Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DTS 6D digital output

This is topic DTS 6D digital output in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-24-2013, 07:42 AM:

Subject says it. I am looking for the pinout for the digital audio output on the DTS 6D. It is curiously absent from the manual.

Has anyone ever actually used this output and, if so, are there any issues with doing so?

I am using a CP65 with both DTS and a DA20 and am toying with the idea of using a DMA8plus (which I already have) to control the switching from DTS to Dolby. My thought was to feed the digital output of the 6D into the 6-channel AES input on the DMA8 and feed the DA20 output into the analog input. There would be need to be some fiddling with the automation outputs of the 6D and the DA20 to do the right thing and fail from one to the other (I want DTS to fail to SRD to fail to SR), but this all seems pretty do-able if the DTS digital output is usable.

That said, if anyone has any better ideas about how to achieve this, I am all ears. There has been discussion of this in the past, but there seems to be no "cleaner" way of doing it, except with the DTS dubber interface, which is NLA.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-24-2013, 08:20 AM:

The Digital out was for the DTS-6D SV (Special Venue) and would connect up to the CinemAcoustics (Peavey) sound processor (it was the only thing taking digital in, back then).

The pinout is in the DTS-6D SV manual (page 48 on the 9/28/99 version of the manual).

It makes mention that U40 and U41 have to be changed to use the Digital out too.

Remember too, only a 6D-SV would have 6 discrete outputs anyway and, glory be, they don't assign one to subwoofer anyway...the SV systems used bass management so the 6th channel went to Top-Center.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 10-24-2013, 10:00 AM:

That will vary with the title. As I recall, Patton's SV disks were in the Todd-AO layout for 5 screen channels plus single surround, no sub.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-24-2013, 11:05 AM:

Hmm...I have the regular 6D (the blue one). Does the digital output function on these?

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-24-2013, 04:16 PM:

I don't think so...not without converted it to an SV and adding the right chips.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 10-25-2013, 09:47 AM:

I believe the USL DSP60 could connect to the dts digital output as well

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 10-25-2013, 11:04 AM:

Ultrastereo DSP-60S and Cinema Acoustics CA-CP600 according to the November 1996 edition of the manual.