Dolby IMS3000 package 3.5.13 has been released

[Alexey Sokolov]

Probably made a counterproductive decision for themselves... I would like to note that we got along well all the time. And we have a large share of Dolby media players, which has been systematically increasing. There were definitely no problems in cooperation with Dolby. Can you upload the firmware to the cloud?

[Marco Giustini]

I wonder why they (hint: and many others) might have decided to do such a thing. Can't think of a good reason?

[Alexey Sokolov]

Dear Marco, you have an understanding, I am happy for you... how does this relate to my request? If you want to drag the dialogue into a black hole, then I will not take part in it...

[Leo Enticknap]

Dolby has likely suspended sales and support within Russia because of Executive Order 14071, which prohibits American companies (which Dolby is) and individuals from supplying software products to Russian companies and individuals without specific permission from the Treasury in each case. Taking political opinions out of this, it would simply be illegal for Dolby to do business in Russia while that order remains in force, without special dispensation from the government.

[Alexey Sokolov]

Leo, Exactly

[Marco Giustini]

That was my point to be fair. You were blaming Dolby for a "counterproductive decision", hence my sarcastic reply.

[Torsten Juergens]

My integrator just sent me this version, SW16290_3.5.13_v1.1.4_GM-U61-8_IMS3NB-DLB.
A patch is probably no longer on the Dolby server.
Is this the current status?

[Elia Orselli]

No, the hotfix 1.0.0 package is still available. Maybe your integrator considered that the bug fixed is not relevant for your setup:

An issue was identified where the drop-down menu within Device Manager > Projector and Audio Processordid not correctly filter the model based on the vendor selection. This issue was detected on Apple Macintosh computers running Apple Safari and Google Chrome web browsers.

[Steve Guttag]

The hotfix is pretty critical, depending on what features are used and if you are using a Macintosh to interface with the IMS:

An issue was identified where the drop-down menu within Device Manager > Projector and Audio Processor did not correctly filter the model based on the vendor selection. This issue was detected on Apple Macintosh computers running Apple Safari and Google Chrome web browsers.

[Torsten Juergens]

OK, we don't use Apple and the Ovation2 makes the sound.

[Torsten Juergens]

Does bluetooth support for control from a mobile device actually work now?

[Leo Enticknap]

One positive response to the new web UI is that it seems to work a lot better with Firefox. It's always annoyed me that Dolby recommends Google Chrome for using their products' web UIs. This browser vacuums up, and "phones home" to Google with so much of your browsing history and much else besides, that it's essentially spyware. I refuse to have it on any of my computers, and strongly advise anyone who'll listen to do likewise.

With IMS3000 v3.4.11 and earlier, Firefox worked OK most of the time, but it was necessary to F5/refresh after some operations for it to display accurate information; notably after dragging and dropping stuff in Cinelister. 3.5 seems to have fixed this, and after about 10 minutes of playing with an updated IMS3000 yesterday, it appears to work with Firefox (both under Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and with the NoScript, Facebook Container, and DuckDuckGo privacy plugins installed) perfectly, which is a relief.

[Steve Guttag]

I'm glad it's working for you. I gave Firefox a try a couple of years ago and it was just a nightmare of slowness. There was nothing about it that I particularly liked. I use Chrome, mostly, and I do understand that it does indeed spy on everything one does. Then again, the vast majority of installations I have with it have no registered account and just log onto projection/sound equipment...so, I'm not too worried about that. That said, Firefox has enough popularity, and is the defacto standard for Linux, that it should be supported.

[Leo Enticknap]

I've never noticed a slowness issue with Firefox compared to other browsers. I have found that about one site in 20 doesn't work properly, even after allowing it to use scripts and cookies. But there are only two that I use regularly (those of Southwest Airlines and my credit union) that I simply can't get to work reliably with Firefox, and so I grit my teeth and open those with Microsoft Edge. For me, the acknowledged privacy and security advantages of Firefox override any other issues, the slight compatibility one included.

We install remote access PCs at sites that are connected to both a projection management LAN and one with a gateway to the Internet, usually using separate NICs. Despite our advising against it, some customers use this computer for general office and personal use, too, which makes having Chrome on it a significant security risk. Of course, once we sell it to them, it's their computer and they can install whatever software they like on it. But if they want to install and use Chrome, that is their choice and their risk.

[Steve Guttag]

Ah...our way around that is we do not SELL our "Cardinal Care" device (and avoid calling it a computer). This also relieves any IT department of any control of it too. In the event of a discontinuation of service, it is like a cable modem...it is supposed to be sent back but even if not, it will be locked and not for customer use (it is headless, no monitor, keyboard, mouse). The firewall router, that we control but it is something we sell to the client. In the event of a discontinuation of service, we'll put the factory default user/pw into it for the next entity to take over but leave all of the configurations in-tact.

Now, I've seen the client use their TMS computer for a general purpose computer and that do not advise...at all. But, as you say, it is theirs to do with as they wish. The original TCC from AccesIT/Cinedigm/Hollywood Software would wake up into a shell that the user had no way of getting out of so the TMS couldn't be used as a standard PC. Furthermore, due to how Cinedigm had it set up (and running on Server 2003), if the user did make any changes, loaded any programs...anything, that would be a void of support as one of the keys to the reliability of the system was that every system was, essentially, identical...same image of the OS and program. So, if they updated the program in the lab, they knew it would work in the field because of those are clones. We've only retired TCC systems due to the hardware itself wearing out and we're JUST now starting to do that. The IBM system (original) are the first that are having issues now...but otherwise, all of our TCC systems are going strong and not having issues (aside from the consumable HDD but since they were set up with RAID-50 on the data and mirror on the OS drives...it takes a lot to take one down.

As for Firefox...again, the sluggishness of it when I gave it a go was significant.