Dolby DSS200 Red X - Corrupt File

[MelissaSantoro]

Hello,

I am new to the forum and grateful in advance for your suggestions...

We have a Dolby DSS200 Server that is still chugging along, but recently I've been receiving a red "x" next to files I'm trying to ingest via USB hard drive. I'm able to play these files fine through DCP-o-matic, and have tried multiple formats of drives including NTFS and FAT32.

While the server still lets me ingest, when I go to playback, I'm met with the error that playback is not supported and the file is corrupt. I've attached a screenshot of the red x for context.
Has anyone else come across this error? Any suggestions on ways to mitigate this?

In the meantime, I have asked the distributor for digital copies of the films since we have a screening this weekend...

Thanks,
Melissa

[Leo Enticknap]

The red X either means either that one or more of the the DCP files are corrupt, or that there is some characteristic of your system that makes it unable to play that particular CPL. The most common reason is that you don't have a KDM ingested that unlocks it at this time. But there can be other reasons - for example, is it 60 FPS (which NTSC ripped from a DVD and rendered into a DCP using DCP-o-Matic could be) and your DSS is connected to a Series 1 projector, maybe?

[Steve Guttag]

A red x is not a kdm issue. It is strictly for not-playable. Red lettering (on a show) and a locked padlock would be a KDM not present/

MI7.jpg
LockedCPL.jpg

The red-x means something is missing (could even be the fonts for the captions...Dolby enforces a font file for every reel, even if they are all the same Arial font in all. It could be one has the version file but is missing the OV so they have the soundtrack but not the picture.

Now, if the CPL (clip) is complete/valid but the server is not capable to run it due to lack of capability (e.g. 48fps 3D on a CAT862), then you get a red box

RedBoxCapture.jpg

[MelissaSantoro]

Thanks all. Is there a way for me to see all of the file assets within the server itself?

[Jason Sharp]

Not ideal... but you could try importing the 'corrupt' files into Dcp-o-Matic and render a new DCP.

[Steve Guttag]

That could only works if it isn't encrypted.

The only way to see the files on the server would be with an FTP program like WinSCP, Filezilla and the like and logging in like one is transferring content.

[Harold Hallikainen]

It would be nice if you could click on the red X and get a list of the problems...

[Carsten Kurz]

As you seem to be able to play the DCP/CPL in DCP-o-matic, it has to be unencrypted. Please download the latest version of DCP-o-matic player and perform a verification with it. DCP-o-matic may find something is wrong with this DCP. Also, based on the same assumption, you seem to have the DCP on a drive that is readable by a PC - Mac, Windows, or even Linux. So, you could browse the DCP folder and check the files.

Please indicate the CPL Name here and/or a screenshot of DCP-o-matic player indicating the DCP parameters (frame rate, resolution, format, channel count, etc.).

You wrote 'files' - do I understand right that you get a red X after ingesting for multiple unrelated DCPs? In that case, I would think that reformatting the RAID/sweeping the database/reinstalling the Dolby software could be a solution. Can you play trailers?

[MelissaSantoro]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. Just to clarify further, we tried ingesting individual DCPs on the server as "clips" as well as "packages" and we received the red "x" both times. All of these titles were from the same distributor on the same drive.


I spoke with a rep at Dolby and we were able to do an analysis of the logs.

Below is a breakdown of what we were able to see, but in short... it seems like the xml files were not within DCI compliance.

"One example of our error is:

2023-07-06 13:31:15,411 FATAL [TCP server transport connection thread] STDERR - ERROR: 'Content is not allowed in prolog.'
2023-07-06 13:31:15,411 ERROR [TCP server transport connection thread] util.XMLFormatter - TransformerException occurred formatting the XML. This is an unrecoverable exception so the given xml input will not be formatted. The fatal error logged by the transformer means that the xml was not formatted. It is not a fatal error for the showstore and should not be logged as a bug.

That is mostly internal coding language but I have seen it before if there is something that is not standard for DCI compliance or in the format standards of DCPs. Given that info, this seems to be a packaging or wrapping distinction with this hard drive".

Hope this helps someone else out there if you encounter this issue on a DSS (for those who still have one chugging along!)

[Jim Cassedy]

I had a similar "Red-X" issue with an unencrypted DCP from an independent producer.
I tried it in DCP-o-Matic™️, but there was some issue with the either the CPL or PKL file
( I can't remember which one ) which kept it from playing in DCP-o-Matic & the DSS-200.
The producer was overseas, and there wasn't time to ship another DCP-- and they didn't
have the resources to send us a 'cloud copy'.
BUT- - There was no problem with the audio & video files, since I could load them both
into VLC and they played just fine, So, since the two 'content' files were OK, I did what
someone else here already suggested: I simply loaded those files into DCP-o-Matic,
and "re-rendered" the entire DCP- - it worked just fine, and I 'saved a show'

[Dave Macaulay]

Some of the default CPLs preloaded on new Doremi servers would not load in other brands. If I recall correctly the long test clip from some organization (DCI? ISDCF? SMPTE?) showing the wedding scene was one of them. I never tried to figure out why. But there are definitely different things being checked by different servers.

[Carsten Kurz]

How did these files arrive on your site initially? On a disc?

Unfortunately, these messages are still bogus. You could try to look into e.g. the CPL and check which application was used to create the DCP. It will usually say so within the first few lines, you could also quote them here.

[MelissaSantoro]

They came on a Seagate HDD

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

Hello,

I am new to the forum and grateful in advance for your suggestions...

We have a Dolby DSS200 Server that is still chugging along, but recently I've been receiving a red "x" next to files I'm trying to ingest via USB hard drive. I'm able to play these files fine through DCP-o-matic, and have tried multiple formats of drives including NTFS and FAT32.

While the server still lets me ingest, when I go to playback, I'm met with the error that playback is not supported and the file is corrupt. I've attached a screenshot of the red x for context.
Has anyone else come across this error? Any suggestions on ways to mitigate this?

In the meantime, I have asked the distributor for digital copies of the films since we have a screening this weekend...

Thanks,
Melissa

Could the issue be that the server is seeing the files as clips instead of features/packages? Maybe the DCP has separate packages for each reel for example? When I was dealing with DSS200's, I have never had a feature show up as a "clip".

Are these short films? Say under 30 minutes?

[MelissaSantoro]

They’re anywhere from 60min-190min long. We believe the issue to be a packaging issue from the distributor. After speaking with them, they seem new to the DCP creation process.