This is topic Sony SDDS, alive or dead !! in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Don Sneed (Member # 955) on 04-20-2002, 04:57 AM:
Inquiring mind needs to know....is SDDS alive or Dead ?? I have been hearing that Sony is gone or will be in theatre sound...but I have just completed a new 10-plex at one of Japan's largest theatre screens...& the Sony Japan engineers was here to upgrade the the DFP-3000 processor firmware & reader....I asked these men about the rumor & they said it is a rumor going around in America....Sony is still making & selling DFP-3000's....I heard Sony was not at Showest this year, this makes me think they are Dead, if so....why would the Sony Japan engineers be here to upgrade a piece of equipment that they will no longer be making, I seen three other theatre companies here in Japan has spec in for their booths DFP-3000....If Sony is out, could it be someone at Sony forgot to tell their engineer's about this change...it's one of those things that make you go...hummmmmmm....do anyone have an inside info to this rumor ???
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-20-2002, 06:11 AM:
They are alive and plan on being alive for some time. As to why they weren't at ShoWest, I have no idea (but I really should inquire). They are currently busy running around the planet performing free upgrades on all DFP-3000 units at an undoubtable expense to them. If they were on the verge of shutting down, there is no way they would be doing all of that field work.
Posted by Gordon Leslie (Member # 139) on 04-20-2002, 06:57 AM:
Yes thats correct ,we're expecting them down in oz in june..........
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-20-2002, 07:54 AM:
Everything I can gather indicates that they are alive but in a minimal way. They have all the processors they need (analog and digital or just a digital adapter) for the rest of film's days in theatres. They are happy with the performance of them. As to shows, apparantly, NAB is about the only professional show they plan to attend. Sony is on hard times (not just the cinema part) and as such is cutting back on all unnecessary expenses.My personal concern is the film-product...that is the titles that will have SDDS-8. That always needs to be sold to the studios and Dan Taylor was the most effective at that...he was laid off so that is where I think things may fall apart. There are about 3 SDDS-8 films getting ready to come out, two of which are Columbia (like Spiderman and MIB II, both FLAT films).
Steve
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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 04-20-2002, 09:56 AM:
>>They are currently busy running around the planet performing free upgrades on all DFP-3000 units at an undoubtable expense to them.<<While leaving those of us with DFP-2000 units to send them to Sony Consumer Electronics(!) Repair in Fremont, CA for repairs (at $1000+ per unit, depending on the problem)...
Bottom Line: If you have a 3000, they'll kiss your ass, but if you have a 2000, you're SCREWED.
Gotta LOVE Sony's commitment to customer service. At least they are nice on the phone. :P
/rant
-Aaron
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 04-20-2002, 10:47 AM:
Regal just upgraded their largest house in Eugene to SDDS-8 (#3 at Cinema World 8). Spiderman will be running in SDDS-8 there.
Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 04-20-2002, 11:11 AM:
We have been shying away from Sony, just because we don't know for sure either. Steve is right: more 8-channel product needs to be released to convince management to spend the extra money Sony costs. Otherwise, it's not significantly better that any other 5.1 format.A bit off topic, but two notes regarding the 3000 upgrades:
If you have a DTS reader following the Sony, make sure the film wraps correctly and:
If you use an external roll-around rack for some other type of digital sound, the Sony guys have been forgetting to set the fallback setting to default properly.
Posted by Michael Rourke (Member # 1142) on 04-20-2002, 12:53 PM:
Sony may still be around, but fewer and fewer prints even come with SDDS tracks. I see more and more DTS/SRD/SR prints, since my DFP-2000 have been serviced they have been less problematic but we'll see how long that lasts.
Posted by Glenn Conatser (Member # 970) on 04-20-2002, 01:03 PM:
From what i understand they are servicing the DFP 3000's because there still under warranty and there obligated to. The DFP 2000's are not under warranty therefore are not being upgraded. But the technical service department is stil open and running. But the new rumor i heard was after May they wont be around. I have noticed Paramount droped SDDS from there prints. The people i spoke to in the tech dept said there not going anywhere but who's to say there the best source of info.
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-20-2002, 01:40 PM:
I have friends that were Sony Pro dealers and they all stopped handling Sony all together. Neither of them cared for Sony's "brute force" style of sales and marketing. They are both still very sucessful without Sony in their lives. As far as Sony Cinema goes I never sold one and never would. There are plenty of alternatives that stand behind even their older products much better so they can keep running for a long time as all theatre equipment should. I know that if I had sold any of my customers a DFP200 and Sony had not stood behind it that I would have probably lost that customer.
Mark @ GTS
Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 04-20-2002, 02:02 PM:
"I have noticed Paramount droped SDDS from there prints."Paramount rarely uses SDDS as it is, so how do you gather that?
WE WERE SOLDIERS was SDDS.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-20-2002, 05:03 PM:
"If you use an external roll-around rack for some other type of digital sound, the Sony guys have been forgetting to set the fallback setting to default properly."John, beware there IS a bug in the 2.92 software, even though Sony claims there is not. Basically the deal is that once you upgrade to 2.92 you MUST short pin 34 or 35 to ground to make AUX 1 and/or 2 function. With v2.74 this was not necessary and could simply be programmed in via the computer program, which is highly preferred in my opinion. That way as things change, you can hook up your laptop ten times quicker than jacking with that 37 pin plug. Plus you have to hook up your laptop ANYWAY to make changes, so this new software glitch in essence is removing a nice feature.
If you have v2.92 and you do not have the DB37 short, when you have a structure like:
SDDS
AUX 1
AUX 2
SR
What will happen is that if SDDS drops out, it will go straight to SR, despite what you have programmed. Again, the only *fix* is to use the DB37 short. Hopefully they will fix this soon.
And of course if your theater does not have DTS or SRD hooked into a DFP-3000, none of this matters.
Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 04-20-2002, 06:57 PM:
quote:
There are about 3 SDDS-8 films getting ready to come out, two of which are Columbia (like Spiderman and MIB II, both FLAT films).
"Scooby-Doo," "Stuart Little 2," and "Windtalkers" *might* also be SDDS-8.
Posted by Glenn Conatser (Member # 970) on 04-20-2002, 10:27 PM:
James,Sorry i didnt list the date but this came about in the first part of March. I believe We Where Soldiers was there last SDDS print. Most of this came about when Sony wanted to charge Paramount for repairs on there SDDS units. I started looking at the upcoming Paramount releases and none of them list SDDS.
Glenn
Posted by Steven Gorsky (Member # 603) on 04-20-2002, 10:36 PM:
Glenn - James is right, Paramount only uses SDDS on a few select movies. Most of their releases are SR/SRD only. You can do a search for Paramount in the Feature Info & Trailer Attachments forum, and you will find this to be the case.Steven Gorsky
Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 04-20-2002, 11:42 PM:
True, but Glenn may also be right given the information he just posted.
If the information is accurate, Paramount rarely used SDDS to begin with, but will not use it anymore.
If it is false, they will keep using it, but only on select titles, or one day decide to use it on all titles.
By the way, they use DTS on most if not all titles also.
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-21-2002, 12:14 AM:
Aaron,In the last 12 months, I've yet to get a repair bill from Sony for $1000 or more on 2000 series boards. Sony has what they call a FRB (field replacement block)...which is read "Repair/exchange." It is a bit more pricy than from USL or Dolby but then again those boards are bit more complex too. I wonder how much Dolby will be charging for RX on the CP-650's boards. I believe Mark indicated it will be determined based upon repair. Already, there are boards in the CP-500 that are replace only. It seems like the "Wave of the future."
Steve
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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-22-2002, 07:48 AM:
Years ago I was a bench tech for Panasonic and worked at the Chicago service center. We were not allowed to replace entire boards but only to troubleshoot and replace components at that level. Basically they did not supply entire PCB's except in a very special instance or two. Aside from having to work this way were graded monthly on how many units we repaired vs. how many come backs there were vs. hours worked. IMHO this is a far bette way to do service buisness and it is far more environmentally friendly.
Mark @ GTS
Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 04-22-2002, 09:11 PM:
The problem is that today's PC boards use very fine pitch surface mount devices - with large programmable logic (gate arrays.) Even a big company like Sony could not justify the large expense to equip several service centers with auto testers (GenRad, etc.) and pay for all the tooling to hold and probe the PC board (vacuum fixtures, etc.) This is especially true of something made in small quantities like cinema equipment.Brad, that's interesting about the 2.92 software. But, when we put it back, it worked OK.
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-22-2002, 09:29 PM:
John, it sounds like your rollaround dts cart is wired to jumper the appropriate pins on the DFP-3000's DB37 automation jack. Things do reportedly work fine if they are hard wired. I am just annoyed that I can no longer use the software to tell the DFP-3000 that an input is valid and "live" full time if I want to. This is essential when routing the signal through a CP200 as I do.