Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Dolby DSS 200 oddities

This is topic Dolby DSS 200 oddities in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 01-06-2019, 07:29 AM:

A collegue used a set of DSS200 he bought second hand for about 2 years as he received them. A few months ago, some issues came up (content not showing up) and, following Steve's suggestions here, I advised him to clean the show manager database, or better, wipe the RAID and set them up new with 4.9.x (he was running 4.8.x before). Now, he had this done by a service company, but some of his issues remain:

- KDM loading takes ages, and is often followed by 'License loading failed'
Strange enough, these KDMs are then still loaded and content is played

- Projector format cues disappear and are not executed in playlists (he uses CAT862/Barco C)

- Carsten

Posted by Peter Foyster (Member # 9599) on 01-06-2019, 07:31 AM:

Just the usual IT voodoo I guess. [Wink]

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 01-06-2019, 07:57 AM:

Well, maybe, but in this case, it doesn't happen just sometimes, but regularly, and that is beyond the scope of the usually IT voodoo on DSS servers, especially since the systems have been setup new from scratch (which sometimes creates new issues as well, but in this case, these issues had been there before).

- Carsten

Posted by Peter Foyster (Member # 9599) on 01-06-2019, 09:38 AM:

Thanks Carsten,

Sorry to be a bit cheeky but I was sitting around waiting for Sunday night's screening to finish so I could clean up and go home. Trolling the forum helps pass the time late at night. [Smile]

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 01-06-2019, 11:40 AM:

No problem, Peter.

I find it funny that the person on the forum furthest away from me on this planet seems to be in the same timezone as me ;-)

- Carsten

Posted by Kevin Fairchild (Member # 4985) on 01-06-2019, 02:51 PM:

Was the CAT862 wiped back to factory settings too?

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 01-06-2019, 03:49 PM:

I have no idea.
I think the KDM issue was present before the reinstall.

- Carsten

Posted by Peter Foyster (Member # 9599) on 01-06-2019, 07:29 PM:

Carsten,

Actually we are 7 hours ahead, so it must have been Sunday afternoon in Germany when I first replied. I posted my last reply just before midnight when I arrived home.

Peter

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 01-07-2019, 07:58 AM:

As KDMs are stored in the media block, I would suggest a clean reinstall of the cat862 firmware. Using the Dolby software update utility, flash the "first install" firmware file, and then the main one, checking the "nuke the bugger and start over" box in the bottom right of the window (the actual wording is "reinstall all components," but you get the idea) for both processes. Note that all KDMs already in the media block will be erased when you do this, so make sure that you have copies of any that will be needed for reingestion.

As for the automation cues, is the projector's type and IP address set correctly in the config script? I once had an issue in which a DP-3000 was replaced with a DP2K-32B. The new projector was given the same IP address as the main projector (not TI) on the old one, but the server (DSS100/DSP100) was left untouched. Thereafter, the site staff reported that automation cues worked on some shows, but not others (though I'm skeptical about this, and suspect that actually, they didn't work at all). Changing the setting in the config script from Series 1 to Series 2 fixed it.

As for timezones, it's east/west that makes the difference, not north/south. For example, Windhoek, Namibia, is only two hours ahead of Aberdeen, UK, despite the distance between the two being 5,604 miles. We occasionally work with customers in the Pacific islands and Asia, where the international date line can really confuse things!

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 01-07-2019, 09:31 AM:

I just checked back with him, and he confirmed that, aside from the KDM issue he already had before the recent reinstall, only projector cues are affected currently. So I assume the integrator did something wrong during config.

- Carsten

Posted by Mike Renlund (Member # 4675) on 01-07-2019, 10:35 AM:

Deleting all of the KDMs on the CAT862 can be done using Show Manager UI. You can then reload only the KDMs you want. There could have been a troublesome KDM that was added that isn't parsing correctly.

If you want to reinstall the CAT862 as Leo suggested, that is a viable option but does not wipe the partition with the KDMs. You mentioned that they are running 4.9.x. Could you be more specific? Current version is 4.9.1.22. It always helps to know the full version rather than just the branch.

You do not need to run the "first install" if that has already been done. It is a one time thing that never needs to be done again. Just upgrade to the current version you are using and tick the "Reinstall All Components" box.

If the problem is experienced again, note the date/time of the incident and pull a set of system logs. You can send them to CinemaSupport@dolby.com and we'll look to see if we can identify the problem.

As to the projector macros, When you set the config script for a Barco projector, the system will read the macros from the projector each time the DSS server boots up. Try powering on the projector fully before booting the DSS to see if that helps. There could also be some type of network issue...but we could look at the logs for that as well.

Mike Renlund
Dolby

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 01-07-2019, 02:26 PM:

Thanks. I might get a chance to visit him tomorrow and do as suggested. I am pretty sure he is running 4.9.1.22, as moving it to that version was the whole idea of the reinstallation.

- Carsten

Posted by Stephan Shelley (Member # 8587) on 01-09-2019, 06:04 PM:

Concerning the projector channel selection I recommend you rerun the configuration script and make sure all the settings are correct.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 01-12-2019, 07:38 AM:

I visited him a few days ago and checked a few things. He IS running 4.9.1(22). I checked the config and everything seems to be configured correctly (series2/Barco). As they had wiped the RAID, they must have run a full config afterwards. I checked KDMs and there are not many visible, basically just those that deal with his current programming.

I noticed though that there were some glitches connecting to equipment (e.g. Communicator connecting successfully to the projector, but then failing to display useful data). Next day, he was able to download error logs, so, currently I assume he may have spurious network issues, so I suggested he replace the auditorium switch first, which is easy to do. The lost projector cues and KDM issue is only on one of his two screens. His second screen get's the occasional red light on the Barco, but that is usually solved with a restart and doesn't cause issues mid-show.

What he says is that when the cues are gone, it's only the projector cues, and they also vanish from the spl builder - all that is left then is lamp on/off and dowser open/close.
If a show is running when that happens, projector cues are not executed, which is a real nuisance, as they don't see it coming, and a missing 3D or scope cue really ruins the presentation.

I pulled all logs and will send them to Dolby, but maybe this is a network or projector issue.

- Carsten