Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Anything Else Problems (Center Channel Only)

This is topic Anything Else Problems (Center Channel Only) 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=005365

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 09-23-2003, 09:09 AM:

Our Theater upgraded the sound readers last week on 19 of our 20 screens (one of them has a non-working dolby basement reader so they didn't touch it for some reason). I built up anything else and played it in SDDS, and it only played from the center channel. I switched to Stereo and it sounded exactly the same. We hookedit up to a Dolby Cat 700 and still only the center channel worked. We are going to call the company that upgraded our stuff today, but does anyone have a clue as to what is going on? All sound formats play in only the center channel, it has happened in more than one house (we moved the print to check), and I just don't know what's going on.....

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 09-23-2003, 09:12 AM:

the movie is essentially mono sound that is the way woody allen does his sound. No stereo just mono. He uses the dolby noise reduction and that is it.

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 09-23-2003, 09:13 AM:

so even if the movie has SRD and SDDS, it's still only going to play through one channel?

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 09-23-2003, 09:16 AM:

Yep, no change. just run another film in there and you will have all the channels but on this one only the center channel will be pressent and maybe the subs in one scene.

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 09-23-2003, 09:26 AM:

thanks!!

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 09-23-2003, 09:32 AM:

There is already a thread to report performance of the new cyan dye analog track on "Anything Else":

http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=005290

As noted, the mix is MONO (center channel only) and subtle. The Billie Holiday recording that opens and closes the movie is intended to sound like a scratchy record.

The cyan dye analog track is printed independently of the Dolby Digital SRD and SDDS tracks, so the digital track performance should not have been affected by the conversion to cyan dye analog tracks.

Of course, if you play the cyan dye analog track, you should be using a red light reader and appropriate noise reduction (e.g. Dolby SR). Using a tungsten exciter lamp reader will result in a very low signal level and more noise.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-23-2003, 03:56 PM:

In this sutuation there is an easy way to tell if the system's OK or the print is at fault... Listen to the trailers. The trailers will play from all channels as normal. When the feature starts the sound will go to mono. If all your speakers work during the trailers but not in the feature, chances are your system is OK.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 09-23-2003, 07:30 PM:

I wonder how many other people panicked and thought it was related to the cyan track?

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 09-24-2003, 10:11 AM:

I bet a good amount panicked. My managers were going nuts trying to figure it out, and then they finally just forgot about it. I came here, found out, and notified them. It's funny b/c sometimes they are like, "how to you find all this stuff out?" [Smile]

We have 19/20 theater upgraded to the red LED, and I have to say that the LED is really bright. That can't be safe to look into for a while, and you kinda have to while threading....

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 09-24-2003, 03:33 PM:

You know...you don't have to look at the LED while threading.

Mine are set up so that they only illuminate when the motor is running. [Cool]

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 09-25-2003, 12:04 PM:

I always get disappointed when we show a Woody Allen film, just waiting for a customer to complain that the surrounds aren't working or that the sound is coming from the center channel only.

My reply over the radio would be, "That's correct, working perfectly"