Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Unable to Upload Content to Sony Project

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Posted by Emma O'Leary (Member # 9641) on 09-04-2016, 07:10 PM:

Hi! I work at a small art house and for at least a year the projectionists have been unable to upload content directly from the computer to the just ONE of the projectors. On all of the other projectors there is no problem sending information to them from the computer. However, on this one projector we can only ingest hard drives locally, although we are able to upload keys and delete content from the computer.
Despite asking upper management on multiple occasions to send someone with better knowledge to help fix what we've been told is a hard wiring issue, we've received no help. We've also tried contacting Sony, but with no avail. Is there anyone here that has encountered this problem and knows where the disconnect is and how it can be fixed?

Other information:
The projector model is a Sony SRX-R320

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 09-05-2016, 04:32 AM:

Hi Emma,

I guess there is little chance we can help from here. The LMT300 in the Sony 320 is a bit more complex to set up for network operations.

You probably need to find an integrator with some knowledge to fix this. Or have a local IT guy make himself familiar with it. Do you have all the manuals for the Sony? Who installed this system initially?

- Carsten

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-06-2016, 05:23 PM:

Why Sony is bailing out of the cinema business. That LMT300 system is so proprietary..

Posted by Ioannis Syrogiannis (Member # 3235) on 09-10-2016, 01:24 PM:

The LMT-300 does not have an FTP server.
That means that no FTP ingest can be achieved remotely, in the fashion it can be done with dolby, doremi, alchemy, XDC, the Sony 500 series and so on.

What can be done, since version 1.7 of the LMT, is to create a shared folder and register it with the server (Settings>Folders via the SMS Controller), so it can ingest, as much as export, content from and to it.

On the server side, one would need user permissions to alternate the folders settings and the SMS Controller.

Is it possible?
If yes, I think that is your solution.

Posted by Sascha F. Roll (Member # 9043) on 09-10-2016, 04:19 PM:

Monte, you should really stop to talk bulls**t like that. Or you name your sources. Thanks.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-11-2016, 05:17 AM:

Read that Sony is dropping the SRXR320 unit for the more compact SRX-R515P, and the smaller SRX-R510P that uses the SXRD display and uses the high pressure mercury lamp modules.

Looks like the change is happening in Europe for the time being.

www.sony.co.uk/pro/product/digital-cinema.../srx-r320/overview

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 09-11-2016, 05:21 AM:

Monte,
That does not mean 'bailing out' to me. They are simply going on with the technology. Have you seen the 51x series and what a dual stack can do?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-11-2016, 09:16 AM:

Sony should bail out of the projector line completely. They are nothing but piles of shit.

Mark

Posted by Sascha F. Roll (Member # 9043) on 09-11-2016, 09:52 AM:

Maybe you should tell my costumers with R51x projectors (>60 that i personally take care of, there are a lot more installed by other companies), which are in general very happy with the quality and reliability of the machines.

Plus with the XCT-S10 server I never had ONE software update thst introduced serious bugs. It's just working.

And FYI: A super low-contrast NEC NC900 with the ''uber-reliable" Lens Shift / Focus is about 27.000-29.000 € in germany. You can get a SRX-R510 for 33.000 €. 4k, higher contrast, better lens, 'real server' with CRU/USB3, reliable. It's just a huge machine.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 09-11-2016, 09:55 AM:

As compared to what? A Christie Duo system or any of the RGB laser systems using DLP?

Oddly enough, I'd think Sony would have wanted to jump on lasers first since that technology really helps LCoS but no, Sony has gone back to using multiple A/V projector lamps and wow...6 of them!

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-11-2016, 09:56 AM:

Sony's are still awful systems no matter what angle you look at them from. Wait till your customers have to have the imaging chips replaced and then tell me how much they actually like them. The imaging chips all eventually turn to toast starting with the green chip. And absolute black in a theater is completely meaningless since there is so much stray light from aisle lighting and exit signs that are required for safety that you can never achieve absolute black anyway. Oh... and don't forget the light scatter factor caused by the screen itself. Keep on dreaming though... I have no doubt your intentions are good.

Mark

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 09-11-2016, 12:11 PM:

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
And absolute black in a theater is completely meaningless since there is so much stray light from aisle lighting and exit signs that are required for safety that you can never achieve absolute black anyway.

8000:1 is not absolute black. Is blacker than 1600:1.

You have clearly never seen a 51x in action in a cinema.

You may like them or not but you cannot dispute the facts. What Sascha says is spot on. They are reliable, provide excellent picture and they simply do what they say. The engine requires a little more maintenance but nothing terrible.

Never heard of issues with the green chip - or with any chips to be honest.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-11-2016, 01:32 PM:

Marco, It's nothing to do with what the projector can do. In this case stray light in the theater determines the actual black level capability of the system. And you have to factor in light scatter from the screen itself. So Sony's ability to do absolute black is actually pretty pointless when you take in the big picture, because there is never going to be absolute black on the screen. Also, have seen enough brownish colored images out of Sony projectors due to fried lcos imagers around here to never want go back to those sites again. In fact when AMC took on Sony they got extra imagers for each projector that was installed included as part of the deal. Not like AMC is actually giving all their locations any top notch service...

Mark

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 09-11-2016, 02:22 PM:

I see your point but you keep saying "absolute black". We are not talking about absolute black here. And 8000:1 is very noticeable in a theatre.

As I said, you never seen them in action - or if you have, you were distracted!

Posted by Ioannis Syrogiannis (Member # 3235) on 09-11-2016, 02:25 PM:

O.K. I couldn't keep being on topic, I had to write about irrelevant issues too.
Without wanting to be a Sony's defender here, I don't want to propose Sony as having better image than other vendors out there, especialy due to better lens:

There is a merrit of truth on what Mark is writing about, regarding high tempratures on the light engine on Sony 320s.
Yet, in the 500 series' LPD unit, the blue colour went up and got a UV cut filter.
That issue is not noted to be as serious as it was on the 320 series.

Recently, a new kind of air filters were introduced.
I realy hope that they will reduce the problem of filter contamination with dust, that is more frequent, yet less serious in terms of cost of maintenance.

Regardless of which company we think wears the crown of the best screening, we can safely assume that Sony is not bailing out the cinema business.

Emma, if you 'd like, let us know if and how you solved the problem.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-11-2016, 06:39 PM:

Actually Marco, I have been to screens with them lots of times, always with varying results from poor to barely acceptable. The image always seems dim. But its interesting that Regal has stopped installing them in all new builds. They are building a new Regal just down the street from me and its going to be all Christie. Cinemark held out for Barco 4K.

The only reason Sony even has any installed base here in the USA is because they gave the projectors to the two chains and are collecting the VPF's. Strong took over the Sony NOC and warehouse in Atlanta about two years ago.

Mark

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 09-12-2016, 12:25 AM:

Then you are biased Mark, I'm sorry. We can talk till tomorrow about many aspects of Sony machines but when it comes to picture quality on a properly serviced 51x machine, then you can't say anything.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-12-2016, 02:32 AM:

Simple question on the usage of High Pressure Mercury lamps: when they get age, is it true that, instead of just going blah as with xenon lamps, the modules actually are emitting slight color shift due to the fading of the lamps?

And you got six modules in a projector (and, can they be changed out on the fly as with the 900C ?) is there some sort of monitoring device on the unit that are monitoring the six modules and displaying which one needs changed?

Still though, I agree with Steve: With laser technology, why didn't SONY jump on this bandwagon to compete in the market? Thus, are they planning on being confined to the smaller screen markets and let DLP take over the lead?

Just interesting how a business operates at times.

-Monte

Posted by Pietro Clarici (Member # 4937) on 09-12-2016, 09:12 AM:

quote: Monte L Fullmer
Still though, I agree with Steve: With laser technology, why didn't SONY jump on this bandwagon to compete in the market?

The official response is that at this point they don't need to: the 5xx series already has the best contrast in the industry outside of Dolby Vision, and even a quad-projector stack like the one they installed in Germany costs less than a high-end RGB or 6P laser (so they say). Anyway, according to my sources they are developing custom diodes in-house and there will be a small hybrid laser machine coming in 2017.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 09-12-2016, 09:24 AM:

Yes, each lamp has a little board on it that keeps track of runtime and lamp model. The projector features an algorithm that compensates for colour drift but Sony claim that they're not using the part of the spectrum that is most subject to colour drift.
It's dead easy and does not require alignment or protection.

Currently laser machines are terribly expensive (I'm not talking about phosphor lasers). The 51x is not targeted to huge screens - even though the dual stack can provide an extremely good result on a big screen. Besides the demos, I had a chance to watch the same movie in 4K XpanD (6fL on white screen) and 4K Sony 515 dual stack and the dual stack won hands down for both contrast and comfort of vision (I hate triple flash!). The system can adjust convergence automatically (electronically) via external camera and a special command which can be embedded into a show. And it works pretty well!!

We're a little off topic here though, not sure whether we should move somewhere else?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-12-2016, 12:09 PM:

quote: Monte L Fullmer
Still though, I agree with Steve: With laser technology, why didn't SONY jump on this bandwagon to compete in the market?

Even NEC has jumped on the Laser bandwagon in a big way for cryin out loud. You can get an NC-1100, NC-1201, NC-1040L 4K projector from them off the shelf already. Sony ignoring laser only tells me that Sony has zero interest in continuing their negative profit projector line past a certain point in time. If that's not obvious to everyone then nothing is going to be. And if you never knew that Sony has always been negative on profit in the projector line, then so be it.

Mark

Mark

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-12-2016, 12:20 PM:

I want to like Sony products. Years ago, they used to be the best. When I worked as a TV salesman, Sony was the top product we sold. I don't know why but, lately, Sony seems to have turned to crap. Today, you could hardly pay me to take a Sony product.

Sony products always seem to use proprietary technology that is incompatible with everything else except other Sony products. Remote controls. Memory sticks. Cables & connectors. Battery packs. When you buy Sony, it seems like you'd better be prepared to go all-in and buy everything Sony or else you'll have a heck of a time getting things to work together.

You often can't even use a regular screwdriver to set up or repair Sony equipment. I used to have a hell of a time replacing Philips head screws that people would strip out until I learned that Sony doesn't use standard Philips head screws. They use JIS screws that look like Philips but have a weird, tapered point. If you don't look for the dot on the head of the screw +. that indicates that it's a JIS screw and you use a regular Philips screwdriver, you're liable to strip out the screws. Furthermore, very small screws might not have a dot. You just have to know.

When it comes down to it, Sony products are like magical black boxes that take special tools and equipment to set up and repair. It takes special procedures to install and repair Sony.

The quality of Sony products has gone downhill so much that it isn't worth it to buy Sony in the first place.

If I owned a movie theater company that had 1,000 screens... one hundred locations around the country and a dozen or more theaters per location, I would never outfit them with Sony projectors. A suite in Las Vegas filled with hookers couldn't convince me to buy Sony. I'd have to completely refit my theaters then retrain and resupply all my technicians. It's just not worth it.

When I worked for Cinemark, Sony was the most difficult company to work with. Christie, USL, Dolby and others were much more accessible. You could usually get answers and solve problems with a phone call from them. With Sony, I'd be lucky to get somebody to call me back from voice mail. Other companies sometimes sent factory reps into the field to give us tips and training on how to repair equipment. I don't even know whether Sony has factory reps in the field.

I think that the reason why Sony always seems to bail out of the theater market is because they are so inconsistent. They put out a product and promise buyers that it will be so much better than other, competing products but, after a while, buyers figure out that they've been had and stop using Sony products. Then, when the market runs dry, Sony drops the product line and leaves all the still-existing users in the lurch. This cycle repeats a few times with the next "latest and greatest innovation" that Sony puts out...then drops a few years later. After a few times, customers begin to think, "Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me."

Honestly, I think Sony should partner with Bose! [Wink]

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-12-2016, 01:06 PM:

quote: Randy Stankey
Sony products always seem to use proprietary technology that is incompatible with everything else except other Sony products.

Exactly! They are trying to be the Japanese version of Apple! But even Apple Macs can run Windows...

I was a TV repair guy in the 1970's when Sony was gaining and their TV's were the best you could buy then. More expensive than others but they also had the Trinitron tube. They never broke down and the few that did have problems back then were expeditiously repaired by Sony Service. Today all they produce is throw away crap. A long cry from those days of being the best there was...

Mark

Posted by Ioannis Syrogiannis (Member # 3235) on 09-12-2016, 03:15 PM:

quote: Randy Stankey
You often can't even use a regular screwdriver to set up or repair Sony equipment. I used to have a hell of a time replacing Philips head screws that people would strip out until I learned that Sony doesn't use standard Philips head screws. They use JIS screws that look like Philips but have a weird, tapered point. If you don't look for the dot on the head of the screw +. that indicates that it's a JIS screw and you use a regular Philips screwdriver, you're liable to strip out the screws. Furthermore, very small screws might not have a dot. You just have to know.

Don't want to argue about the policies of Sony, I can understand what Randy is talking about when mentioning "With Sony, I'd be lucky to get somebody to call me back from voice mail." even though I didn't experienced that, yet, I 'll have to mention that, with a Philips#2, you can get *really* deep into a projector's heart.
With a Philips#1 and a #3, you can really tear it apart in pieces.

That is, from a technician's view, a relief.
Especially if you happen to have to open a Kinoton (the other side of it, sorry for pointing the finger) on the next auditorium.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-12-2016, 07:29 PM:

If you are working on Sony as much as you say, I advise you to invest in a set of JIS screwdrivers. It should only cost $20 - $30.

A standard Philips screwdriver WILL cam out of a JIS screw and strip the head if you apply too much pressure.

If you find yourself faced with stripped out screws during an emergency call on a busy Saturday night you'll be cursing yourself for not having the right tools.
(Ask me how I know this. [Wink]

)

If you ask me, Sony ought to supply these tools to any technician whose employer buys their equipment, free for the asking.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-13-2016, 10:17 AM:

In the early 70's when I was a Tech at Panasonic we had all these goofy JIS standard tools there. Even the tools for headphone jack knurled nuts and other Asian oddities.

Mark

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 09-13-2016, 12:04 PM:

Thanks Randy

I knew Sony's screws were different but didn't know the standard.
That said, as Ioannis says, I don't believe I've ever stripped or damaged a Sony screw using my Philips #2.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 09-13-2016, 12:27 PM:

Sony also likes to use M2.6 screws rather than either M2.5 or M3, from what I can tell.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-13-2016, 01:47 PM:

quote: Marco Giustini
Then you are biased Mark, I'm sorry.

Marco,

You're right. I'm biased because its a shitty product that comes from one of the shittiest companies on the planet.

Mark

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 09-13-2016, 03:37 PM:

a clear and accurate technical analysis supported by many facts - like the dreadful JIS screws, OMG!

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-13-2016, 04:47 PM:

You don't just find JIS screws in Japanese stuff , many made-in-China stuff also uses them. Sony normaly at least uses screws that are properly labeled with those tiny dimples.

My trusty set of screwdriver bits also contains a few JIS ones. Usually, you don't strip out the head of a JIS screw with a normal Philips screwdriver, unless you encounter one of those dirt cheap ones that weren't properly hardened or massively over-fastened. You have to watch out if you're using powered tools though.