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Topic: DTS CD-ROM drive upgrade

Michael Rourke
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 159
From: San Luis Obispo, Central Coast of CA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 03-28-2002 12:09 PM

Hello, I have two DTS units that still have the old cd-rom drives that require the DTS cd be placed in a "diskette" and then into the drive.

Supposing I went and bought some moderately priced CD-ROM drives with disk trays instead of ordering the TEAC drives that were specified on this site, would the rest of the upgrade still be the same (SCSI card upgrade)?

I printed out the DTS upgrade available on this site, so I am just looking for a simple answer. Would the upgrade work without the specified equipment that would cost my boss more than he could stomach?

Thanks, Mike.

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Greg Mueller
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1687
From: Port Gamble, WA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-28-2002 12:14 PM

If they haven't failed, I wouldn't replace them. The guys that I talk to at DTS say they are very sturdy drives and last a long time. "Some of the better ones" they say. Other people in the field have echoed this when I've talked with them about it. I think it's the proverbial "If it's not broke, don't fix it" thing.

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

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Darryl Spicer
Film God

Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 03-28-2002 12:24 PM

Definetly do not upgrade unless the Drives are having a problem. If anything you may want to upgrade to the latest firmware chip.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 03-28-2002 12:33 PM

There are original units from 1993 still running with those cdrom drives. Sure the readers have died, but that's pretty impressive...9 YEARS! Definitely keep those drives until they really do die.

Has anyone had a failure on the Teac upgrade kit drives failing yet?

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Michael Rourke
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 159
From: San Luis Obispo, Central Coast of CA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 03-28-2002 01:57 PM

The older units I have at my 7 plex don't act up once they accept the "diskettes", but that can be quite a chore at times. They have prejiduces against certain "diskettes", but not consistanly the same ones.

The newer units at the 4 plex I "inherited" (3 DTS-6D and one 2 deck) do have problems booting, but once the show starts they don't drop out like was mentioned in the review of the Toshiba drives. I expect to run into problems with those in the future. I think they've only been around since just before Phantom Menace came out.

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Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man

Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 03-28-2002 02:03 PM

I have not had any failures of the Teac drives.

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Greg Mueller
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1687
From: Port Gamble, WA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-28-2002 05:39 PM

When you say "diskettes" do you mean the caddies? Sometimes the metal sliding trap door gets goofed up on those and won't open right. Maybe that's it. Often you can find those caddies at old computer recycling places for next to nuthin.

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 03-28-2002 06:48 PM

What about a drive whose light flashes on/off regularly quite apart from any disk reads? Isn't that a sign of impending doom?

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-28-2002 06:49 PM

One thing you might want to check on is that you do ahe the latest Time Code formware installed as applicable to your unit. It can dramatically improve stability of the unit. Also that you ahve the upgraded time code reader as well. The formware and reader upgrade should be done together. As far as the old drives go, keep em till they die!
Mark @ GTS

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-28-2002 06:51 PM

Back when DTS disks were shipped in the caddies, we got one where the small metal decorative plate in the center of the caddy had dislodged just slightly. It was enough to keep the disk from spinning correctly in the caddie, but it was off such a small amount that I didn't notice it until the machine failed to read it. Popped it back into place and it worked fine.

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Karen Hultgren
Master Film Handler

Posts: 492
From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 03-28-2002 07:08 PM

If the CD-ROM light flashes on-off every other second (only Toshiba drives do this), it means the drive is dirty and wants to be cleaned. If the drive is too far gone, it will require replacement.

If the drive light goes on solid, that means the drive cannot read the disc. The disc could be bad or the drive could be dirty or defective.

To clean a CD-ROM drive, you need to get a CD-ROM drive cleaning disc. Don't get a CD cleaning disc, the little brush has to be in the right place = close to the center hole. It's not a super high-tech thing. A tiny brush swoops around as the disc spins and cleans off the laser window. A few spins should do it. We recommend using the disc in each drive once a week or to keep the laser window clean.

We've had very good luck with TEAC 32X drives. They are good little work horses and you'll be happy with them. I know they are expensive but when you replace the drives using a DTS upgrade kit, they are fully warrantied for a full year.

Our ROM-DOS software only supports certian drives. I cannot guarantee that an "off the shelf" drive will work. But, you are free to give it a try.

Karen at DTS

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 03-28-2002 10:21 PM

My friend's theater here in Lawton has three of the old 2-drive SCSI DTS-6 players (circa 1993 and 1994) and none of those drives have failed. He has been dealing with CD drive problems on his 5 other DTS-6D players. At least two or three of them have a drive out, but all have two other working drives. Hopefully Carmike will allow him to get those bad drives replaced before he loses any more.

One thing he has been having to do with the 6D players occaisionally is turn them off and reboot them in between shows when more than one film is doubled up on a particular auditorium. A couple of his machines will act up and not play digital if the CDs are switched out without the player being reset.

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Michael Rourke
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 159
From: San Luis Obispo, Central Coast of CA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 03-28-2002 11:36 PM

To Karen: The CD-ROM cleaning cd wouldn't work in the older DTS units that have the caddies, would it?

If not, how do I clean the older drives?

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Richard Hamilton
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1341
From: Evansville, Indiana
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 03-29-2002 05:44 AM

Michael

I believe that the older drives have a tiny brush built into the drive. When you push the caddy in, it manually pushes the brush mechanism across the laser window. Then when the caddy is ejected, it makes another pass across it. This is probably the reason there are very few of the older drives failing.

Rick

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Karen Hultgren
Master Film Handler

Posts: 492
From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-01-2002 11:48 AM

Richard is correct. The older "caddy-ed" drives had a built-in brush. Too bad no one makes those drives anymore.

Karen at DTS

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