Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Dead Dolphin cards

This is topic Dead Dolphin cards in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 06-11-2016, 06:13 PM:

What is your experience with Dolphin card robustness? A tech suggested to me that Dolphin 1.2 cards die significantly more often than the Dolphin 1.0? What is the future of the FIPS Dolphin 1.0 cards/servers, as they are not CTP?

- Carsten

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 06-12-2016, 05:39 AM:

I think CTP/DCI is really only required if you are under a VPF agreement which requires DCI equipment. Unless you need Dolby Atmos you should be able to run whatever you want with a 1.0 Dolphin. In terms of reliability... there aren't many 1.0 on the field left (Doremi replaced them FOC years ago), clearly 1.2 will fail more often I reckon?

Posted by Steve Moore (Member # 4753) on 06-12-2016, 07:51 PM:

We had two dolphin 1.2 out of our eight around our cinemas, fail within 6 days of each other (on different sites) a couple of months back. As they are all roughly the same age, I hope they are not all about to do the same. Some people have hinted that failing caps on the motherboards could cause a higher dolphin failure rate perhaps.

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 06-14-2016, 03:59 PM:

I've had several 1.2 cards fail, usually on battery change although the recommended procedure was followed exactly. Some have come up "nope!" on the first show after sitting overnight, running and shut down.
Also had at least one 1.0 card just fail while playing a clip.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 06-14-2016, 06:18 PM:

How picky have they been on their warranty timeout?

- Carsten

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 06-16-2016, 09:09 PM:

The 1.0 card unit had never had an extended warranty. Doremi will sell them a warranty and then fix it (replace with DCI 1.2 version, I think) under that warranty. This policy would be nice for cars!

I think all the failed 1.2 cards have been under VPF/NOC warranty.

Doremi has been helpful and gave me some details on the card circuitry. For a while, I've been changing the SM battery with the server plugged in and "backup" 5V power on the motherboard: I think that powers the SM clock with the battery only used for "unplugged" backup.
It takes great care to eliminate the possibility of a battery rolling around on the (semi-powered) motherboard.
I haven't had a card fail when doing it this way.
I think that an "almost dead" battery removed for even a short time will let the RTC hit its critical voltage threshold and crash.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-18-2016, 12:41 PM:

I see so much of this on here that I am waiting to see them wash up on beaches around the coastal areas....

Mark

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 06-18-2016, 03:05 PM:

There are techs telling me that recently Dolphin 1.2 cards die like flies. One said that about every third 2k4 in the DSS200/220->Doremi exchange program died, and that it was the Dolphin card most of the time. Given that Doremi must have received quite a bunch of used Dolphin cards through the IMB/ShowVault upgrade schemes (HFR, etc.), I can only assume they reused many of these cards? Wondering wether they still build new cards?

- Carsten

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 06-18-2016, 04:15 PM:

I wonder if they are repairable or like the first generation GDC cards where you just pitch them and buy a new one? The later GDC media blocks are repairable and come apart similar to how Dolby's does.

Mark

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 06-18-2016, 08:37 PM:

Depending on what fails - and I don't think there's a way to know - Doremi can revive many.