Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Dts dropping on and off

This is topic Dts dropping on and off in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Demetris Thoupis (Member # 833) on 12-09-2002, 12:46 PM:

If problems did not exist then what is the point of this forum? [Smile]

Anyway. One theater closed for 8 months. After it re-opened, the DTS system occasionally drops out of digital for a milisecond of seconds but it shows that the timecode is read fine and the discs seem to be running perfectly. (CP65 setup with DTS 6D in a changeover theater). Any ideas?

Posted by Karen Hultgren (Member # 395) on 12-09-2002, 05:54 PM:

It could be a bad reel or the reader could be out of calibration. Have you adjusted your reader's voltage? It should be checked about twice a year. Info on this is in our free online techcenter. Or, I could email it to you. If you want it emailed, then send me an email.

I realize that you cannot sit by the projector and watch the entire movie, but try to be there during the drop-out. The reader's green LED should be on steady and not blink.

If it is a bad reel, the get a replacement from the film's distribuator.

Karen at DTS
khultgren@dtsonline.com

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-09-2002, 08:44 PM:

If you have very short dropouts, it could be that the CD is just dirty or scratched. I had this once with The Fellowship Of The Ring. It turned out that there were some spots on the CD which caused the system to dropout or click for tiny moments. Even if the timecode blinks a little, dts usually goes on to play for a few seconds, so that should not be the problem. Another possibilty might be that the system is too hot if the fan doesn`t work correctly anymore.
Kali tychi me ta problemata!
Gia sou

Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 12-09-2002, 10:29 PM:

We've been having troubles with our only 6D unit that still has the original CD ROM drives, on Harry Potter it has frozen up mid show several times, but when the smae print is used with the same discs on a unit with new drives, this doesn't happen. Our only solution until we can get a small set of screwdrivers to change out the drives is to be meticulous about checking the sound format during the movie. We had some light dropout during reel 4 of Solaris, but I never got a chance to investigate it by hand.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-10-2002, 05:12 AM:

quote:
Our only solution until we can get a small set of screwdrivers to change out the drives

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 12-10-2002, 10:50 AM:

It is more than likely the voltage on the reader. I experienced the same problem, ie, the reader led would bounce on and off. After adjusting the voltage, this went away.

Posted by Karen Hultgren (Member # 395) on 12-10-2002, 12:42 PM:

The only way to determine the cause of a drop out problem is to determine the source. Most times it is either drives/discs or print/reader.

There is a little light on the drives that wink at you when the disc is read. If that light comes on solid, that means it cannot read the disc. Try moving the disc to another drive and see if the problem follows the disc or stays with the drive. Replace the bad item. Please request disc replacements from the film's distribuator.

If the timecode light blinks a lot, then see if one reel blinks or all. If one or two reels blink, it means you have bad timecode on those prints and they must be replaced by the film ditribuator. If all reels blink, then you have a reader problem. The reader may need recalibration. If that doesn't work, then you may have a film tension problem, projector speed problem, or bad ground, or... We have a troubleshooting guide to help find the cause. To get it, please send me an email.

Karen at DTS
khultgren@dtsonline.com

Posted by Demetris Thoupis (Member # 833) on 12-11-2002, 09:40 AM:

The thing is,
The reader's green light is rock solid and even when it drops out it still bright, no bumps. I repeat the fact that the drop out is just for a milisecond of a second and the timecode does not stop reading. Karen, could you please send me that info you are talking about about the voltage of the reader although this is a changeover theater and the problem occured on both readers
Thanks
Demetris Thoupis

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-11-2002, 11:17 AM:

In that case it is obvious that the problem is either with the discs (scratched or stained) or with the unit itself. The cd-rom drive(s) may be faulty or the unit suffers from instability probably because it gets too hot.
Another question which comes to mind is whether the dropouts cause the system to revert to analogue for those brief moments or if it stays in the dts format. In that case, it could also be a faulty decoder board.

Posted by Karen Hultgren (Member # 395) on 12-11-2002, 11:40 AM:

Demetris,

Send me an email (address under my name below) and I'll send you the notice for the reader. All readers should be checked twice a year and recalibrated when necessary.

Please also visit our free online 'techcenter' at www.dtsonline.com/cinema

Also, if your player is a DTS-6AD = the blinking reader LED does not always apply.

When the drop-out occurs, is the DIGITAL light on? If the DIGITAL light is on, this means the player is fine and something has switched out DTS = most likely automation has a problem. In this case, try unplugging automation and let the CP and DTS work together without automation. If that works, this confirms that automation is interferring and you need to investigate.

Is the SYSTEM light blinking? If the SYSTEM light stops blinking, then the player is having internal problems and should be sent in for repair. We have service centers around the world and an office in the UK. Our service centers are listed on our web site.

If the SYSTEM light is blinking and if the reader's green light is on solid and the player drops out, then look at the drives or discs. Move the discs around to see if the problem follows the disc. If the problem follows the disc, the disc is bad and needs to be replaced. Call your film distribuator and request a disc replacement. If the problem stays with the drive, then replace the drive. To get a replacement drive, call your local DTS dealer. All our dealers are listed on our web site (address give above).

Karen at DTS
khultgren@dtsonline.com