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Topic: Anyone wanna reccommend a new processor for my booth?

Jan Hackett
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 148
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 04-25-2002 09:41 PM

Stats: Iwerks 8:70 booth 6 channel DTS, one projector, 12 QTS 3400watt poweramps.
Dolby SRA, IED processor with modules giving me a lot of snap crackle pop in dead air. Need new processor. Iwerks is giving me a proposal. What do you guys recomend? Can spend bucks. Please help.

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Jan Hackett
Theater Operations Manager
Extreme Screen Dynatheater
NM Museum of Natural History Foundation

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Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man

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

posted 04-25-2002 09:54 PM

CP-650.

BTW, where is the snap, crackle and pop coming from? Which channel? Have you isolated the source? Is in your exixting processor, or maybe one of your power amps? Is it occuring in all formats?

Find the source before you buy anything..

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Richard Hamilton
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

posted 04-25-2002 10:34 PM

Switch to a MegaSystems 8/70!!! No "Snap, Crackles, Or Pops".

Seriously though, I'm not familiar with an "IED Processor", but my guess is, that's where the problem is. The 6 channels are discreet, so I doubt that the "snap & Crackles" are on the soundtrack.
Rick

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Jan Hackett
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 148
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Registered: Apr 2002

posted 04-25-2002 10:38 PM

paul the ruckas is comming from the center channel and only with no sound playing. Iwerks says it is because it is a cheap processor. They want to sell me a new one and say it happens in all theaters with this processor.

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Jan Hackett
Theater Operations Manager
Extreme Screen Dynatheater
NM Museum of Natural History Foundation

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Josh Jones
Redhat

Posts: 1207
From: Plano, TX
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 04-25-2002 10:51 PM

Sounds like a gimmick to me. perhaps there is a bad EQ card or something? what formats can you run? Dolby digital, SRA, A type, mono, and another digital source, in your case, basically DTS right?

AT my old work they used a DTS 6AD and had a few problems with it from time to time. the sound would drop out and the time code converter would get confused.

Josh

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Sam Hunter
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 779
From: West Monroe, LA, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 04-25-2002 10:57 PM

Is it perhaps Line Noise getting into the center channel amp?

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Richard Hamilton
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

posted 04-25-2002 10:58 PM

Hey Jan,
Does your theater have an overhead speaker? If so, you can't use an "ordinary" processor.

Rick

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-25-2002 11:08 PM

I am pretty sure the Salt Lake City has an IED processor and they have had no problems with it at all. Its been in and running for over a year now.
The Linear Loop Projetor has some minor problems but is by far the best 8/70 machine out there right now, and is priced very reasonably for the performance you get out of it. No other 8/70 projector comes close to the steadiness and shutter efficiency that the Linear Loop has. I however dislike Iwerks approach to the rest of the system, except for the show controler which is a decent piece of hardware. The Panastero 70mm processor is by far the best processor on the market right now, both as far as build quality, and sound performance. Nothing else even comes close to it. You can also build up a special version that will accomodate all 35mm analog formats, all of the 70mm formats, and 8/70 by adding an 2nd 70mm cage which is very simple to do. The 650 is not even in my catagory as a processor and is not something I would sell to my customers. It cannot handle 8/70 playback anyway. I'd stay away from Iwerks except for the projector end of things and hire an INDEPENDENT SOUND CONTRACTOR that can give you lots of good refrences on past jobs he or she has done. STAYING AWAY from dealing with any of the large format companies usually guarantees that you will end up with something that you don't have to rely on only them to come back and fix. What if they go bust? And remember that they will cost you in excess of $1500.00 a day, plus expenses, to be at your site for repairs which is ludicrous for the simple stuff they are working on. Seriously consider the Panastereo, especially if there is any inkling of installing a 35mm machine in your booth at some later date. If you decide to then you're all set for sound on a 35mm machine as well.
Mark

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Richard Hamilton
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

posted 04-25-2002 11:24 PM

How about the "cinema acoustics" CP600.
Or a Peavey X-Frame 88.

Rick

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-25-2002 11:27 PM

Richard,
Why would you want to put something in that is no longer being manufactured. Sure they have a boatload of them sitting on the shelf at the factory, but remember that Peavey shut down the Cinemacoustics end of things well over a year ago. Doesn't make sense to me......The Panastereo will still be the best sounding of any of the processor that would work for 8/70 anyway.....and the least expensive to boot!
Mark

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Richard Hamilton
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

posted 04-25-2002 11:39 PM

The Panastereo will still be the best sounding of any of the processor that would work for 8/70 anyway.....and the least expensive to boot!
Mark

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How can the Panastereo be the best sounding of any of the processor that would work for 8/70 anyway.....?????

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Phil Hill
I love my cootie bug

Posts: 7595
From: Hollywood, CA USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-25-2002 11:42 PM

The IED processors and especially the 5201A modules have a long and frustrating history of the random "frying egg" sizzle and the snap, crackle, and pop noise. I would go with the Iwerks/DTS 6ADSV. It is a drop-in replacement for both the IDA and IED and has custom software to accept commands from their show controller.

>>> Phil

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Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man

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

posted 04-26-2002 12:56 AM

Josh said: Sounds like a gimmick to me.

I have to agree with Josh.

I have heard sales pitches like this from salespeople in all industries, especially during hard times like our industry is still going through.

Buyer, beware......

Sam has a good point. Do you have Neon strip lighting anywhere in the theater? This brings to mind a problem I had with a CP-50 in 1984 or so. The Neon hash noise found its way into the CP-50. I had to swamp it out with some .001 caps across the solar cell outputs to get rid of it.

Just a thought.

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Don Sneed
Master Film Handler

Posts: 451
From: Texas City, TX, USA
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 04-26-2002 04:48 AM

My vote would be the Dolby CP-650 or the Ultra-Stereo JS series, (Stay away from the Ultra-Stereo DSP-60, I had way too many problems all DSP-60 with over 100 installed) I vote for the mention above...

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-26-2002 06:59 AM

Phil,
The 6AD series does not have the most illustrious reliability recoed either. Alot of software issues with them. I much prerfer to stay away from any digitally based Processor. Its something that manufacturers thing we need, but in reality they are just cheaper to produce and have a higher manufacturers profit margin than a well built analog processor like the Panastereo does. The Panastereo is by far the best sounding of all the processors out there, even better than the CP-65.

Richard,
Get one and set up an A/B comparison with other processors like I have done. You WILL be pleasently surprised. It is also by far the best built of the bunch and uses the best sounding opamps available on the market.
Again, the 650 can't even enter into the picture for a system like this, its not even a discussable thing.
Mark

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