Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: GDC SX-3000 “host & SM do not match”

This is topic GDC SX-3000 “host & SM do not match” in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Taylor Goins (Member # 9458) on 09-29-2017, 02:01 AM:

Any ideas on what this means? Won’t let me do anything else besides “shut down” or “update to fix.” Also says to contact GDC.

I contacted GDC... hopefully they get back to me quickly.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-29-2017, 02:38 AM:

Looks like a certificate issue.

If your machine is still reachable over the network, usually GDC can fix those errors remotely.

Posted by Matt Fields (Member # 3211) on 09-29-2017, 07:11 AM:

Had the machine been powered off for a long period of time or several years old? If the battery on the IMB died you may have lost the certificate and then the IMB will need to be replaced.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-29-2017, 07:53 AM:

Like the others said, battery dead and certificate gone. We get 2-3 calls a month reporting this error message, and that's always the cause of it.

Contact the vendor who sold you the SX-3000, who will arrange for its return to GDC and its replacement. If it's still within warranty, there won't be any charge (apart from shipping). If it isn't, you'll need to extend the warranty, and I'm afraid that you'll need to be prepared to write an unpleasant check.

Once you have the replacement, you may need the media block's public key certificate in order to have KDMs issued for it. Deluxe Technicolor should only need the serial number, but if you play encrypted DCPs from any of the smaller distributors, they will likely need the actual cert (.pem file) from you. To get it, write to cert[at]gdc-tech.com with the serial number of the new IMB, and their typical turnaround time is 12-24 hours.

Once you have the new IMB, I would strongly suggest that you include battery replacement as part of your planned maintenance routine. If your theater has a multiplex usage pattern (IMB powered up 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week), I'd suggest every two years, but if the IMB is powered up for significantly fewer hours than that a week, I'd suggest annually. GDC sells a battery replacement kit, available through your vendor.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-29-2017, 03:14 PM:

In one of those weird coincidences, I was asked to install a used SX-3000 into an NC900-A this morning, and check and verify proper working order of the projector and IMB in preparation for shipping it to a rental customer. The IMB had been on the shelf for about a month, I was told, and before then it was in regular use (though we don't know for how many hours a week).

Anyway, that one was toast, too, for the same reason. No SM light on the front panel, error connecting to Security Manager, wouldn't marry to the projector, goodbye and goodnight. That one will have to go back to GDC for a new battery and certificate, too.

The moral of the story is, I guess, that IMB certificate battery swapouts need to be included in every theater's planned maintenance routine.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 09-29-2017, 04:46 PM:

What an annoying PITA. Every 5-7 years wouldn't be so bad but every 2-3 years is excessive.

Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 09-29-2017, 06:00 PM:

Another pain is that battery holders are not reliable with the extremely low currents running through them. It is often necessary to solder the battery in, ideally using a battery that has enough capacity to keep the system running for 10 years. Nonvolatile memory that would not require a battery is readily available, But DCI and FIPS require the private key to be erased on a tamper. That requires the battery.

Harold

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 09-29-2017, 06:52 PM:

Wouldn't it be more service-friendly to install a battery that needs to be soldered in like that on a short set of leads back to the circuit board? Then when the battery needs changing you could just solder a bit of wire onto the new batteries, snip snip and splice the new battery onto the old wires. No worries about overheating a trace when trying to de-solder the old one that way. All it requires is two pieces of wire and a zip tie to keep the battery from rattling around.

Posted by Taylor Goins (Member # 9458) on 09-29-2017, 11:52 PM:

Yes, it was the battery. The new server will be here tomorrow. Thankfully it was under warranty. Don’t want to know how much a new one would cost outside warranty.

Am I able to replace the server or battery myself? Or best to have my tech do it? It’s a 4 hour trip for them, so the labor a travel is god awful.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 09-30-2017, 05:07 AM:

I put a sticker with the projected battery change date and cell types on every projector I deal with. Sounds ridicoulous with a 5 year estimate, but those 5 years are gone quickly. That said, the Sonys actually measure the cell voltage of the batteries and give a warning on the main GUI when they actually need to be swapped.
The time window to swap the batteries in most systems is pretty short, however, it may be a good idea to give the cell holder contacts a bit of rubbing/cleaning as well, as time permits.

Taylor - I think Mark Gulbrandsen left a couple of photos about the GDC battery change in the forum some threads down.

http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=003029#000005

You can also do a forum search for 'GDC battery'.

- Carsten

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-30-2017, 07:46 AM:

Wasn't GDC able to put a new private key into your IMB, once the battery issue got sorted out remotely? Or did they stop doing that?

It's really great how we rely on such a volatile piece of technology, that needs to be constantly powered, like a miniature nuclear reactor, in order not to blow up on itself. All for the sake of "security".

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-30-2017, 08:17 AM:

Why don't they put an energy harvesting module on that device?

It's a small chip, about the size of a dime that has an RF-to DC converter and some regulation/support circuitry. It converts the RF energy in our environment into useable electricity which can be used to run low-power circuits or trickle charge small batteries or super capacitors.

With all the stray RF that's floating around your average projection room, an energy harvester could keep a memory battery running almost indefinitely.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 09-30-2017, 08:47 AM:

These devices should DEFINITELY have a battery changing battery holder too. That is, put in a good battery BEFORE you change the old one out.

I've seen variations on this idea too. USL on their CAT745 had such a battery slot. Barco has one alternate battery holders.

The problem with solder-in batteries is that okay...10-years later, who pays for the dead board? In our industry, 10-years is nothing. Even in DCinema, exhibitors are going to want much more than that out of this expensive stuff. Film projectors ran for decades. The other problem with a 7-10 year battery life is that the board that needs to be repaired may no longer be "serviceable" which effectively kills the projector/server. Heck, Barco won't even consider servicing a board out of warranty!

Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 09-30-2017, 09:00 AM:

I have seen too many lost keys due to battery holders. The extremely low current, less than 10 uA, requires gold on gold contacts, but batteries and holders are nickle.

Harold

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-30-2017, 10:33 AM:

Oxidation indeed becomes problematic with low-quality contacts, especially after 5 or even 10 years.

The question is if it's really impossible to build a secure design using NVRAM instead of DRAM or SRAM based designs? If Apple can put something in their phones that's stronger than the best tools NSA has at their disposal, it should be doable in a cinema server costing more than 10 times as much.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-30-2017, 11:49 AM:

quote: Taylor Goins
Am I able to replace the server or battery myself? Or best to have my tech do it? It’s a 4 hour trip for them, so the labor a travel is god awful.

With care and common sense, yes. On a GDC, I'd suggest buying the official change kit, which includes a temporary battery pack that you install while swapping out the permanent one. It's simply a case of following the instructions, and then remarrying the SX-3000 to the projector afterwards (which is very easy on a GDC - done through the GDC's front end, so no Barco Dallas key ritual or NEC username/password needed). As you'll be handling the bare board, I'd also suggest wearing an antistatic wrist band.

If you get the procedure wrong (e.g. pull the main battery out without the temporary one being properly connected first), you'll brick the IMB, which is why manufacturers state that battery replacements should be done by a trained tech. But for a remote location, that is looking at almost a four-figure bill to get a trained tech on site, with care, attention, common sense, reading the relevant bits of the service manual first and generally a "take your time and get it right" approach, it should be do-able.

And as long as your SX-3000 remains in warranty, if you do get it wrong, the worst case scenario is that you'll be down for a day or two, which is what would happen if you didn't replace the battery and it ran down anyways, so I can't see that you have anything to lose.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 09-30-2017, 12:54 PM:

Okay Harold...so you need a solder-in...but at least have the provision with a temporary battery holder so the change can be done in the field.

One can also take the GDC approach...two batteries in parallel. Thus you'd have to lose both connections at the same time. This is too critical and expensive to be left to chance, the way it is.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-30-2017, 07:27 PM:

This server has clearly lost it's certificate. It HAS to be swapped out with a replacement server from the factory. The certificate can not be loaded back in at the cinema. I had one unit do this that was three years and ten days old.

A call to Gwenn at GDC to extend your warranty will get you a replacement server to install in place of your's for a very reasonable cost. Do not call Strong for the extended warranty! They quoted my customer 2K dollars for it for a year. GDC is about $500 per extended year and less if you buy multiple years. IDK if MIT even offers the extended warranty on GDC. GDC is working on a battery level indicator that will indicate the level in those batteries to be included in a future version of firmware. But recommended replacement right now is every three years. I'd say don't go a day past three years on them!

Replacing the server is a piece of cake and all one has to do is clear the door tamper and re-marry the media block afterwards. The replacement will have a new much higher serial number, so you will need to notify DeLuxe of this so you can get updated keys. The content will remain, you will just need to make up new SPL's. GDC's Tech Support is included in the extended warranty and they can and will assist you in getting it going again if your own service tech is not reachable. I am training my customers to switch these batteries out themselves in the future. I;m not driving a day in some cases just to swap batteries. It's three screws securing a bar, and they unplug one at a time from the motherboard.

Mark

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-30-2017, 07:37 PM:

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
GDC is working on a battery level indicator...

Very good news. AFAIK, only the Dolby cat745 has this at present (the low battery field in the Show Manager system devices tab). Every single one of the "IMB battery out and screen down" calls I've handled since becoming a service tech has involved GDC products (which isn't a reflection on GDC: it's very likely because we have more service contracts with customers that have these IMBs than other brands), so an early warning system for them would be hugely welcome.

And of course that three years probably assumes that the IMB is being run in a typical multiplex usage pattern, e.g. roughly 12 hours a day, seven days a week. If a given unit spends significantly less time than that powered up, the battery replacement interval needs to be shorter.

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
IDK if MIT even offers the extended warranty on GDC.

We do, and we make our customers aware of that option, both at the point of sale and when setting up service contracts (and not just for GDC products). Whenever I or any of the other techs perform planned maintenance on any system with a media block, IMB or IMS that needs regular battery replacements, we make our customers aware of this, and explain the consequences if the battery is allowed to go out.

We don't want anyone to find themselves in Taylor's situation, and try as hard as we can to prevent it from happening. However, it is inevitable in some cases. A particularly high risk scenario is the mixed use venue (live theater, music, conferences, plus movies on one or two nights a month, or during the off season) that doesn't use their digital cinema system very often. The staff member who was briefed in the post-installation handover leaves, is replaced by someone else who doesn't know about that gotcha ... and the rest is history. It happens a lot less in full-time movie theaters, from what I've seen.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-30-2017, 09:25 PM:

Exactly Leo! Also, so everyone here knows, the interval on the old media blocks and the AR Media block is five years and not three. All of those batteries I have changed so far have been quite strong and only down a few tenths of a volt in 5 to 6 years time.

Mark

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-01-2017, 11:12 AM:

I'd guess that this is because in an old school, full-size server with a built-in media block and dual SDI connections to the projector, the server is designed to stay on 24/7, so the media block's volatile certificate memory is almost never having to be kept alive by the battery (or supercap). An IMB or IMS, though, will typically be powered down for 10-12 hours each day in a typical multiplex situation, which seems to be that the projector is powered down at the end of each day, but the rack next to (or underneath) it is left on.

That having been said, a couple of weeks ago I booted up a DSS200 that had been without power for around a year, fully expecting the cat862 to be toasted. It was OK.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-01-2017, 04:40 PM:

Leo, I think the drain on the SX3000 is harder than on the SX2000AR, even though they are essentially the same mediablock. You can definitely go over 3-years on a SX2000AR.

Oh as for extended warranty...the number Mark quoted is for larger quantities...singles are significantly more than that.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-01-2017, 05:04 PM:

I am pretty sure the 2000AR can go for five years like the generation 2 IMB does. I do not remember if the 2000AR uses the same batteries as the SX-3000 though. I suspect the batteries in the 3000 maintain certificates on both the motherboard and on the media block. In theory they have to have corresponding certs in order for a server to function. This is something that I am pretty sure is embedded in the motherboard of the large servers. I had a customer replace a MB in a server not too long ago and it had to be updated after the fact before the SM could log on.

quote: Steve Guttag
Oh as for extended warranty...the number Mark quoted is for larger quantities...singles are significantly more than that.

Hasn't been for my customers... In fact adding on more servers hasn't lowered the price per server per year. Only adding on extra years at the time you are buying the warranty from them has lowered the per year cost. I have a number of customers that buy two years at a time. The majority are buying one year at a time.

Mark

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-02-2017, 06:46 AM:

The price we have been quoted for a single screen location was hundreds more (direct from GDC). For our plexes, the number you quoted is more in line.

Posted by Greg Routenburg (Member # 1742) on 10-02-2017, 11:10 AM:

FWIW, I wouldn't recommend doing the battery replacements without hardware warranty coverage on either the 2000AR or the 3000. I've replaced batteries in two complexes now following the GDC battery change procedure to the letter and I've had one media block at each site loose the certificates. GDC has been excellent to ship me a replacement media block right away so we only lost a couple of mid week matinees. Just something to keep in mind though.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-02-2017, 11:28 AM:

Agreed. GDC's charges for repairing or replacing an out-of-warranty IMB are punitive. Basically, anyone who chooses to buy a GDC product should keep in mind that the only sensible approach is to keep it in warranty throughout the time they plan to have it in service, and to budget accordingly. As with any major investment in equipment or infrastructure, the total cost of ownership over a given time period includes planned maintenance (which in the case of GDC, means maintaining the warranty) as well as the initial purchase price.

Some other manufacturers only charge what is really a token amount to fix a lost certificate IMB that is out of warranty: in their case, the only significant cost to you is the down time while it's being repaired.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-02-2017, 12:33 PM:

quote: Greg Routenburg
FWIW, I wouldn't recommend doing the battery replacements without hardware warranty coverage on either the 2000AR or the 3000. I've replaced batteries in two complexes now following the GDC battery change procedure to the letter and I've had one media block at each site loose the certificates.

I have not had that happen yet, and I have replaced qute a few batteries in both the 3000's and in the Gen 2 IMB's and internal media blocks. GDC sens out a nifty standby battery holder that you use when changing out the batteries on the internal media blocks. They do recommend measuring battery voltage and I suspect that if it's below their recommended minimum that changing batteries without some sort of standby voltage across it might be risky. But in Gen 2 IMB's I have not found any of the voltages to be much lower than a brand new set of batteries measure. Just a few tenths lower typically. The oldest one I have measure was right at 6 years old.

Likewise on Series 2 ICP's I lost one ICP just by changing the standby clock battery at the recommended 5 year interval. That ICP couldn't be revived and had to be replaced. I wonder what the life is of the soldered in lithium battery on the ICP that actually maintains it's cert??

Mark

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 10-02-2017, 01:46 PM:

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
I suspect the batteries in the 3000 maintain certificates on both the motherboard and on the media block.

What's maintained by the battery is only the private key, the public part of the certificate is stored on traditional storage that keeps state, without power being applied. According to the DCI specifications, the private key must not leave the IMB, because that would immediately invalidate its purpose.

I doubt there is such a storage facility on the motherboard, because there isn't really a need for it. In order to lock an IMB to a certain motherboard for example, there are other facilities, like simply checking a serial number.

quote: Leo Enticknap
Agreed. GDC's charges for repairing or replacing an out-of-warranty IMB are punitive.

I guess it's their way of ensuring a steady flow of "return customers". As a good-minded, technical minded person, it's the kind of stuff that makes you scratch your head, but that's what a lot of business looks like: Squeezing dollars out of those who need it the most.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-02-2017, 03:53 PM:

Yeah GDC really flipped. I remember when Mark used to make fun of Dolby for charging for updates and such. Dolby has nothing on GDC for software (or tech support). GDC is fast becoming the expensive server to keep running and talk about punitive, why encrypt the logs if not to force people to "buy" tech support? Christie, on some series 1 projectors did encrypt their logs but backed off that for late model series 1 and series 2 projectors.

So far, no ICP battery changes have required ICP replacement, for me but every time I handle that module, I cringe. If it isn't the ICP having some bizarre failure, all of the sudden you have satellite connection issues that show up as red (typically)flashing.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-02-2017, 04:07 PM:

It's that punitive cost of support as you guys are calling it that allows GDC to provide the superior support they do have when you actually need it. Ultra Stereo has been the only other company that can brag about having an equivalent level of support. The two are on a par there. QSC would run a close third in my book. None of the projector manufacturers have nearly as decent of tech support.

Mark

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-02-2017, 06:05 PM:

I've always found Dolby's tech support to be excellent, too - it's very rare that you open a ticket on dolbycustomer.com and don't receive a response within an hour or two. They are usually very quick to answer the phone, too, especially if you press the "my screen is down and I need help now" option.

Barco is excellent when you finally manage to get through to someone, but I have had emails to their help address go unanswered until I've followed them up with a call, and then had to wait on hold for tens of minutes until someone answers. On the one occasion I've had to call NEC, they answered pretty quickly and gave me the information I needed. I've never had to ask for tech support from Christie or Sony, and so can't comment on them.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-02-2017, 09:06 PM:

Things weren't too good before dolbycustomer.com existed....

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-03-2017, 05:27 AM:

For the record, I've never had a problem with Dolby tech support but perhaps I'm better connected than most. Yes, GDC tech support has always been excellent. Barco has always been very good for me too and they are the truly 24/7 support company for both techs and getting parts out.

For emergencies, I do tend to use the manufacturer's email/support site route combined with a phone call. They are going to ask for logs anyway so I start by getting logs, sending/uploading and then follow with the call.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-03-2017, 11:34 AM:

quote: Steve Guttag
perhaps I'm better connected than most

And there in lies the actual problem that was occuring at Dolby once certain people departed! If a dealer or company is buying another companies product the end user, dealer and servicing person should not have to be "better connected" than any other tech to get the best service. This not only displays a blatant lack of care about the end user on the part of the manufacturer, but it is simply just stupid. In the end Dolby failed anyways and bought up another company to shore up that end of the company. As I have said for a long time. SR was Dolby's pinnacle achievement and they have been there and are gone. Atmos is a last gasp from them and has also failed miserably. Many existing 7.1 systems still offer a more impressive sound experience than the typical Atmos system does. Dolby was once a great entity with awesome products, but have (sadly) literally become completely unneeded in today's cinema industry, and it's been at their own hand.

Mark

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-03-2017, 07:27 PM:

Gee Mark, I can only say "perhaps" because I cannot experience what others experience. Yet you jump on this and run with it as if it was fact. From what i can tell, if you upload to Dolby Customer with a priority 1 then call tech support with a "critical emergency that is interfering with your show" I've never known them not to respond either instantly or very fast.

I think Dolby SR was great for analog, Dolby Digital did a lot with very little for 35mm film (did enough to effectively put an end to 70mm releases, unfortunately). Atmos is no small achievement either.

You are welcome to like or dislike anything or anyone but it hardly makes it fact.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-03-2017, 10:14 PM:

You seem to forget (all too easily) that for about the first three to four years of Dolby D-Cinema that service did not exist there. The service that existed was Norm with his computer database, or email Norm the logs and they'd get to it and you'd hear back in a day or two. Dolby Engineering in fact had to look at the logs up until the on line feature was started. It was after Mike Renlund went to work there that the actual customer service was finally initiated. This was long after all my customers had decidedly left Dolby behind.

Mark

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-04-2017, 04:28 PM:

If dolbycustomer.com and the log analyzer were Mike's work, then he's made a huge contribution to Dolby's customer service offering (both direct to end users, and via service vendors).

An offline log analyzer app would be helpful, though, like the diagnostics reader app that Barco packages with Communicator. Many's the time I've downloaded a log from a Dolby or Doremi server that is acting up, but have been in a booth with no Internet access or cell signal at the time, and thus unable to put it through the log analyzer there and then.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-05-2017, 01:18 PM:

I'm fortunate in that regard. All but two of the 334 screens I did have either a tms or booth computer, or both. The two that don't have any access are Drive Ins. And there is internet at the motel less than a mile from either location. At one place the owner also lives right across from the Drive In.

GDC has always gotten back to me within a few hours if I send them problematic logs. If they weren't so fast at it then I'd be pretty much demanding an on-line solution from them as well. Right now reading logs is one less thing I have to mess with.

Mark

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-05-2017, 04:14 PM:

Honestly, I've never had a big issue getting prompt customer support from Dolby on the DCinema stuff. Have things gotten better since Mike Renlund started, you bet! Norm was never by himself, as you make it out to be, however.

It is extremely rare that the automated log analyzer points me to something that I may have missed. I use it now mostly as a safeguard. It ensures I don't miss anything.

If you know the date/time of an incident, it shouldn't be too hard for a service tech to look at the logs and see what happened. This is particularly true of the the DSS logs. It is pretty much a play-by-play log (ScreenServer-Aud#-devel) and you don't have to pay extortion fees to get someone to read it!

There are other logs in there, including the mediablock (CAT862 or CAT745) plus many others but starting at the ScreenServer you can get a lot of information. Many times, it is a combination of server and projector. I normally pull them both and compare time lines and can often put a pretty decent picture together.

Mike didn't start the log analyzer thing. That is something that came withe the Doremi buyout...perhaps he had a hand at giving it what to look for. I don't know; I never asked.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-06-2017, 01:46 PM:

It's irrelevant how the log analyzer got started, but it's a good thing to have access to if you do much with Dolby. With GDC it's just not something I have ever needed since they do it PDQ. In the lat 7 years of GDC I can still count the number of server issues I have had on one hand, about to go to the second hand though. I recently had an OS HD become a bit wacky. GDC kept insisting that it could be recovered with the restore feature, however the console to get to the restore feature could not be made to run because the drive itself had issues and was really at end of useful life. Popped in a new OS drive and off it went, within 20 minutes they had remoted in to update the Serial number and the server was back on line all done in about 40 minutes before the joint opened for the day. Now moving to open finger #6 for the next GDC issue!

Mark

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 10-06-2017, 03:17 PM:

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
It's irrelevant how the log analyzer got started

But Mary, you're the one who made the claim Mike Renlund started it. When you're proven wrong, you blow it off. Quite annoying!

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-06-2017, 03:21 PM:

Wow...I was up to server issue 6 for GDC pretty fast, particularly on the SX2000AR and am around 6 on the SX2001.

GDC is only reading the logs because your customers are paying them to year-by-year, which adds into the TCO of the GDC server.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-06-2017, 04:41 PM:

quote:
But Mary, you're the one who made the claim Mike Renlund started it. When you're proven wrong, you blow it off. Quite annoying!

Actually not. I just said that actual service started there when he did. Before Mike arrived things were spotty at best. I have yet to even use the on line interrogator because I have but one DSS-100 left in my service area that will become a door stop when it dies. In fact it was you, and then Lonnie leaving Dolby that caused it all to go down hill!

quote: Steve Guttag
GDC is only reading the logs because your customers are paying them to year-by-year, which adds into the TCO of the GDC server.

Except if one of them does need that media block or server swapped out then all of a sudden you are way in the lead dollar wise over what the warranty cost you on a 6 plex for the year. And I have had to do both of those in the last year, one motherboard too. I have now seven DSS-100 (waiting on the 8th) that have become door stops. No GDC's have become door stops as of yet.

Mark

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 10-06-2017, 04:59 PM:

On a few of my SX-3000 units, I'm getting "Out of Warranty for x amount of days" warnings.

Is this going to be a issue related to this thread?

thx-Monte

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-06-2017, 05:33 PM:

All of the DSS100/DSP100s that I tend to are operational though in two sites they have become the backup server. 3 GDCs have been scrapped, thus far, for me.

You Mark are such a liar. Mike's SX2001 was replaced by an SX3000, by YOU when it tanked. Are you going to hand-wave that one somehow?

And if GDC had the stellar service record you lead on (and I'm NOT saying that don't have a good record) then why the need for paying for the warranty? Based on your numbers of installed servers alone, GDC is collecting over $167,000/year to read the logs of the servers you install and back up some 6 servers (again, your words). And that is presuming ALL of YOUR customers get the multiplex rate on extended warranty. Gee, for $167K/year, I'll read your logs and replace up to 6 servers/year. And given that your servers never have issues, the log reading would be quite lite indeed.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-06-2017, 05:47 PM:

Guys, Mark is just doing his trolling thing again. It doesn't take a rocket scientist (or even a cinema technician) to read between the lines. Whatever he is selling at a given point in time is the greatest thing EVER...until he moves on to selling something else, then that thing becomes the worst item to have ever been invented. And if Mark isn't currently selling it, you are a complete moron for buying or installing it. Did I miss anything?

Same old fabricated facts and general trolling nonsense, different day. [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-07-2017, 11:58 AM:

quote: Brad Miller
Did I miss anything?

[politically incorrect humor]

Just one thing: according to Sam's post, Mark is now Mary. I guess he ... sorry, she ... must have managed to find the time in such a busy schedule of pulling and scrapping Dolby products and installing GDC ones, to have had the Bruce > Caitlin treatment done!

Ironically, that's very much a Dolby tradition. Wendy Carlos, when she was still Walter, performed on an early version of Dolby's "Jiffy" test film, and then later, post-transition, on an SR-D remake.

[/politically incorrect humor]

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 10-07-2017, 12:54 PM:

I believe Walter used the money from Switched on Bach to finance the conversion to Wendy. I saw her a few times at the Dolby office with Ioan Allen. She had a boyfriend.

I changed Mark's gender with a slip of the keyboard and Apple's spellcheck. Sorry Mark. Hope it didn't hurt for too long.

Mark doesn't really sell the products he's promoting, he just gets totally enthused for a while and then onto the next thing.

Speaking of Dolby, i've been gone from there since 1994 but nice to be remembered for that time. I did give it my best. Much smaller company back then. It did get a little smaller a couple of weeks back with a layoff of over 80 folks. Most prominent to us here was the departure of Doug Greenfield and Ron Surbuts. Seems change is afoot.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-07-2017, 01:33 PM:

quote: Monte L. Fullmer
On a few of my SX-3000 units, I'm getting "Out of Warranty for x amount of days" warnings.

This has two implications.

1 - You can't install software updates issued after the warranty expiration date.

2 - If the battery and certificate dies, you'll have to write a big check, either for a one-time battery replacement and reprogramming, or for a new warranty.

As for the older Dolby servers, AFAIK, the DSP100 and DSS200 have supercaps rather than batteries in their internal media blocks. This means that as long as they are not left powered down for any significant length of time, they should be OK. If they do lose their certificates, however, the DSP100 certainly becomes a doorstop, because Dolby doesn't offer them support for them anymore.

I don't know if Dolby will still resurrect a toasted cat862, and if so for how much. I do advise everyone I support who still has a cat862 in revenue-earning service to leave their server powered up 24/7, though.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-07-2017, 02:28 PM:

Leo, we have had DSP100 serviced by the outfit that made them (Dolby has provied their contact/address). They can reload the certificate. So even the DSP100 is viable.

The DSS200 remains a supported product until the end of June 2018, at the earliest so a failed CAT862 can be handled. The last CAT862 I had serviced was only a couple hundred to get repaired (the site had a DSS100/DSP100 as a back up).