Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Trailer packs auto delete on LMS

This is topic Trailer packs auto delete on LMS in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 05-23-2011, 07:45 PM:

Hi all, our little 6 screen theater recently converted to digital from film. The system is working as planned however there is a strange provision in the Cinedigm LMS software. The trailer packs are deleted every 6 days, automatically. We have to reassign trailers to all movies that have been in the system for 6 days. I have talked to the software developers and they told me that its designed that way. I really cannot find any valid reason for this. Does any one here use the Cinedigm software and can you shed any light on this.

Louis

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-23-2011, 08:39 PM:

I'll bet it's a "self housekeeping" feature that's designed to get rid of trailers that are no longer needed. Personally I have always wondered why many theatres quit playing trailers for movies as soon as that show opens. Whatever happened to cross-plugging?

At any rate I wonder if that feature can be turned off, or set to wait a certain number of days before deleting.

Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 05-24-2011, 01:43 PM:

hi mike,
there is no way that i can see to turn this feature off. according to the software designer, its set that way. cannot be changed.

thanks for the reply,

louis

Posted by Edward Havens (Member # 4715) on 05-24-2011, 01:54 PM:

We use the Cinedigm LMS server at my theatre, and this has never happened to us in the three years we've been open. If anything, we have to remember to trade out trailers for movies that have already come and gone when we have something like The King's Speech, which play for fourteen weeks. I'm sorry I don't know how to fix your issue, but what they are telling you is not something we have experienced.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 05-24-2011, 02:03 PM:

Does it actually delete the content so you have to re-load the trailer from the hard drive, or does it just remove it from your current playlist(s)?

If it deletes the content, I'm just amazed. They've never heard of someone playing stuff off-the-break?

Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 05-27-2011, 02:35 PM:

Hello Frank,
thanks for the reply. it does not delete the content, just the trailer packs.

end of the week for movies, which is usually fridays, the packs automatically are deleted, content stays put. my work around to prevent having to make up a new trailer pack is to go back a few days and copy the pack and then copy it to the film on the present day, which is a hassle

louis

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 05-27-2011, 04:19 PM:

Oh, you're losing your playlists, is that what you mean since the content in the server remains?

Sounds like a setting in the server needs to be changed to keep your playlists intact then..

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 05-28-2011, 10:36 AM:

I believe the idea is...when the new movies come in Wed/Thursday and you set up the trailer packs for them, you should, at that time, copy the existing trailer pack (and modify as necessary) for the upcoming week. Your POS should have pushed out the new show times by then too so you can assign trailers to ALL features.

I also believe you can, when you create the trailer pack copy it right then and there to the following week as well (and probably for as many weeks as you want).

I know in my experience with the larger chains, trailers were something they fussed with on an almost continual basis so this issue would never come up anyway. In smaller chains, trailers seem to be a bit more static. The TCC was clearly designed more for a larger chain. It is NOT "Burger King"...you'll have it THEIR way. That said, I think the trailer pack and show templates can be kinda nifty and relatively quick to implement auto creating SPLs.

-Steve

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 05-29-2011, 04:56 PM:

...wonder if there is a way to "fool" the system by renaming the trailer pak so the LMS can't see it - be just like changing the three character extender after the "dot" on a filename so the system can't see it..

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 05-29-2011, 05:24 PM:

It's a sad day when the human has go figure out a way to fool the computer in order to make it do what the human wants. Screw the androids. [evil]

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 05-29-2011, 07:13 PM:

Since the Trailer Pack is done on the TCC...there is no file to fool. Again, I think if you want the trailer pack to be static and stick around for weeks...once you create it, copy it to as many weeks as necessary so it will be there. You'll still need to assign it to the show times as your POS system updates with the new show times. But seriously, this isn't that big a deal and MOST will not have the same trailer pack for much more than a week, particularly during the summer months when new movies open pretty regularly.

-Steve