KDM Embargos

[Geoff Power]

Been having issues with late delivery of some KDMs. For example, one was not issued until Saturday morning for a film showing Monday morning. As a small, largely volunteer run cinema, we have minimal weekend staffing, so this gives us concerns. Checking with a contact at Motion Picture Solutions I'm told that film distributers often apply embargos on the KDM, apparently for security reasons. But where's the logic in that? I thought KDMs could not be hacked, and anyway we have an infinite stock of expired KDMs to play around with if we so choose.
Is there really a danger that a pre-released KDM could be hacked and a film pirated before release? As a small "art house" cinema we are always some weeks behind the national release dates anyway.

[Juan Jose Garcia Calvo]

Here in Spain some distributors make something like this.
You're right: I think there is no sense retaining the KDM until a few hours before the first show, only to make us know they have the upper hand.

I live some km away from our cinema, and we make show 4 days a week (Friday to Monday). If I receive the KDM a week before, I can ingest it and check if the server gives OK, but if they send me a day before the first show, I need to go to the cinema in advance to check it or going to the cinema 1 hour before the show (as we do usually) and take the risk to have a problem with the KDM, the CPL...

Regards.
JuanJo

[Leo Enticknap]

As a small, largely volunteer run cinema, we have minimal weekend staffing, so this gives us concerns.

Could you not put a solution in place that enables remote access to your system (e.g. a PC with Teamviewer or Logmein in the booth), and ingest KDMs that way if you need to?

This paranoia could stem from the fact that, some time back, there was an article about a hack attempt that involved early GDC media blocks on pre-DCI firmwares. Some theater owners in China were changing the clocks (or having the servers determine KDM validity from an insecure BIOS clock - can't remember which) such that the KDM was open whenever they wanted it to be. DCI-compliant media block firmware closed this loophole (and this is why upgrading from non-DCI to DCI is a one way ticket: you can't downgrade back again afterwards), but I suppose it's just possible that a few people have kept their equipment running ancient firmware for fraudulent reasons.

[Geoff Power]

Could you not put a solution in place that enables remote access to your system (e.g. a PC with Teamviewer or Logmein in the booth), and ingest KDMs that way if you need to?

Nice idea, but unfortunately our server/processor/projector are all on a single power circuit and are powered down out of hours, with no way to remotely activate.

The pre-DCI issue is certainly a viable explanation, although as I said we're never showing films immediately on release, and anyway most films show in the US weeks ahead of the UK, so pirate copies are available prior to UK release (or so I'm reliably informed).

[Frank Cox]

There are power bars and the like that can be turned on and off through some kind of a webpage. I've never seen or used one but they do exist.

[Jon Dent]

Edit: I made a useless post, but I can't delete it.

[Jim Cassedy]

Help! I just read a useless post- - and I can't un-read it.

[Carsten Kurz]

One? It's TWO!!

[Juan Jose Garcia Calvo]

Nice idea, but unfortunately our server/processor/projector are all on a single power circuit and are powered down out of hours, with no way to remotely activate.

The pre-DCI issue is certainly a viable explanation, although as I said we're never showing films immediately on release, and anyway most films show in the US weeks ahead of the UK, so pirate copies are available prior to UK release (or so I'm reliably informed).

We use a chinese Broadlink WIFI Switch plug (less than $10) connected to one of the two (redundant) power supply in our server, and I entered in the setup (PC motherboard) of our server to activate the "power on when receive AC supply". This way we don't lend the whole server to the chinese server switch, as they have one of the power supply connected direct to AC.
This way, when I switch ON this wifi device, the server powers on, and when I finish, I power down the server though ANYDESK, I wait for a minute, and then I power OFF the wifi switch.

We can do this thanks to our booth have both continuous AC supply (for the SmartJog receiver server) and independent switches for projector, server, audio....

We use these switches for the drink coolers (they are easy to schedule), heater thermostat, ... It make us life easier...

[Jon Dent]

Help! I just read a useless post- - and I can't un-read it.

You're welcome.

[William Kucharski]

There are power bars and the like that can be turned on and off through some kind of a webpage. I've never seen or used one but they do exist.

This is one of the more common units:

https://www.snapav.com/shop/en/snapav/wattbox

[Leo Enticknap]

Sorry for the shameless plug, but we make one, too.

[Randy Stankey]

We use a chinese Broadlink WIFI Switch plug...

That's an awesome idea! But, I would never use a consumer grade electronic switch for mission-critical applications in a theater or in a semi-industrial setting.

I worked in a shop that made electronics and I understand a lot about how things like that are made. If you have seen some of the bad solder joints, crappy wiring and shoddy workmanship that goes into some of those cheap, Chinesium* consumer products, you'd shit your pants! I'm surprised that half that shit doesn't burst into flames two minutes after you plug it in!

I would never connect a system worth many tens of thousands of dollars to a cheap, Chinesium* power strip!


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( * "Cheap Chinesium"... as opposed to "High-Grade Chinesium"... It does exist but it's much less common. )

[Leo Enticknap]

I need to watch what I say when my six-year old son is in earshot, because in response to his Kindergarten teacher discovering that some piece of classroom equipment or other didn't work, he piped up, "My daddy said that when that happens, it's because it's CCG."

Teacher: "CCG? What is that?"

My son, without missing a beat: "Cheap Chinese garbage."

This was a couple of days after he told his classmates that if it started to rain during the walk across the playground to the pick-up line, they were buggered.

[Randy Stankey]

I have seen solder joints in consumer electronics where somebody literally dripped solder onto the terminal then pressed a piece of stranded wire into the molten metal. The wire was only stuck there by adhesion. It wasn't even embedded. You could pull it apart with your fingers.

After a year of Vo-Tech school with an instructor standing over your shoulder hollering, "Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!" you'll have a different attitude about crappy workmanship! Crap like that makes me so mad, I feel like going Postal on somebody's ass!

I have no problem with using "CCG" to describe crappy work!

Luckily, most American school kids probably don't know what "bugger" actually means or your son probably would have gotten sent to the Pricipal's office!