Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DTS 6D refuses to stay in digital

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-27-2009, 06:28 PM:

I have a DTS 6D unit that will seems to need a hard reboot after any disc insertion, otherwise it does not want to work correctly. Using the DTS test disc, all drives will play in digital but only if I reset the power after I close the tray. Otherwise the green light will come and and immediately click off. The unit rechecks the trays and tries again with the same result. This unit has IDE/ATA drives from what I can tell. I don't think the drives themselves are bad and from what I can see each drive as its own ID (I can't see the settings themselves, just that the jumpers are in different positions). Might there be a Master/Slave issue? Is this a SCSI setup disguised as ATA?

Posted by Richard May (Member # 2627) on 12-27-2009, 07:24 PM:

I know this isn't an answer but I have had the same problem with a few units. I have to shut it off and then turn it on to get it to boot with the disks in. Sometimes I have to do it a few times to get it to work. It may work for a few months before it happens again. I wonder if it's more of a problem with one of the boards than the drives.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-27-2009, 09:22 PM:

How old are the drives? They could be dying on you, or it could be the power supply getting tired as well.

I'm facing the same issue and gave Computer Spirit a call for the price on replacement drives since I don't need the upgrade ...

Give them a call on this issue - they might point you in the right direction on what is needed.

-Monte

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-27-2009, 09:32 PM:

Joe, I had an entire batch of dts players that never missed a beat...provided they were power cycled after disc insertion. In fact I recall being told by dts that a power cycle was required. If you recall, I was shocked when I saw you didn't cycle yours back in 2000.

Does it run reliably if you power cycle? If so, I wouldn't worry about it.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-27-2009, 09:36 PM:

Today is the first day I have touched it so I have no clue as to its reliability. Still need to get a timecode cable for it.

I've never had to power cycle DTS units (that's right, all caps) until now.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-27-2009, 10:00 PM:

Actually DTS has always recomended a reboot any time you do change discs. I've heard this form both Karen H. And Mike Smith.

Mark

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-28-2009, 12:04 AM:

I think they say that to cover all the bases. Rebooting definitely isn't required on some machines, but seems to be on others. But the reboot certainly won't hurt the ones that don't require it. I think DTS sent all of their good units to Colorado (note: this unit was sent to us secondhand from California so it does not count against my Colorado theory).

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-28-2009, 02:38 PM:

If any of your units have the latest drive config. with the scsi bridge card to IDE in them then a reboot is almost a mandatory thing to get the unit to recognize that you switched disks. I have yet to see any converted unit reliably read the new disks files correctly or at all until a re-boot.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-28-2009, 04:39 PM:

That sounds logical. The drives appear to be IDE.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-28-2009, 06:19 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
The drives appear to be IDE

..be totally amazing if they were, unless they are DVD drives with the IDE/SCSI bridge card behind them...

You think, with that form of upgrade that a reset button could be used to do a 'soft-boot' to allow quicker booting sequence instead of a straight "cold boot" process

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-28-2009, 06:28 PM:

The cold boot completely dumps the memory... a hot re-boot doesn't necessarily.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-28-2009, 07:07 PM:

K. Sounds good then.

And remembering now those bulletins that Karen from DTS would send down about doing cold boot restarts after disc changes that was posted on the DTS site.

But, unfortunately, this word never came around to the locations with DTS installs on proper DTS usage - why a lot of us never heard of that before.

-Monte