Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Replacement of a HD-SDI board in Barco DP4k-23B

This is topic Replacement of a HD-SDI board in Barco DP4k-23B in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Chris Cooley (Member # 6781) on 03-16-2013, 03:00 PM:

I need some help. I believe the HD-SDI board in the projector is going out. It is currently being used for alternative 3D content with a Doremi 3D Dimension Box.

Everything has been fine, but now the colors will just go completely crazy and the picture looks like a cartoon drawing, then will correct itself, and then it will happen again. Now it stays pretty much screwed up.

I just upgraded all of the software in the projector. The ICP firmware, the Egnima firmware, and the Barco software package. All updated completed perfectly.

Now I got a new HD-SDI card, but I cant seem to load the software into it. When I try to connect using the TI software it will not login or seem to see the card. If I try thru the Barco communicator software its says wrong IP address. I guess because this new card is blank, it doesn't have an address?

Any help would be great!

Thanks,
Chris

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 03-16-2013, 03:15 PM:

There are two pieces to an HDSDI module...the Enigma and the HDSDI board itself. The SDI signal will pass through both so either could have been causing issues.

I would have started my diagnosis during a cartoon color event but going to the diagnostics section of Communicator...first generate a test pattern via the ICP. Is it clean? If not...stop...the problem is in the ICP or Light Engine, most likely. If all are clean there...then run a test pattern (via Communicator) on the HDSDI board and see if it is clean...if so...then look closer to the input of the module.

So back to the problem at hand...with the new HDSDI board...did you also get a new Enigma or transfer the Enigma over? If it is new...check the battery date code (should be a sticker on there somewhere...and on the box it came in)...if it is older than 6-months...then the Enigma may be dead. But your old one should still be good.

Note, another thing you can try is to reseat all of the boards, particularly the ICP and Cinema Controller, in addition t the SDI.

So...if you have a 4K projector...why do you have an SDI board? To take advantage of 4K, you would need an IMB or the Post-Production SDI board (has 4 inputs for 4K).

Posted by Chris Cooley (Member # 6781) on 03-16-2013, 04:16 PM:

Thanks for the fast reply. The problem only seems to affect the HD-SDI connection. test patterns are fine, and the DVI input which is used for all 2D alternative content is always working.

In regards to why I have the HD-SDI board, is because I am waiting for the IMS-1000 to ship. I will use it for cinema content. This is in a residential install, not a commercial theater, and right now the HD-SDI board with the Doremi 3D box gives us Blu-Ray 3D.

Back to the main issue, I guess I got the HD-SDI card, and the enigma also. Im assuming that is the smaller board that is screwed to the top of the main board. It has a battery date code of 06/15/2010.

So are you saying, that I can take my HD-SDI board, remove the enigma, and plug it into the top of the replacement HD-SDI board? If the SDI board is the problem, I can see where this would fix it. If its the enigma board, is there a way to change the battery on the one that came with the replacement board?

Thanks so much for the help!

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 03-16-2013, 04:32 PM:

Yes, you can swap modules...they are normally sent separately anyway as they are two separate parts.

If the battery is dead...there is nothing you can do but ask for a replacement Enigma. It is deliberately designed to PREVENT anyone from doing any service to it. One can purchase/make a changing station to keep an Enigma or Gore Board charged while waiting for an eventual installation. This is why there may be a sticker on the box that indicates the most recent charging.

Posted by Chris Cooley (Member # 6781) on 03-16-2013, 04:51 PM:

Ok I did just that. I took my enigma board and installed it on the HD-SDI board, and had the same problem. So all I can figure is the enigma board must be the cause of the problem. It is weird, it almost seems like a heat issue.

As soon as i turn on the projector and set it to the SDI input it works for about 10 mins, then the colors and image just go all screwy. At first I thought it was the Doremi box, but I already had another one of those sent to me, and still had the same issue.

Ill try to reseat all the cards just to see if that makes any difference, otherwise I guess ill have to wait on another enigma board.

Thanks for all the help!

Chris

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 03-16-2013, 05:46 PM:

The Enigma is responsible for dectrypting the content, I don't think that if it malfunctioned it would affect colours. It should prevent the playback.

Are you saying that when your colours go wild your test patterns are still ok?

I think you should be able to run the projector without the Enigma board, but you wouldn't run encrypted content. I'm not 100% sure of it though.

When you say you cannot "connect to the SDI board", what do you mean? You do not connect to the SDI board, you connect to the controller board, through ethernet or serial. Why are you saying that the board does not have an IP address?

Do you have the same colour issue when running encrypted and unencrypted content?

Posted by Chris Cooley (Member # 6781) on 03-16-2013, 06:19 PM:

Marco,

Looks like what you are saying makes sense to me. I have changed everything i could, and it kept screwing up about 10 mins after the projector was turned on. I put my original HD-SDI card back into the projector with my enigma board. Still had the same problem. Every combination of new and old.

I finally removed all the cards, ICP, HD-SDI card, and the card with all the connectors on it. Re-seated all of them like Steve suggested, and so far it has not missed a beat.
So maybe that was all it was.

When I was saying I couldn't connect to the enigma board, i was meaning thru the TI software. When I would try to connect to the enigma board, the replacement one, it couldn't see it and it wouldn't let me log-in. I think it is exactly what Steve suggested, the battery on it was dead, so it was like the board wasn't even there.

Thanks for all the help! Keeping my fingers crossed that everything is good to go!

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 03-16-2013, 10:38 PM:

The SDI signal flows THROUGH the enigma board so if it is dead/missing, you will not have any SDI signal, encrypted or no. Some companies, like Christie, have an "LD Bypass" function to allow SDI to flow around the Enigma. At present, Barco does not have such a feature.

Note that most every IMB/IMS has SDI inputs to allow for non-encrypted SDI content if they are installed.

Did you ever run the test patterns FROM the SDI board? You can only do this from Communicator's Diagnostics mode and specifically selecting the test patterns embedded in the SDI module.

That said, you may find that the problem is gone for good. Reseating the ICP or Cinema Controller may have cleaned up the connection from the backplane that comes from the SDI module.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 03-17-2013, 01:18 PM:

Thanks Steve,

I was indeed thinking of the "bypass LD" on a Christie and I thought that besides receiving an error message you could actually run a projector without the Enigma.
I'd still expect the signal to be completely lost if the Enigma was defective, not weird. But anything is possible.

Chris,
That makes sense, you said

quote: Chris Cooley
Now I got a new HD-SDI card, but I cant seem to load the software into it. When I try to connect using the TI software it will not login or seem to see the card

and I could not figure out how could you connect to the HD-DSI board!
As Steve said, if it's working now, happy days! Fixing a machine reseating all the cards/connectors happens.