Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DCC for iPhone

This is topic DCC for iPhone in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Kore Pendragon (Member # 6361) on 10-25-2012, 10:56 AM:

Digital cinema communicator for iPhone. Is it possible?

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 10-25-2012, 06:10 PM:

Only relayed through teamviewer or VNC on a PC running DCC.

- Carsten

Posted by Kore Pendragon (Member # 6361) on 10-25-2012, 06:45 PM:

Hmmm, in that case would it better to have a windows tablet? I've had no experience on Microsoft OS tablets so I'm not sure of their capabilities

Posted by David Graham Rose (Member # 1450) on 11-01-2012, 02:44 PM:

Good Evening!

One makes calls on a telephone. They were never designed for the servicing and alignment of projection apparatus.

David

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 11-01-2012, 04:38 PM:

things change!

Posted by David Graham Rose (Member # 1450) on 11-01-2012, 04:54 PM:

Greetings Marco

I change my underpants daily, but I see no reason to reinvent the wheel as I do so.

David

Posted by John Mckitrick (Member # 7253) on 11-03-2012, 04:49 PM:

It is of course possible, but the powers that be will not let it happen. The ability to control the projector from your smartphone would really help on the ground level.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-03-2012, 05:58 PM:

You could do it easily on a tablet via an application such as TeamViewer. On a phone it's a pain.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 11-04-2012, 06:59 AM:

You can VNC from smartphone or tablet into most projectors and servers.

It can make sense even with a smartphone, as long as you restrict yourself to things that absolutely need your presence in the auditorium or at the screen.

Sure I would prefer a tablet over a smartphone, but the smartphone might be something you always carry around, so having that option is certainly nice.

However, you can not run DCC on a tablet or smartphone itself, only remote control DCC running on a connected PC.

- Carsten

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 11-04-2012, 01:21 PM:

quote: David Graham Rose
One makes calls on a telephone. They were never designed for the servicing and alignment of projection apparatus.

quote: Carsten Kurz
It can make sense even with a smartphone, as long as you restrict yourself to things that absolutely need your presence in the auditorium or at the screen.

I can agree with this sentiment.

Too many people do things on computers or with electronic gadgets simply because they CAN do them, not because they are best done that way.

It is important to look at the task you need to accomplish, determine the best way to achieve your goal then choose the best tool to do that job.

If all you need is a hammer and a nail to hang a picture on a wall, it would be a silly waste of time, money and extra work to use a pneumatic nail gun. A nail gun isn't the right tool for the job.

Think about the job you want to do in the theater.
If you have 20 projectors to run and you need to monitor the status of each one from any place in the theater, maybe an iPhone/iPad would be the right tool for the job.

If you are simply hooking up to one or two projectors in your theater by remote control because you think it's cool, maybe you should rethink the job you are trying to accomplish.

Using your smart phone just because you can is the logical equivalent of flying a helicopter just to cross the street. [Wink]

Posted by Roy Williams (Member # 7043) on 11-04-2012, 01:39 PM:

I would say use either LogMeIn or iTeleport on the iPhone to control a PC running DCC. And the set up is ridiculously quick and easy.

It would also mean you could make your adjustments in the middle of the auditorium if you wanted to as opposed to being tied to the computer hardwired to the projector.

I don't see it as using a sleddgehammer to crack a walnut, I think once you realise the ease and convenient, you wouldn't look back.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 11-04-2012, 02:12 PM:

quote: Roy Williams
It would also mean you could make your adjustments in the middle of the auditorium if you wanted to as opposed to being tied to the computer hardwired to the projector.

As a technician in charge of maintaining several projectors on a regular basis, it makes sense.

As a person in charge of operating a just a few projectors and making technical adjustments on only a few occasions, it might not make sense.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't operate them remotely. I'm only sayint that you should consider what you really need to do and to choose the most sensible option.

In mission-critical work, where you have to be sure that your shows start on time and play correctly, having extra, complex technology layered on top of other already-complex technology might just be introducing more avenues for problems to occur.

I'm not saying to do it or not to do it. I'm only saying that, when money is at stake, it's often better to keep things simple.

Think it through first.

Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 11-04-2012, 03:21 PM:

quote: Randy Stankey
If you have 20 projectors to run and you need to monitor the status of each one from any place in the theater, maybe an iPhone/iPad would be the right tool for the job.

I found it strange that some cinemas post digitisation that the only way of controlling/monitoring the TMS/projectors was up in the projection suit (technically the office computers could log into the system, but they were too old/underpowered to be any use). In order for the duty manager to monitor/change anything it would take them away from the other duties for some time. The ushering staff do not have any information about what is happening in the screens except a printed schedule or physically entering the screen.

An easily portable device such as a smartphone or tablet may make the management of the venue more easy and improve productivity.

I have seen some venues which use print at home tickets using handheld scanners (similar to those used by courier drivers) which could potentially display information from the TMS system if used in a cinema.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 11-04-2012, 08:42 PM:

Now, that is where I would be in favor of being able to access the projection system remotely.

You're the manager of a Googolplex theater. You're already doing ten things at once. Now you have to keep track of which movies are playing but the only way you have to do that is in your office.

Even if you only had a readout that could tell you all your movies are running on-schedule, which movies are playing and, whether there is an error or anomaly. You don't have to be able to control everything. You just need to know that everything is okay.

In this case, an iPhone app would be the perfect thing.

Even if you ran a twin or a triplet, having such information would be invaluable.

But, you see, in this case, we had a problem to be solved then we decided what technology we could use to solve it. Not the other way around.

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 11-05-2012, 02:06 AM:

Boy that would be handy. Would've saved 2 trips upstairs today alone, and about an hour off of the floor. But alas, I'm stuck in the 20th century with my samsung gravity II.

It can and has been done though, I've seen it. Pretty cool.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 11-05-2012, 08:24 AM:

If you are in a V.P.F. deal, there are limitations in regards to network accessibility for your digital projection equipment.

That being said - a digital projector is a computer with a light engine. There are many different ways to access this equipment using a 'smart phone, a tablet, or a laptop. Depends on what you want to do and for what reasons.