Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DTS and other problems....

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Posted by Ken McFall (Member # 845) on 02-21-2003, 05:13 PM:

Reading some of the posts recently regarding problems with DTS and other equipment I can't help thinking I've been very lucky in my experiences.

One thing that does strike me is that some installations whilst good technically are not that great when it comes to the real world. Engineers seldome hang around for a full day to see how equipment is used and how it performs in the 'real world'.

I know from experience from install work I've done that setting up and real world running are very different. I've been fortunate that I was able to monitor my work and adjust as required and as a result I have had NO problems with DTS at all.

I was able to monitor a number of different prints and arrive at a balanced decision as to how the equipment performed.

Many cinemas have finacial limits and cannot afford to have an engineer hanging around for days at a time, so when they do get called in the chances are the equipment performs perfectly. Its not uncommon for things to work perfectly when the engineers around and fall flat on its face when he walks out of the door.

It's comforting to have Karen contributing to this forum and giving support and advice... I wonder if this availability attracts more questions and complaints than say Dolby does simply because they are not so easily available.

As a system DTS is first rate, and once I'd sorted out the disk availabilty issue I loved to watch a film in that format.

My systems worked perfectly because I was able to spend time on them. Could this be the issue with many of the comments so far?

No disrespect to the projectionists who contribute but not all of them have installation experience and are expected to work with what the engineer has left them. Engineers, like all of us, are under pressure as well so is it any wonder that sometimes things are less than perfect.

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 02-22-2003, 05:08 AM:

Ken

I agree with you. DTS players are very simple devices. Usually you can solve problem with simple operations. The Timecode Reader is very simple, doesn't need complex calibration (like DD) and just need to be aligned to the projector and set for the correct operational Led's voltage.

If readers are factory aligned and drives are in good condition usually you can solve all of your DTS problems by yourself just spending a bit of your time in front of the unit to see what happens.

Bye
Antonio

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 02-22-2003, 05:53 AM:

quote:
My systems worked perfectly because I was able to spend time on them. Could this be the issue with many of the comments so far?

I think that's the issue with any complex piece of technology trying to do a specific job in a specific context, not just DTS. The trick is to combine the engineer's knowledge of the technology with the user's knowledge of what [s]he's trying to do with it and how, in order to achieve the desired result. Not always easy, though... [Smile]

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 02-22-2003, 10:12 AM:

Leo,

Right, but what about the engineer dowsn't want to hear user's feedback and experiences?

It happened to me many and many times... [Frown]

Bye
Antonio

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-22-2003, 10:38 AM:

Those companies that actively participate on sites like Film-Tech DO want to hear customer comments, including end-users who may not actually purchase the product, and use the information to improve their products. [Smile]

Kodak calls this "the voice of the customer". [thumbsup]

Projectionists don't purchase much film, but they sure USE lots of it. So your opinions matter. [Cool]

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 02-22-2003, 08:01 PM:

The only problems I've had with DTS units are CPU board failures. I don't think you could fault the technician that installed / maintained it.

Posted by Tim Turner (Member # 1109) on 02-22-2003, 09:31 PM:

I think its a perfectly good idea for the engineer to make sure that the projectionist knows what exactly was fixed and how it was fixed. So that when the engineer leaves and the unit brakes down agian, the projectionist will know how to fix it! Every tech guy I've seen just fixes stuff and says "ok, I got that back up agian" and then starts heading for the door, without explaining what he did. And they don't seem like they liked to be asked questions either!

Whenever I have problems with DTS units, I just replace the drives, and then everything works normal agian.

Posted by Ken McFall (Member # 845) on 02-24-2003, 10:55 AM:

Karen is very generous with her time and that goes a long way to explain the excellent service that we all seem to get from DTS.

The point I had hoped to make is that reader alignment is a very time consuming business, especially if you are going to check it with a number of 'real world' prints. Its all very well going in with a reel of test film and setting up with that, what about the prints we get every week that seldom come anywhere near perfect results.

I've seen a lot of SRD setups that have been quite simply rushed, that'll do and walk away!! When the same equipment, where time is taken on the alignment the results speak for themselves.

As things become more and more 'computer' based the alignment stage of an install or service is increasingly important to prevent the 'reversions' and drop outs.

The cost of servicing equipment is spiraling upwards and the equipment required to do the work is growing in a similar way. Whats it going to be like if, when, Digital Projection becomes the norm? We are not always going to have the luxury of dual inventory of prints so when the Digital goes down.... you close the doors until a suited technician, not an engineer, arrives...

[ 02-26-2003, 08:28 AM: Message edited by: Ken McFall ]