Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Digital Woes

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Posted by Joshua Burnham (Member # 1640) on 01-25-2004, 05:29 PM:

I have sony SDDS (DFP-3000) & DTS 6D in my largest auditorium. Lord of the Rings has held that auditorium since its release. Recently the SDDS & the DTS were not reading and I was stuck in SR. I swapped prints thinking it was a print issue. Whereafter I got the same result. Not even the trailers will play in SDDS. What are some ideas on tracking down the problem? I have an understanding of the sound systems and how they work, however it is not my forte'. Both systems are just over 3 years old and have never had anything fail. Our Technician will be in with in the month. I was just looking for some advice on tracking down the problem.

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 01-25-2004, 06:10 PM:

Not sure why both the SDDS and the DTS uints would not work, but a common problem with the SDDS reader is the LEDs have reduced light output and need to be replaced. Did they both stop working all at once, or was it faulting to analog often, and then die?

Did the SDDS techs come by and do the upgrades to your processor and reader? There would be either a green or yellow dot sticker on the reader next to the ser number.

Posted by Joshua Burnham (Member # 1640) on 01-25-2004, 07:05 PM:

John,
You have backed up my findings. I was unsure if the LED's went out entirely or not. I was just telling one of my other projectionist's the light output looked rather dim. As to your other questions: The SDDS has been seviced (green sticker) though its been about a year. I believe we recieved all the upgrades. Also the SDDS track just failed one day, never once did it drop to SR before that. I think you are right about the LED's in the reader though. I will call my Tech in the morning.

Thanks,
Joshua Burnham

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-25-2004, 08:26 PM:

will it run in DTS still?

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 01-25-2004, 11:31 PM:

The SDDS 3000 series reader can have it's LEDs recalibrated if you have a laptop. There is a serial connection on the front if you remove one access plate. Using Hyperterminal or like program...

Connect it all up using your serial cable.

Press Enter

Wait for the response

Press A

Then press Enter again.

It should do its calibration (no film in the reader) and return a response including problems encountered.

Steve

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-26-2004, 04:42 AM:

The DATA PRESENT indicator will be lit continuously if there is good SDDS data and flash when there is not or when other stuff is running through the reader.
The SYSTEM OK light has to be continuously lit.
The projector 1 indicator has to be lit.
When you open the front panel, you will see three big boards. In the middle of the top board, there is a series of 8 LEDs. The 2 on the left indicate the data status of the 2 tracks. When playing SDDS, these should be continuously lit. They are marked D400 for the track next to the analog track and D401 for the track on the other side.
I am sure you verified that the reader cable is plugged in correctly.
When everything still worked, did you select a preset for either SDDS or DTS (e.g. 8=SDDS, 6 or 7 for DTS), or do you generally select preset 8 and then the processor plays whatever is available?

Posted by Joshua Burnham (Member # 1640) on 01-26-2004, 02:51 PM:

To sum up some of the questions I have been asked. No, The DTS unit is not reading the timecode unsure why? As to the SDDS. The Data present light is flashing, where as the system ok light is lit continuously as well as the projector 1 light. I checked the cables and I am positive that is not the problem. Also when I start the projector it goes to the #8 preset (SDDS) automatically. Right now it is on the #8 preset but says SDDS then SR underneath it. Would it be better to just switch it to the #5 preset(SR)? Or is it the same thing?

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-26-2004, 03:38 PM:

That`s the same thing. The processor indicates that SDDS was selected but that it reverted to analog. You only need to press 5 when you specifically want analog and you don`t want the processor to switch back to SDDS.

Posted by Joshua Burnham (Member # 1640) on 01-26-2004, 03:54 PM:

That was my understanding as well, My guess is the LED's are on the go. Also I have got my DTS up and running so I'm at least out of SR. Turns out the the SDDS was default directly to SR and totally bypassing the DTS. I'll keep ya updated on my findings.

Thanks, Michael

Joshua Burnham

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-26-2004, 04:00 PM:

I would also go ahead and try the calibration as described by Steve G. It is really very easy and there is nothing to break.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 01-26-2004, 05:31 PM:

Please note...the RS-232 port I was speaking of is on the reader not the decoder.

Steve

Posted by Robbie Hidalgo (Member # 2090) on 01-26-2004, 11:50 PM:

Josh,

One easy thing to check for on the DFP-3000 is whether the Reader is communicating it's serial number back to the decoder or not. Since there is a great deal more going on electronically in an R3000 vs. an R2000, there is a greater potential for board related failure in the R3000, which often can be verified by looking to see if the Reader's serial number shows up on the Decoder's LCD screen.

From any Preset, press the down arrow once. Then press the right arrow until the word MENU is flashing. Press SELECT. Now you will see the word STATUS flashing. Press SELECT again. Here you will see power hours, film run hours, the firmware version, and a little "right arrow" (it means more options are available if you press the right arrow button). Press the right arrow button. You should see the D3000 serial number and the R3000 serial number displayed here. If the R3000 serial number shows as "00000", then the problem is definitely deeper than just an LED adjustment...and the problem will definitely be in the Reader.

Also, Michael's tip above (to check the LED's on the DSP board for P and S track operation) can give you some more clues while you wait for your tech to try an auto-cal. If the problem is that the Reader's LED's have drifted too low, then these DSP indicators should at least show some effort at trying to decode the tracks (they would at least be flashing as the Reader tried to read). You can check these while running an SDDS print regardless of the format you are actually playing. However, if these two indicators are completely dark all the time, then it's either something else in the reader (check the serial number communication), or if the Reader's serial number is reporting correctly, then it's probably the DEC board in the Decoder.