Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: is there any 'unofficial' help for missing or damaged dts CD's?

This is topic is there any 'unofficial' help for missing or damaged dts CD's? 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=010090

Posted by William Isaac (Member # 5191) on 09-19-2009, 03:43 AM:

Our community film society has recently installed a dts player alongside a tired CP55 and the improvement is dramatic, BUT it is so frustrating when discs are missing/damaged. Last night, for instance, we only had disc A of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which (for me at least) ruined the overall effect of the film.

Looking through various posts on this issue, it seems there is still no official solution to what appears to be a fairly common problem, despite many pleas.

Would it not be possible to have a self-help forum where such requests could be placed? Here's how it might work.

1. Member A starts a new thread posting his/her request on the forum.

2. Member B sees the live request and is able and willing to assist.

3. Member B then puts the requested files up at a web location and sends a PRIVATE MESSAGE to member A giving the address.

4. At the same time, member B posts a reply to the thread advising the request has been met (but NOT including the actual web link here).

5. Member A gets the private message, downloads the files and posts a reply in the thread thanking member B for his/her assistance.

6. Member B then takes down the files (or in any event after 48 hours). Member B could also make a post in the thread at this point.

It would be helpful if members making requests could say the latest time the requested content would be useful.

In strict terms member B will doubtless have breached copyright rules, but the content in question (as far as I can see) is of absolutely no use or interest to anyone who is not a legimate user, since they must have a dts player (I'm not aware of any player/codec for .AUD and .AUE format dts files), and then they would also need valid timecode from the film in order to play the files.

It would of course be up to inidividual members whether or not they would were willing to take the risk of helping others in this way.

What do other think?

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 09-19-2009, 07:11 AM:

Well, start by making the CP-55 well. You will find no great difference in sould quality with the dts if all is well.

A surprising benefit : the sound is already on the film!

Louis

Posted by Demetris Thoupis (Member # 833) on 09-19-2009, 07:15 AM:

Unfortunately in this long debated issue the disc problem is the distributors' issue and not DTS or now Datasat. Your distributor should handle the whole issue and deliver DTS discs along with the film considering you make 1000 reminders before hand that you need the bloody discs. I know there is experimenting now with the XD10 and XD20 of downloading the required material from a secure server somewhere in Mexico I think but that is in pre stages. Even in this forum admimistrators requested to host a server for this reason but due to copyrights and stuff it was not allowed (you can find that written in a relevant thread if I recall correctly). Contact your distributor.

EDIT: It seems Louis we posted together. Louis is right. A proper A-Chain will give great results. In a correct callibrated system one should have difficulty distinguishing between Digital and Analogue playback.
Demetris

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 09-19-2009, 10:14 AM:

All you need is a working relationship with a theatre that gets these films in first-run. I've used that several times to get a dts disk. If you can't get them to outright give you an unused disk, you can do wonders with a common laptop... it's just a CD.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-19-2009, 10:42 AM:

Lately DTS disks have been arriving in plain ol' padded mailing envelopes. They seem to be surviving better when shipped that way than in the plastic DVD cases. I guess it's because the thinner envelope fits better between two reels if the can is full.

By the way -- is it "DTS Digital Sound by Datasat" or is the format now going to be called just Datasat?

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-19-2009, 11:25 PM:

(Yet, interesting that the DVD cases shipped by DFS hardly ever get all busted up - since they don't use that 'spacer reel' doo-hickey nonsense)

..prob spending too much money on replacement DVD cases and figured that mailers were tons cheaper and easier to ship ..

Posted by Marin Zorica (Member # 1716) on 09-20-2009, 02:28 PM:

From where you did get that CD's mailed?

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 09-20-2009, 03:03 PM:

We've either gotten them sent Fedex and then inside is the yellow mailer or the mailer was just placed in the can (and incidentally, even this way they seem to survive better but I haven't worked sub-run to see how they do in the long-run).

Posted by Daniel Schulz (Member # 1881) on 09-22-2009, 11:32 AM:

I can't speak to unofficial help, but I would like to clarify a bit on the official channel. It was not our intention in the UK memo earlier this year to imply that Datasat will not ship out discs, we are simply asking that 1st run sites go first to Perivale (or in the USA, Technicolor or DFS) to request discs, as the film depots are being paid by the studios to deliver discs.

For repertory cinemas, or the community film organizations, we definitely take the point that the prints are not coming through normal 1st run channels. Please do contact us directly, especially if you've already requested discs through the print distributor and gotten no love. In the UK and Europe you may email contentservices@datasatdigital.com and Rachel or Thiane will sort out a disc. In the US and rest of world, you may email postproduction@datasatdigital.com.

A quick note on the padded envelopes: feedback from cinemas, this forum and Technicolor led to the experiment of shipping domestic Technicolor titles in the envelopes rather than amarays, as UPS is rough on the print cans and we were having disc breakage issues. The report from Technicolor is that the padded envelopes are working well and we have experienced a dramatic reduction in broken-disc problems. Thanks to those on this forum that provided feedback re: disc packaging.

Posted by William Isaac (Member # 5191) on 09-23-2009, 03:03 AM:

Thanks Daniel for your helpful and informative post. I guess that because of the way groups like ours function - volunteers working mostly outside 'normal' working hours, tight timings between film delivery and showings and very short runs - there often won't be sufficient time between discovery of a problem to allow it to be resolved through the delivery of replacement media using traditional delivery channels. By today's standards the amount of data involved is quite modest, easily downloadable within a reasonably short period, and capable of being bruned onto CD media in just a few minutes - all of which makes it especially frustrating that the stumbling block is simply a lack of access to the required data. If something could be done about this, I'm sure it would be most welcome.

As a matter of interest, am I right in thinking there are no codecs available to play .AUE and .AUD files without dts hardware?

Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 09-23-2009, 09:01 AM:

There is codecs for winamp that will play back the files.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 09-23-2009, 09:39 AM:

The codec for winamp will not work on newer disks
The studios are the stumbling block on downloading the disks and we have discussed this on film tech so many times lets not start it again

Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 09-23-2009, 07:04 PM:

Will an original DTS6 unit be able to play "newer discs" I presume to be 2008 and later?

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 09-23-2009, 08:36 PM:

If v1.46 firmware chip installed it will play everything

Posted by Sean Weitzel (Member # 244) on 09-23-2009, 10:31 PM:

Looks like I'm good to go. Thanks.