.CFG: SETUP=NO
E:\DTS.CFG: SETUP=NO
D:\DTS.CFG: SETUP=NO
C:\DTS.CFG: SETUP=NO
Play from list
spinning up drives...
drives spun up...

Digital Theater Systems Reader = 00:00:00:00
DTS-6/6D Player Player = 00:00:00:00
DTS.EXE: V2.16 Queue/Min = 0/0
TC Firmware: V1.154

Player Type: DTS-6
Delay/Fixed = 165/70
CD-ROM drives = dEF
Timecode mode = DTS
Dac bin 0-15 = 14
Sync at opt hd = FALSE

Title: (None)
Setup = FALSE
Rx serial # = 0 Unmute Count = 0
SN Status = Unkown Reel Changes = 0
SN counter = 0 Edit Count = 0
End of file = FALSE Sync Error = 0
De-emphasis = FALSE Edit TC = 0
Default NR = A type Unmute TC = 0

Last changeover = CD Motor mode = Timeout mode
Nonsync closure = OPEN Motors/Countdown = *** 1799
--------------------------------------------------

From here it defaults to a menu as seen here:

--------------------------------------------------
DTS.EXE: V2.16
Please select function by number:
1)Play all reels to timecode
2)Play selected reel without timecode
3)Display trailer list
4)Display DTS.CFG options
5)Exit
?
--------------------------------------------------

I have tried the options and don't get anywhere. Option 1 simply tries doing something but then exits the program. Option 2 brings up the following menu:

--------------------------------------------------
Play select
Title Tracks Reel
----- ------ ----
1) Trailers Reel 14 5 14

Please select the file to play : (0 to exit)
?
--------------------------------------------------

From here if I choose Option 1 it defaults back to the main menu, or the program starts spinning the CDROM drive and then does nothing--at least that I can tell. At the main menu, Options 3 and 4 do nothing spectacular.

I do not know of any implications this may have, so I figured I would get the ball rolling a little bit. Surely it should have a gateway with which to play the DTS encoded files properly from a PC, who knows?

Steven Pickles

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 07-20-2001, 11:14 PM:

I would say that the key is in the fact that the DTS unit has various types of circuit boards that are not in a pc...It is these curcuit boards that are what reads and interprets the data feeding from the disk. Without these boards you will be unable to play these files.

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 07-21-2001, 05:21 AM:

You have to make the same but with a DTS unit.

I usually test one of our theater with the help of an AT keyboard. DTS6 does not have an externat hole to plug the keyboard but DTS6D have it!

Write down the key you have to push to reach the "play without timecode" and make the same with the DTS6/6D. When you'll select the reel you'll see the "digital" light and sound in the theater.

It wot work on your PC because, I recall, there is a step in the check of the DTS.EXE that says "DTS player=FALSE"

Bye
Antonio

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-21-2001, 11:55 PM:

There is an easier ( but somewhat less functional) way to play a DTS disk without the movie... Put the "A" disk into drive-B and put the "DTS Empirical Test" disk into drive-A and reboot. The movie will start playing right from the beginning of the feature and keep going until you stop it.

You can't select the reel, or other part of the soundtrack to play but you can make the disk play. People seem to like this when I show them. The way I use this little ditty is as a final test after I'm done working on the system. There is no better way to test the player out after working on it than under realistic conditions. This is about as realistic as you can get without actually threading up the movie and running it. That is often impractical, especially when you have just finished working on the unit and it's getting close to showtime. (Where "close" is defined as less time than the movie needs to play.... unless you are running reels.)

When I have finished my work I like to show the manager how things sound before I officially "sign off" on the repairs. I usually start the thing up and then take the manager down to the theatre and let him listen to it. This way, if there's something wrong I can fix it before I leave. If there are problems after I leave I can now say that the manager approved of my work before I left and that if there was a problem (s)he should have mentioned it then.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-22-2001, 01:11 AM:

Hey! I thought I was the one who thought of the Empirical Test Disc trick! I am going to sue you for millions, Randy!

You can also buy a DTS Timecode Generator. I think they are about $400. It would be interesting to compare it to how useful an AT style keyboard would be.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-22-2001, 02:23 AM:

Joe, sue me for all you want. Even if you win you'll wind up with nothing. You can't get blood from a turnip!

Posted by Steven Pickles (Member # 785) on 07-22-2001, 10:57 AM:

Randy or Joe:

Where can I purchase/obtain a new DTS Empirical Disk? The one we had at the theatre for a while has been missing since last summer. Thanks.

Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 07-22-2001, 11:42 AM:

Any theater supply dealer can order you the Empirical Test Disk, but they are NOT free!

Posted by Ben Wales (Member # 92) on 07-22-2001, 01:20 PM:

[You can also buy a DTS Timecode Generator. I think they are about $400. It would be interesting to compare it to how useful an AT style keyboard would be]

The DTS Timecode Generator is easy to operate, it simply pugs in the timecode head plug (allways ensure to power the unit down before connecting!) and input the DTS disk serial number to be played and select a track (if required) for it to play.

The unit is about 5" square and will be a lot easier to operate and carry than a PC keyboard.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-22-2001, 03:41 PM:

Well, I'd e-mail the .img file to you but it's 201 megabytes. If I made it into a stuffit archive I could get it down to about 150. Either way it'd take about 15 hours to send with my modem.

You can just copy them like any other CD. That's what I do anyway. I use the copy for daily use and save the originals. That way when the disk gets all scratched up all I have to do is make another copy. As a matter of fact I have the .img file on my hard drive and I don't even need the original disk to make a copy anymore. I just put another blank disk in the burner and hit a few buttons. A few minutes later... Ka-Ching!... an new disk!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-22-2001, 07:11 PM:

Well I would Zip (or RAR, which can be segmented into many smaller files) to be compatible with any OS but somehow I don't think DTS would like me doing that. I'd put it up on Film-Tech if I had their blessing.

Whaddya say, Karen?

Also Randy, most ISP's limit e-mail attachments to around 5 or 10 Megabytes.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-22-2001, 11:42 PM:

So... if we segmented the archive we'd end up with something like 40 little 5 MB chunks? File size limitations or not, I wouldn't be willing to spend 15+ hours downloading the things, let alone reassembling them!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-22-2001, 11:43 PM:

Why segment the archive? Just do it in one BIG file.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-23-2001, 12:48 AM:

I agree, but no matter how you slice it (or DON'T slice it

) you will still be downloading 200 megabytes. Even though more and more people have broadband nowadays, that's still a lot of data. Us peons who are still stuck with modems are not likely to be willing to spend the time to download that amount of data, whether it's segmented or not.

I could get DSL or cable if I really wanted it but since I'm never around long enough to make use of it, I'd be wasting my money.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-23-2001, 02:51 AM:

The reason for segmenting is in case you get a corrupted download. That way you can just re-download the segment that got messed up instead of re-downloading the whole thing. Reassembling the big file is automatic. Also, many ISP's kick you off after a certain amount of time, no matter what you are doing. Many dial up people will lose their connections regardless. With segmenting, you don't have to start from the beginning and hope for the best. Broadband users could download "The Big File". Either that or JUST have one "big file" like Brad says and to hell with dial up users

It would be a present for broadband users

Then comes the question of what format to upload it in. CDR-WIN with a BIN and CUE sheet? Disc Juggler? Nero? Toast? None of these are compatible with the other (to my knowledge). Mac users are screwed.

Like I've said in the past.... dial up modems should be illegal.

I thought I was fine and dandy with my dial up connection until I got DSL. After that there was no way in the world I could EVER go back to dial up again. It really does spoil you.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 07-28-2001, 05:13 PM:

Hey Randy
Does that trick only work with 3 drawer dts units? I just tried it with a 2 drawer unit and it didn't work.
Darn!

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-28-2001, 07:43 PM:

I think it's has to do with the ROM version rather than the model (number of drives) of the unit. I have some DTS-6's that will do it and some that won't. To my recollection, the ones that don't do it are the ones that haven't had their drives replaced yet and consequently, still have the old firmware installed.

If you take a look at the rear of the unit, there's a sticker that should show what the version number is. That'll tell you whether you have older firmware. I don't quite remember what the newest update is. Is it v1.62 ?

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 07-28-2001, 08:40 PM:

This one is a stock old original one with the old original drives. It isn't the very first Jurrasic Park unit, it's the next one they made. But it still has the Toshiba XM3401B caddy drives in it

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-29-2001, 01:40 AM:

That's one of the ones that I have that I can't get to play the movie disk, but the rest of the empirical disk works OK.

Posted by Matthew Bailey (Member # 601) on 07-29-2001, 11:11 PM:

I probably coudn't play a DTS theatre disk on a DVD player
that is DTS equipped unless you have a music or or movie title that is
DTS encoded. There have been magazine ads of CD music albums that
are DTS encoded,However to pay a DTS theatre disk on a DVD player
of the mentioned type,you would probably need to make a copy of
it & encode it with the proper timecode &/or software.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 07-30-2001, 04:14 AM:

The DTS that is played in the theatre and the DTS you get for your home systems are two completely different animals all together. In fact, once you account for the media that they are both written on (some sort of CD) there is just about nothing that is alike about the two. Unless you are willing to put a whole lot of time and money into buying some very specialized equipment a movie theatre DTS disk is virtually useless without the DTS player.

In short... No you can't play a DTS theatre disk in your DVD player even if it's got DTS built in.

Posted by Karen Hultgren (Member # 395) on 08-09-2001, 05:10 PM:

So what exactly are you guys trying to do here? Seems like you are doing a lot of work/research for nothing.

I don't get it... Karen at DTS

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 08-09-2001, 05:38 PM:

Karen
Just monkeyin around. It's kind of fun to hear the system work without having to thread up and run the film

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-09-2001, 09:03 PM:

I am the kind of person who, if you put some device on the table in front of me, will have to investigate how it works.

If you put a shoebox in front of me with something inside it and I had to figure out what was inside it without opening it, I will NOT rest until I have satisfied myself that I know what it is.

It's hard to explain why. I was just born with it. (Like a birth defect? )

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 08-10-2001, 08:48 AM:

It's a shoe, Randy.

------------------
"It's not the years honey, it's the mileage' - Indiana Jones.

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 08-10-2001, 09:19 AM:

quote:
I am the kind of person who, if you put some device on the table in front of me, will have to investigate how it works.
If you put a shoebox in front of me with something inside it and I had to figure out what was inside it without opening it, I will NOT rest until I have satisfied myself that I know what it is.
It's hard to explain why. I was just born with it. (Like a birth defect? )

Don't worry, Randy, it's not a birth defect. I'm the same way. Even if the knowledge about how something works (theoretical) does not benefit me a bit when it comes to using the device or attempting to physically repair it, I still like to know the theoretical aspects of what's going on inside the box. That's the main reason I registered here at film-tech -- to learn more about how film and projectors work.

------------------
Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-10-2001, 03:57 PM:

Cute, John!

Is it a left shoe or a right shoe?
Is it a sneaker, a dress shoe, a high heel, a work boot or something else?

You can't open the box. The label may or may not be correct. When you have made your best guess, you have to tell us what led you to believe that. NO FAIR GETTING THE BOX X-RAYED!!

Oh! And you get bonus points if you can tell us what color it is!

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-11-2001, 12:05 AM:

To further clarify the differences between "Home DTS" and the Theatrical DTS format --the differences between these two sound compression formats is just as wide as the differences between DTS to Dolby Digital or SDDS. The theatrical version uses a simple waveform codec called APT-X100. The home theater version of DTS uses a different adaptive transform compression system called DTS-CAC. Even if you could feed the bitstream of a DTS theatrical CD-ROM into a home theater receiver, that receiver's DTS decoder would not understand a single bit of the code. You might as well be trying to play the DTS CD-ROMs through a Dolby Digital decoder.

Speaking of Dolby Digital, the AC-3 code between theatrical prints and what you find on DVD and LD is from the same compression format. However, Dolby Digital theatrical prints have copy protection measures put into place to prevent the playing of a theatrical AC-3 bitstream on any consumer Dolby Digital gear.