Also, why oh why must people use cheezy animated gifs that are not accurate? Anyone who has been working with film for any length of time knows the reel depicted is a 16mm Tayloreel, and there is no such thing as 16mm SDDS.

Antonio
 

=TMP=
 

Its a refreshing to see the site with a new look.I wish the trailers could would work on the site. I have heard really good presestations from SDDS but its been a while since i have. I would like to hear one of brads presentations in his screening room.
 

Josh
 

Karen at DTS
khultgren@dtsonline.com
 

As for the trailers...

Dolby allots a free set of trailers annually for each Dolby-equipped house. According to the literature, this program may differ somewhat for those of you in the U.S.A.

Karen, does DTS give free trailers on an annual basis? Obviously, they don't want us running the trailers into the ground...Do they figure on giving us fresh replacements on a regular basis?

Joe - You are KIDDING, right!? SDDS is the most expensive system of all.

~Manny.

"He makes me laugh."
--Jessica Rabbit, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

j/k, Joe

If you dont get a set of trailers with your system you should ask your dealer why you didnt get them.
 

By the way, I used to have to pay US$90.00 per set for DTS trailers until I complained directly to DTS. They then informed me that if I requested them directly from DTS (instead of through my equipment dealer) that they would be issued free-of-charge. So if anybody else is still paying for their DTS trailers it may be due to the fact that you are ordering them through a dealer.

And I'm not being one of those people who will bash SDDS at every opportunity. I think the trailers should be free. Consider it a bona fide complaint. For quite a while SDDS was the only digital system I really knew. This was when I was working for AMC. I liked the system just fine; it was as reliable as Dolby and I liked the idea of it having a digital backup (even though I don't think that works in practice). Anyway, I liked the system well enough to try to introduce it down here in The Bahamas but in my research I discovered that it cost so much more than the other systems and, in reality, what it offers doesn't seem to justify the higher cost. I think that's a legitimate complaint, too.

Sony have always charged for trailers apart from the set supplied with system. Thats their policy.

Have you tried asking them ( Sony ) for free trailers ?

How many SDDS systems do you have ?

 

We never adopted SDDS here in The Bahamas because it was too expensive in many ways. This trailer issue was one of them.

Believe me, I was disappointed because I was still very much in love with the system.

But, this chain is still growing and I know there are at least six more screens in the works. That site is slated to be "all-digital" (audio). So, I'm still interested in getting at least one 8-channel system in there.

If Dolby or DTS would do that, I think that would be even more of a reason to choose one or the other. No one likes running damaged logo trailers and let's fact it, trailers in the average booth get beaten to crap due to poor handling.

PS to Karen, PLEASE make a good dts trailer for us! The Sonic Landscape was cool the first time I saw it, but I quickly learned to hate it. It is suitable for art films and dramas, but we NEED a good showoff trailer. The best ones ever were the ORIGINAL Dolby Train logo (not the later versions starting in 1993) and the Dolby City has a nice start to it as well. THX released an original version of the Cimarron that was incredible, but quickly pulled it and replaced the soundtrack with the lame one that is currently on the prints. Also, don't forget to have the timecode extend into the tail leader and to make the file end with dead silence for well into the tail leader as well. I cannot stand these logos that drop out before the end of the logo is reached. The biggest offender is the multiple format THX Broadway logo currently being shipped. No less than 3 feet of GOOD black at the head and tail too.

These logos need to be able to be played at substantially louder volume than they actually will be and not sound like poo. That always marks a great mix. As to the trend of remixing the sound logos to tame them down, the way I see it if a powerful logo is damaging people's systems, then whoever set it up and designed it needs the wakeup call. Give me something powerful!

It may cost money, but it _is_ good.

Dolby _does_ send out free promo materials, but they are very slow. I wrote to them a couple of months ago to order trailers (I didn't have the order form, but I included the relevant information, including serial numbers) and they still have not sent out the trailers that I requested. The last time I went through this with Dolby, the response time was also quite poor, though they eventually did send out trailers, a nice wall plaque, and posters.
 

The only visual difference with the original "train" trailer is it had the "Dolby Stereo Digital" logo on it instead of the newer Dolby Digital logo that was adopted in 1995 (partly in reaction to my rants about their logos --particularly the dreaded "tri" logo in 1994).
 

Per
 

The thing I am wondering is when DTS will get another trailer released. I heard rumors that a new one was in the works.
 

The first and GOOD one started out silent with 5 pings around the speakers, then one hell of a powerful CHOOUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMPH broke the silence as the train started. Actually thinking back on it, "powerful" is hardly the word. That mix was incredible!!! This one definitely had the "Dolby Stereo Digital" logo on it. It was supposedly remixed because people kept blowing their speakers and blaming it on the logo, which was probably true. The mix definitely taxed the sound system, but really showed off a good one. (If memory serves we played that at 9 on the fader at Northpark. We frequently got raving applause from the audience too. The Lion King was the first and last time we ran that logo for a non-adult movie due to the babies not being able to handle it.)

The second one is just horrid. It starts out with a loud bunch of "noise" before the pings. The "noise" which I think is supposed to be steam whistles was actually louder than when the train started. I have a copy of that around here somewhere and hate it. It's just noisy. Terrible mixing, whoever did it. I am almost positive that this one had the "Dolby Stereo Digital" logo on it as well.

The third one I am aware of is their current one. It is very short (say 20 seconds) and the picture "cuts on" instead of fading up. It tries fairly good to re-create the original Train mix, but it IS toned down (supposedly to help cheap theater owners who put in crappy sound systems from blowing their speakers). It's a decent compromise, but it is definitely too short and just doesn't have that POWER of the first one. The end tag says "Dolby Digital".

I think the whistles on the front of the second "train" trailer were some kind of musical flute like thing, accompanied by some kind of bass whirr-down as the pings hit. That trailer was definitely not as loud as the first one.

I do like the longer, original "train" trailer because it is more mysterious and dramatic. You have a lot of black leader in there for the pings on the front of the trailer. It gives enough time for the audience to shut up basically. I remember that benefit when I saw "The Program" in DD at Cinemark's Hollywood USA 15 in Garland (and that was before Disney cut out the infamous "road chicken" scene). The trailer even sounded good on that system (but then come to think of it, I think that auditorium was THX certified at the time).
 

That original Dolby Train logo was incredible. The very first digital show I ever saw was in a THX-certified house with a great sound system (installation supervised by Scott Hicks), with the Train logo, and it was a knockout. I wanted to yell up at the booth "Forget the movie -- Play the train a couple more times!!"

We give trailers out (2 of each format) with every unit we sell. Then, we will give theaters replacements when they request them. If you need replacements, please send me an email with your theater's name and address.

Thanks, Karen at DTS
khultgren@dtsonline.com