Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Automate/Device Set Up

This is topic Automate/Device Set Up – NEC NC900, GDC SX3000 in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Taylor Goins (Member # 9458) on 10-01-2017, 05:52 PM:

Had the server replaced, so all the automation cues are gone. They set it up last time, but I guess they didn’t this time. No idea why I can’t figure out how to make them work. Advice? Hoping they’ll help me through phone/email without charging to come back.

Posted by Matt Fields (Member # 3211) on 10-01-2017, 07:03 PM:

Is there another screen with the same setup in the building?

If so, copy the configuration from the GDC of that existing system onto a flash drive and restore it to your new IMB. That should give you the cues, then you will need to change the IP's of the devices section of the automation on the GDC to fit that screen.

Posted by Taylor Goins (Member # 9458) on 10-01-2017, 07:14 PM:

Sadly no, one screen only. Wish I had known this prior... I set up the device screen. But I have no idea if I entered the info correctly. Obviously not since the cues aren’t working.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 10-01-2017, 07:39 PM:

before you sign off one should ensure the engineer finishes the install and all works i suspect he/she needs to come back

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 10-01-2017, 08:02 PM:

The GDC installation and operations manuals can be found online with a
bit of searching.

GDC also produced a series of about 20 informative instructional videos
covering a number of topics, but I can't recall if 'device set up' was
one of them. Some of the videos are available publicly on You Tube, but
most of them are 'for authorized customers only' and you'll have to get
the private links from either GDC or your service company.

(I initially learned almost all I needed to know about GDC's from
watching these 'official' videos)

Posted by Taylor Goins (Member # 9458) on 10-01-2017, 08:39 PM:

He will be in contact with me tomorrow... figuring this stuff out over the phone just isn’t pleasant. Thanks for the help!

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 10-03-2017, 11:32 AM:

quote: Jim Cassedy
The GDC installation and operations manuals can be found online with a
bit of searching.

GDC also produced a series of about 20 informative instructional videos
covering a number of topics, but I can't recall if 'device set up' was
one of them. Some of the videos are available publicly on You Tube, but
most of them are 'for authorized customers only' and you'll have to get
the private links from either GDC or your service company.

While I think that most people somewhat proficient in IT can set up all the basic stuff themselves with just the manual, the biggest problem is usually the automation.

There is no universal guide to the automation that has been installed in a particular room and what interfaces and commands it uses.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-03-2017, 03:05 PM:

Who the heck is your tech? It doesn't sound like he knows what he's doing. If you happened to save a copy of the logs that were sent to GDC they most definitely contain the cues and you can restore your new server from those logs. It is an easy 2 minute procedure and to do that GDC Tech support can talk and walk you through doing it. The server reboots and the cues are back. The only thing the files don't fconfigure is thew IP Address scheme.

Mark

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-03-2017, 10:28 PM:

Taylor - if you haven't done so already, download and save settings and configuration files from your projector, audio processor and any other machine in your booth that allows you to do so. If the ICP in your projector dies tomorrow and has to be replaced, then if you don't have a settings package (or clone file, as Barco calls it), you're looking at having re-do all the macros, screen files, lens files ... basically, an entire reinstallation of the projector (apart from the physical positioning). Same thing with your audio processor and re-tuning the room.

Did your tech and/or GDC advise you to pull a settings/configuration backup from the deceased SX-3000 before returning it? If neither did, that's disappointing.

Whenever I do a service call anywhere now, I pull and save the settings/clone file from the projector, server and audio processor of every house I work on, so that if a situation like this does happen, I (or one of my co-workers, if they are assigned to the call) at least have something to restore as a starting point, even if it might be out of date by the time it's needed. At the last theater I worked, I made these backups monthly, or whenever any major change was made to any settings (colors shot, room tuned, that sort of thing).

Posted by Leslie Hartmier (Member # 7053) on 10-13-2017, 12:42 PM:

I'm not telling anyone how to do anything, but in the case of any hardware (and I have been doing this very thing since I had the ability with anything, including BIOS from computers), I back up the settings of anything I am changing before I change it, then I back it up after I change it.

For example, with the NEC NC900C:
1) I back up the settings using DCC for S2 including the firmware version in the filename
2) I apply the firmware upgrades
3) I reload the settings that I saved (this was a result of finding that, for some reason, on ONLY SOME of the new firmware updates, it would reset SOME settings to default.
4) I backup the settings again, in case the new firmware changes some settings
5) I test all macros, channels, and functions to ensure that everything remains as it should.
6) I pull logs to examine later, just because I always pull logs.
7) I make a copy of settings for location on a USB drive, and leave it with the manager/owner/etc.
8) I upload to our FTP server as soon as I can (if internet exists on-site, immediately)

That list looks like it takes longer than it does. However, once I have left a location, I am utterly confident that the machine I was messing with works as it should.

Same basic routine with GDC machines with differences in ability to do certain things.

1) I boot into Rescue (if possible) and back up the drive image of the old version.
2) I boot into the SMS, back up logs and configuration.
3) I update the server.
4) I reload the settings from the logs and configuration
5) I reboot.
6) I test the server functions, and examine the configuration settings.
7) I reboot into Rescue and back up the OS image.
8) I make a copy of settings for location on a USB drive, and leave it with the manager/owner/etc.
9) I upload to our FTP server as soon as I can (if internet exists on-site, immediately).

I do this whether it is a single-screen or a multiplex. It really doesn't take long, despite what it might look like. It might add ten minutes to the entire process.

As far as I am concerned, if you are unable to back up the settings yourself, you have a right to expect/request the settings and the configurations in case someone else from your maintenance company comes, you have to use a different company, or you just need to reload the settings yourself for some reason.

My thoughts anyway,

Leslie