Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Tricking a DTS unit

This is topic Tricking a DTS unit in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Joshua Wood (Member # 1020) on 12-08-2001, 11:02 PM:

Is it possible to trick a DTS unit into playing a DTS disk without film being run through the projector?

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 12-08-2001, 11:14 PM:

Yes. If you search past topics, you will find the way. PS: You will need to plug a IBM (PS2-type) keyboard into the back of the DTS unit.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-09-2001, 01:14 AM:

You don't need a keyboard (unless you want to listen to the ENTIRE disc). But you will need an Empirical Test Disc, available at your local grocery store.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 12-09-2001, 11:18 AM:

Seems to work only on 3 drawer units

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 12-09-2001, 11:20 AM:

John,
Joshua needs an AT keyboard, not a PS/2

Joe,
Why the "empirical test disk"? I believe that joshua wants to play a movie disk, in that case he needs a keyboard. But I remember that someone said that with new version of software the keyboard way is no longer supported.

Bye
Antonio

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-09-2001, 02:53 PM:

You can put a certain version of the Empirical disc in drive C and the movie disc in drive A, reboot and it will play reel 1. This only works with certain firmware and versions of the 6-d unit.

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 12-09-2001, 04:53 PM:

Antonio; Yes you're right; I meant "big plug, but not XT type..!" As you can see I was sleeping when I typed PS2...

Why would they take out the keyboard feature?

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-09-2001, 11:44 PM:

I have sucessfully played R-1 of a feature using the Emperical Test disc in Drive-A on both 2-drawer, and 3-drawer units as well as the DTS-6AD (which has some clearly nifty features on it anyway).

Steve

------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 12-10-2001, 09:25 AM:

So Steve you put the Emperical Test disc in Drive-A and the disk A in Drive-B, on a two drawer, and it worked? Did you have a keyboard plugged in? I want to make mine do that

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 12-10-2001, 11:28 AM:

Steve,

But should you have to hear the empirical disk to the end???
Once our tech put the level disk (I do not remember the code) in drive A and feature disk 1 in drive B. When the level track were completed the player started with track 1 of the feature disk.

Karen,
Is is possible to know how to modify (and if it is possible) the CFG files on the DTS disk so that we can create our DTS disk to test our systems?
For example, I usually test my theater witn TITANIC. But I have to plug the keyboard and go through menus by mind to select the correct track.
It would be great if we can create our disk with, for example, just the reel 3 of one movie that starts by itself.
I saw something in the CFG file but I don't know if it can be modified.

Bye
Antonio

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-11-2001, 12:42 AM:

Greg,

You got it...Emperical Test Disc in "A" and the feature's Disk A in Drive "B" and it should start playing R-1 of your feature's disc...when R-1 is over...it will replay R-1 (I believe).

Steve

------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"

Posted by Karen Hultgren (Member # 395) on 12-11-2001, 01:29 PM:

Yes, there are several tricks.

Karen at DTS

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 12-11-2001, 02:41 PM:

Karen,

How much mystery around the tricky procedures...

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 12-11-2001, 02:53 PM:

Do tell....

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-11-2001, 07:55 PM:

I like the "trick" because it will let a tech evaluate a sound system with a known soundtrack without having to have the film. In such cases, R-1 is all that is needed since it typically will have music as well as dialog. Regardless if this is a designed in feature or a happly glitch, I like it!

Steve

------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-11-2001, 09:17 PM:

I always use the first reel from Toy Story 2 to evaluate sound systems. It has everything, dialog, music, subwoofer, surrounds, etc.

Posted by Karen Hultgren (Member # 395) on 12-12-2001, 12:41 PM:

So, you guys want me to reveal the "secret tricks"? ;-)

Actually, there are no real secrets, you can make the player self-play a disc in three ways:

1) Load in a setup or empirical test disc (any disc that self plays) along with a movie disc. Most times, you can get the movie disc to play the feature's soundtrack.

2) Connect a keyboard & monitor to the back of the player and enter in the serial number of the movie (thats on the disc). Load the disc and run the program. You should be able to play the disc.

3) Use a DTS timecode generator to enter in the show's serial number and reel number. You can play any program off any cinema disc using this method.

Most times, the only reason we would play a disc without film is to test the sound system or to replay a section of the soundtrack during a run-through (if the client thought they heard something odd). And when replaying the disc, we would only use a DTS timecode generator.

Using the other methods will not hurt anything. The only problem is that you have little control over what will play.

Karen at DTS

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 12-12-2001, 02:23 PM:

Woo-who...secerets revealed!!!!!!!

Thanks Karen

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-12-2001, 02:31 PM:

I think you have just made a lot of techs very happy to know those tricks Karen.

It really does save a lot of trouble for a tech to be able to carry around a disc, rather than a reel of film for quick evaluations.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-12-2001, 03:24 PM:

I REALLY REALLY like the DTS timecode generator. It is beyond cool. Great for trailer discs. That way you can play the DTS logos, THX logos (when applicable) and even policy trailers from theater chains other than yours!

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 12-12-2001, 08:42 PM:

Can the JSK timecode generator be used with a DTS unit ( and be switched back easily to use with a biphase tach and SMPTE)

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 12-13-2001, 05:02 AM:

There's a test disk that Lucas/THX put out, I believe for the opening of Episode 1. It's got the voice of C3PO saying "Right Channel... Right Channel...", etc.

If you can find a copy of that disk, it makes a good thing to give to the booth manager to keep in his desk in case of questions about the DTS system in any theatre. They can call you up and you can tell them to play that disk and tell you what happened. It's a good way to tell if you need to hop in the car right away, or if you can wait until later.

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 12-13-2001, 12:30 PM:

Karen,

Does the 6AD has a VGA plug?? COrrect me, but I didn't saw any video plug to DTS6 and DTS6D.

Bye and thanks!
Antonio

Posted by Karen Hultgren (Member # 395) on 12-13-2001, 07:33 PM:

Antonio - yes, there is a video plug but it's not easily accessible from the back of the player. You have to remove a plate to access it.

And, yes, the JimK box (in SMPTE mode) can be used on a DTS player *IF* you change the timecode (D422-W1) jumpers in the DTS player for SMPTE. But, it is a big hassel to take the unit out of the rack, take off the top cover, reconfigure the jumper, do your test, then change the jumpers back again for DTS, reinstall the top cover, and put it back in the rack. Standard movie/trailer discs won't play if the unit is set for SMPTE. The way around it is to install a toggle switch so you can change modes easily (DTS or SMPTE). If anyone wants more details on this, please send me an email.

Karen at DTS
khultgren@dtsonline.com

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 12-14-2001, 06:21 AM:

Karen,

A video plug on DTS6 and 6D?

Or did you talk about 6AD?

Bye
Antonio

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 12-14-2001, 03:39 PM:

AFAIK, the 6 and 6D require an ISA video card be plugged into the unit. My guess is the 6AD has onboard video.

-Aaron

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 12-16-2001, 07:52 PM:

I opened up my 2 drawer unit and looked around and couldn't find a monitor plug in so I put in an acient EGA card I had laying around. Plugged in an equally old ega monitor and a keyboard. Turned it on, put in some disks and it worked. I was able to trick the DTS unit. Yippiee

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by Adrian Steiner (Member # 1527) on 04-15-2003, 05:56 PM:

I'm not familiar with the EGA and VGA standard and ISA graphiccards.
Does the 6D use 'video out modes' that are so basic, that all ISA cards support them? In other words, will any ISA graphiccard work, or has it to be a special brand or a card with a certain graphicchip on it?

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 04-15-2003, 06:17 PM:

It's not necessary to add a video card and monitor on the DTS6. Just the keyboard will do.

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 04-15-2003, 07:53 PM:

Yes, but you have to select the menu blind...

KAREN,

With TITANIC disk I was able to play THX trailers selecting reel 1. The sequence was approx:

ESC - go to main menu
2 - play without timecode
x - play track x

With newer disks I was unable to play THX trailers. DTS.exe doesn't permit to browse the menu as titanic does. What is the THX reel?

Bye
Antonio

Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 04-15-2003, 07:56 PM:

top secret: and then there is something about putting the set-off dialer in a certain position.... not ?

p.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 04-15-2003, 08:54 PM:

quote:
Does the 6D use 'video out modes' that are so basic, that all ISA cards support them?

Adrian - actually the dts menus are so breathtakingly animated and feature such complex state-of-the-art 3D graphics that to view them, you need at least a GeForce3 graphics adapter with 32MB of video RAM or better, and make sure that you have DirectX 8 installed.

Posted by Adrian Steiner (Member # 1527) on 04-16-2003, 06:20 AM:

I expected somehow such an answer - and I'm not surprised at all it's you Michael. [Wink]

But I won't vote for you in the "stirring the pot" thread! [Big Grin]

I know a DTS Player is - simply said - a "converted PC plus additional electronics for 5.1 decoding". So one could expect that any card would work (especially when only text and no graphics are needed from the card). I just asked for being sure.

But in any case, I'll add some more RAM! [Big Grin]

Posted by Antonio Marcheselli (Member # 373) on 04-16-2003, 06:35 AM:

I usually upgrade all my DTS6/6D player with 256 MB ram and Linux. Then I run DTS.exe on background and I use the extra power for other purposes likie, say, a mail server, a gateway or a file server.

The only problem is that when a splice pass throught the reader the mail server hangs for a moment.

[thumbsup]

Bye
Antonio

Posted by Adrian Steiner (Member # 1527) on 04-16-2003, 07:55 AM:

Antonio, do that with the new DTS player with a HD in it. [Wink]

BTW: That RJ45 plug on the CP650 must be good for something else than just saving the settings. IIRC I read in the installation manual, that a CP650 has something like a "network address". [edit] [Wink]

(just to show, that this wasn't meant THAT serious)[/edit]

[ 04-17-2003, 03:56 AM: Message edited by: Adrian Steiner ]

Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 04-16-2003, 07:09 PM:

On the other hand: why would we want to "trick" the dts ?
Why don't we just run a movie, if we have to test the equipment more than ordinary test gear allows ??

p.

Posted by Christopher Seo (Member # 7) on 04-17-2003, 01:54 AM:

Adrian,

The DTS unit is most likely using the basic, original DOS or BIOS services for display output. As such, drivers for a specific graphics card are not required. Since it sounds like the display is text only, pretty much any ISA video card since the dawn of the IBM PC/AT would work.

On the other end of the spectrum... the CP650's RJ45 jack has an Ethernet address, but not an IP address. The manual didn't say much... any functionality is probably reserved for a future firmware upgrade (or Dolby's trusted partners...).

Posted by Adrian Steiner (Member # 1527) on 04-17-2003, 05:16 PM:

I didn't think about drivers, as a 6D has no non volatile memory. (Ok, ok, there's the ROM with the dts.exe and of course a BIOS - but you know what I mean.)

The first sentence of your post describes exactly what I'm wondering. On the one hand I agree completely with you, Christopher. The DTS units use standard PC parts and therefore it should work with any card. On the other hand there are electronics developed by DTS in it, so it could be possible, that the "PC part" of the unit works a little bit different than an ordinary PC. But I think that's not the case, as DTS hardware is (AFAIK! And I only know that I don't know anything) only responsible for sound decoding. As the executable file is an .exe and ordinary CD-ROM drives and SCSI cards are used there don't seem to be differences to a PC. However, the exact answer could only tell us someone from DTS, but I think that will remain their secret (That's at least what I would do).

Per:[qoute]On the other hand: why would we want to "trick" the dts ?
Why don't we just run a movie, if we have to test the equipment more than ordinary test gear allows ??
[/qoute]

Because there are curious people! [Smile]

About the CP650: I added a smily for clarification.

Adi

Posted by John Foley (Member # 1183) on 03-25-2004, 03:59 PM:

The new firmware and setup software allow the customization of the cp650 ip address.

Dolby told me you can currently query info like volume level from the cp650 via network, with more using coming... but i haven't succeeded yet.

Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 04-10-2007, 04:39 AM:

It has been 1110 days since the last post.

Posted by Bastiaan Fleerkate (Member # 3826) on 04-10-2007, 04:39 AM:

OK, put an ISA graphics card in... keyboard, check!

But nowadays the DTS.exe doesn't feature the option 2 on the disk. So I can't play anything. Does this mean that if I want to play a DTS disk I will have to change the DTS.exe to an older version?

This all on a DTS-6 player! WOW, DOS is still alive!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-10-2007, 11:59 AM:

You may want to do a search on this, but I believe after Lord of the Rings 2 dts changed things so that you can no longer play the discs with that trick.

Posted by Fabrice Dubourg (Member # 1635) on 04-14-2007, 12:55 PM:

i have got another trick
interrested ?

Posted by Patrick de Groot (Member # 858) on 04-14-2007, 01:16 PM:

@Fabrice
Please just post your idea and do not make any more posts like the previous. It adds nothing to the topic.

Posted by Bastiaan Fleerkate (Member # 3826) on 04-15-2007, 09:46 AM:

Indeed, just post the trick (and the explanation)... I'm obviously VERY interested...

Posted by Fabrice Dubourg (Member # 1635) on 04-15-2007, 12:52 PM:

hummmmm, i don't know since patrick seems not to be kind with me.... [Wink]

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 04-15-2007, 01:20 PM:

Enough nonsense. Post the information or stop participating.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-15-2007, 01:26 PM:

Looks like Adam beat me to it. However...

You will notice that there is a strict rule here "no teaser subjects". While that rule was written specifically referring to thread titles, this is essentially the same thing. All your last two posts are doing is wasting people's time and eating up bandwidth. Post your little trick and don't pull this nonsense again.

Posted by Fabrice Dubourg (Member # 1635) on 04-18-2007, 05:34 AM:

brad, your message does the same....delete my account
bye!

Posted by Patrick de Groot (Member # 858) on 04-18-2007, 05:42 AM:

Au revoir! You're again breaking a rule [Smile]

See you back when you're cooled down a bit.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-18-2007, 02:14 PM:

I doubt he even had a trick to begin with.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 04-18-2007, 07:47 PM:

I know this is none of my business but it pisses me off anyone attacking Brad because I am sure its not cheap to run this site and he does it and pays for it all so telling him that his post wastes time and bandwith is crazy. He owns the site!