Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DSS200 recent stable software version

This is topic DSS200 recent stable software version in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Adrian Avram (Member # 7931) on 07-26-2018, 10:53 AM:

Hi all,

What would be in your opinion the most recent stable software version release for DSS200 line of servers, that also works fine with subtitles (95% of the features will have subtitles) ?
Right now I have all my units at 4.6.1.4 (I know it is quite old), which I found to be a
really stable version for me, almost trouble free. I did an upgrade a while back to 4.7.1.10 which went fine only to discover that 9/10 times it would not load the subtitles, and I had to roll back to 4.6.1.4 again (arround 25 DSS200 servers).
I'd love to hear your opinion on this matter.
I'm bringing this up, because I have an issue with the latest Incredibles DCP, which I think it might be related to the outdated software version.

Adrian,

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 07-26-2018, 11:27 AM:

The version currently available for Download from Dolby is 4.9.1 (18). If you are using your servers with cat745 IMBs, there is no charge for the upgrade; if you are using the cat862 (built-in) media blocks, there is a small charge per server or per site. Contact your local Dolby dealer to buy the upgrade KDMs.

There have been bug fixes related to SMPTE DCPs in updates going back many years. You'd have to look in the release notes for the specifics, but I think it's entirely possible that 4.6 could give you problems with them. Dolby and ISDCF are advising that owners of DSS100/DSP100s should upgrade them to 4.7.8.7 (the final version published for those units) to ensure compatibility for SMPTE DCPs, which would seem to imply that 4.6 has significant bugs related to them.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-26-2018, 11:59 AM:

Leo, you blinked...the current software is 4.9.1.22

Posted by Adrian Avram (Member # 7931) on 07-26-2018, 12:07 PM:

Thank you for the feedback Leo, I know there is a charge per server to get the upgrade KDM's.
I also don't necessarily need the latest release either.
What version past 4.8, or 4.9 is a stable one, from the user's experience ?
I should start upgrading all my units, with SMPTE DCP's in mind (maybe other improvements as well), but I need to do it to a good known release (cause there will be very hard to get back to them in case issues do appear - long distances between cinemas).

Thank's

Posted by Stephan Shelley (Member # 8587) on 07-26-2018, 02:56 PM:

4.8.7.21 is stable and works with SMPTE subtitles. It does lack some of the features introduced with the 4.9.x series of software. 4.8.7.21 is mostly for theatres running DSS/DSP 100s or a mix with DSS200/220s. It does run fine on the DSS200.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 07-26-2018, 03:20 PM:

The last versions of 4.7 (4.7.8.7) and 4.8 (4.8.10.4) are pretty stable. In fact, if running 4.8, I would run nothing but 4.8.10.4. 4.8.10.4 has Caption fixes in it as well as CAT862 fixes in it.

4.8 brings with it "instant start" after it checks licenses the FIRST time. That is, it will check licenses when the movie is first selected but when it is time to start the show, it just starts (CAT862, the CAT745 was always instant start). There are other features, like The intermission play list that came in 4.8 but for the average every day user, instant start was a big one. So, I'd say that 4.8.10.4 might be the most stable of the releases.

That said, we are not having too many problems with 4.9. I have one site with a DSL100 that has had some fits with 4.9...just odd slow downs/lock ups. The DSS200s have been fine with it.

With 4.9 you get the ability to save/load serial commands via FTP/SSH command combination. You also get to have it communicate to one device via Ethernet.

I'd say that 4.9.1 is reasonably stable. I've had a few oddities, as mentioned but, for the most part, it has been pain free. The licensing for 4.9 IS VERY VERY reasonable too. It would be cheaper to buy a license for 4.9 than 4.8 unless they lowered the price on 4.8...I suspect that they'll just tell you to upgrade to 4.9.

Posted by Stephan Shelley (Member # 8587) on 07-26-2018, 04:38 PM:

Oops meant 4.7.8 in my post

Posted by Adrian Avram (Member # 7931) on 07-28-2018, 02:16 AM:

Thank's Steve for all the informations from your post.
I will most likely go with 4.9.1

Adrian,

Posted by Adrian Avram (Member # 7931) on 08-07-2018, 10:21 AM:

Update!
I went on and purchased upgrade keys for v4.9.1.18, and already upgraded several DSS200 servers (arround 50 minutes or so/server). So far so good, many are in line to receive the update still, hopefully everything will go fine with all the units.
[Smile]

Thank's
Adrian

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-07-2018, 07:32 PM:

4.9.1.22 is current. Same license as 4.9.1.18

Posted by Nerijus Marmokas (Member # 6712) on 08-27-2018, 02:25 AM:

Hey guys,

do you have any problems with SMPTE subs on DSS200 + DP2K32B projectors? If you have subbed features, that is.
We have Dolby version 4.9.0(96).
Couple of the features with SMPTE subs had issues like - No subtitles or dissapearing subtitles in the middle of the feature (also resulting the projector going to an error state - ti-icp - read system status failed).
We have plenty of SMPTE content, bu only couple of them caused problems so far.
I wonder if you guys had any similar issues.

Regards,
Nerijus

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-27-2018, 05:53 AM:

Nope. No problems on subtitles or captions with 4.9.0.96. The server can't cause an ICP error (ICP read state error). Note, ICPs and the whole subtitle engine by design is a bit touchy.

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 08-27-2018, 07:16 AM:

There's some instability introduced in the ICP after multiple firmware upgrades. Doing the ICP recovery procedure resolves the problem. Getting that error randomly especially during diagnostic package generation is a symptom.
The server won't scramble an ICP - running the subtitle engine may be triggering a software or even hardware problem though.

Posted by Nerijus Marmokas (Member # 6712) on 08-27-2018, 10:16 AM:

I don't fully understand how SMPTE subs work, but I guess as they are decoded by the server they are still sent as text to the projector? So depends on server model or software version it may be that some characters/fonts etc. could cause the ICP to fail. No?
Keeping in mind that DSS220 servers and same gen Barco's with same gen ICPs do not have this issue. Still trying to wrap my head around this issue.
Our colleagues from global chain had even more issues with some SMPTE titles. On the other hand Steve said they had none. It looks to me that depending on how SMPTE content is made, probably because of combination of font settings and special characters it may upset the ICP too much. But as subs are decoded by the server, it may decode special chars faulty.. Just thinking..

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 08-27-2018, 01:40 PM:

Well, you can probably make both Interop and SMPTE subs to break a renderer if you try. So, the question is - are you positively sure that both server and projector (all subsystems) are running current software? If yes, I would suspect your DCPs to be problematic. You would need to setup a list of features you play, and which caused errors, maybe you will gain some confidence about what is going on. Yes, as Dave said, some DLP processing boards (both series 1 and 2) were prone to accumulate some issues over time, even when running current software. While I haven't heard about any of those issues causing immediate problems with subtitles, it is not too unlikely.

Interop and SMPTE subtitles, when rendered by the projecor, work quite similarly tech-wise - XML is sent from the server to the projector, and the ICP renders the text in realtime. There are certainly important differences, but the mechanism is the same.

I would try to pinpoint a pattern in the non-functioning DCPs. At the same time, start a machine logbook and identify all types, software versions, etc. of your equipment. That is always a good thing to have, incl. IP addresses, etc.

- Carsten