Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Most complete CP-200 installation possible.

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 04-11-2015, 03:29 PM:

Just out of curiousity I have been thinking about what this would be. Assume four projectors, all 35/70 and fitted for mag and digital. What would be the most complete installation of Dolby equipment based on a CP-200 processor that you could make?

Obviously start with the CP-200 Control, Processor and Aux units. I don't think more than one Aux unit was ever required, was it?

Then add two power supplies.

You'd need a SRA-5. (Why was it a 5 by the way; I've never seen any other version?)

Then I'm pretty sure you could connect two MPU-1s, and use the switching in both those and in the CP-200 to connect the four projectors, ten tracks in each.

How do you handle digital with more than two projectors? Was it possible to install two DA-10 or DA-20 units? If using the original Cat. 699 sound heads then you'd need the exciter lamp power supplies to go with them. How many exciter lamps could each of these supply?

Surround decoders. You'd want a SA-10. I'm not sure what the SA-5 was for, was this ever used with a 200? The SA-2, 3 and 4 were not intended for use with the 200, but I have used a SA-4 to hold a Perspecta card, so maybe you could do this with a 200.

We'd better have a Screentalk controller.

Four remote control units.

Have I missed anything else which could be added?

How much rack space would this take in total?

Posted by Stephan Shelley (Member # 8587) on 04-11-2015, 03:52 PM:

You would need at least 2 DTS units for 4 projector DTS 70mm. Rather than the SRA-5, 280-t and 222 use a rack with 6 Cat 300 SR/A cards. I have seen this done. Also need an EX unit and a DMA 8+

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-11-2015, 06:36 PM:

Really?

Do just a bit of research here on Film-Tech. I posted Pictures of a reasonably well tricked out CP200. It has 4 projectors on it (just 2 35/70s so yes, there could have been another MPU-1) but it does have an SRA-5 and an SA-TEN for EX...SR for 70mm is handled by card swaps but at the Library of Congress, I did use Panastereo SR35s (three of them) in line with the MPU-1 for format controlled SR). For Dubbers, external 363s with CAT300s loaded were used. In order to keep the buss levels right for pro (+4dB ref) versus cinema (100mV on the Mag inputs), they were not used for film. At the Library of Congress in Culpeper, I also did Surround EX inside the ACC rack...all format selectable. The AFI has the Studio Interface SI-1 (transformer isolated and with trims to allow +4dB sources to work at the cinema buss level of -8.2dB. At the AFI/Silver we also used the Pennywise DF-1 to allow the CP200 to be controlled via RS-232 (Crestron Control). We developed our own interface control board to buffer and allow the various logic lines of the CP200 to control many external sources and to allow for a digital priority between DTS and Dolby digital.

I've never done a the "offical) mid-theatre P/Q (I don't know if the modules were ever even made...Sam Chavez would know) though I have done mid-theatre EQ with stereo and 4 channel surrounds but via DSP units more suited to it.

We did also make our own "Kit F" so that all formats may have a speaker interchange so "Flat" movies keep the sound within the screen image or at least keep it within reason for things like 1.66 and 1.37.

The Three right most racks in the photo below are pretty much either controlled by the CP200, feed the CP200 or are fed by the CP200.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 04-13-2015, 09:41 PM:

The most complete CP-200 I know of was the Directors Guild in the old location. 4 machines, 2 AA2, 2 XL but with 4 track and 3 spindle magazines on the bottom. Need 3 power supplies; had 2 fully set up mpu. Louis Eales would know.