Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Anyone Experience with B.A.C.P. Products

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Topic: Anyone Experience with B.A.C.P. Products

Marc Jones
Film Handler

Posts: 82
From: Elizabethtown, KY
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-18-2002 01:01 PM

Anyone used or installed their products
Specificly DSTR -20 Penthouse Dolby Digital Reader
and/or RSTR 2000 LED analog Reader.
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks

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Darren Briggs
Master Film Handler

Posts: 371
From: York, UK
Registered: Dec 2001

posted 05-18-2002 02:57 PM

Im testing a Penthouse reader for our company at the moment, Great product, error rates low , just the same as my basement reader that has just been re-aligned(Cinemeccaninca reverse scan kit) Dead easy to set up and it only needs the one cable from the DA20/CP500/650 , it takes the power for the LED form the DA20 etc. Solid built, recomended if you need a penthouse.
Darren

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-18-2002 03:54 PM

I'm in the process of writing up a review on the BCAP Cinemecanicca analog scanner and I took lots of pictures to go with it. Itallian machines are not know for ease of install of any stereo add ons but this install was exceptionally easy. All in all its a fine product and when installing it on a Vic 9 there was only one minor glitch which was easily corrected. The pickup of the BACP scanners are in my opinion the best in the buisness and the built in switching mode power supply makes installation almost TOO convenient. Machining quality of the alumnium parts is also second to none and the LED head is replacable without removing the braket! What more could one ask for...
Mark @ GTS

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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 05-18-2002 04:26 PM

The BACP Digital penthouse has been a winner for us so far due to the ease of installation. The BACP Cinemeccanica analog reader has some nice features such as read out on the pull out pre-amolifier card for troubleshooting and if you are not planning to utilize a Cinemeccanica basement digital set-up which requires a new style almost full surface drum. The kit gives you a spacer to mount on the existing drum to give you the protection that is afforded the factory upgrade drum at reasonable cost. The only complaint has been the little power supply for the analog unit ( a wall wart type ) that scare people since it does not look as durable as the rest of the kit. the unit draws so little power, the power supply is fine...but we have had to supply a din rail power supply for some people to give it the "industrial" look.
Richard Fowler
TVP-Theatre & Video Products Inc. www.tvpmimami.com

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 05-18-2002 04:40 PM

How much compared to a Cat.701?

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Barry Hans
Film Handler

Posts: 92
From: Minneapolis, MN, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 05-18-2002 04:56 PM

I put in two B.A.C.P. analog readers in Vic 8's. Very easy install. Work as good as any other brand out there. I will consider B.A.C.P. when it's time to upgrade to red led at my theatre without a doubt. I saw something on the Ultra page about their ASTDII Analog Sound Track Digitizer http://www.uslinc.com/products/ccd.htm . Anyone have info on it?

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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 05-18-2002 06:18 PM

The Digitizer is one of Jack Cashin of Ultra Stereo "toys". the system utilizes a cdd camera to read the analog sound track. He had it on display at ShoWest a few years ago but was pricy compared to the then new red LED reverse scan kits that arrived at the same time.
Richard Fowler
TVP-Theatre & Video Products Inc. www.tvpmiami.com

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Ray Derrick
Master Film Handler

Posts: 310
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2001

posted 05-30-2002 07:04 AM

Richard, actually the ASTD (analog sound track digitizer) was developed by a Californian company called DTSC and was originally a laser scanning device. I believe Ultra took it up later but DTSC ultimately found the laser system too unreliable and changed to a CCD method.

The idea behind the original system was that by scanning the sound track from one side to the other at a frequency of around 44kHz you could effectively produce a dual pulse width modulated output which could then be digitally processed. In other words the sound track is A-to-D converted by the scanning process.

Because the PWM signal "sees" just the boundaries between the clear soundtrack area and the black edges of the soundtrack, any noise on the film (other than right at at the boundaries) can be completely ignored. Of course Dolby would not be interested in any system that did not need their proprietary noise reduction as it would reduce their financial advantage so they never went this route.

We did some work on a similar idea about seven years ago using a high intensity laser beam mechannically scanned by a peizo driven mirror onto and large mono solar cell, but found the system problematic and stopped further research. At that time, line array CCD chips were too slow for the purpose but the current version being offered by USL is an extension of the same theory and as I understand it works rather well, albeit rather expensive.

------------------
Ray Derrick
President/Chief Engineer
Panalogic Corporation Sydney, Australia
Phone: 61 (0)2 9894 6655 Fax: 61 (0)2 9894 6935

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-30-2002 08:41 AM

Years ago there was I think a system called Colortek which had placed 5 optical tracks on the film that was to be read by a video style camera
somehow i sort of rememebr that one of the quintaphonic people were involved in it

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 05-30-2002 08:56 AM

Information about the ColorTek sound system:
http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/sound/colortek01b.htm

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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Richard Fowler
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

posted 05-30-2002 09:27 AM

I remember attending a screening of a John Wayne ( Branigan? ) film with the Colortek sound track in the early 1980's during a SMPTE convention in Los Angeles....it was impressive. The decoder box was attached to the 70mm magnetic output and the reader replaced the components in the Century optical soundhead. I remember the concern they had if the lab did a poor job of color correction or processing which would effect the quality of the sound.
Richard Fowler
TVP-Theatre & Video Products Inc. www.tvpmiami.com

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Clint Koch
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1435
From: San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 05-30-2002 01:22 PM

The BACP reverse scan units and digital penthouse reader are manufactured by USL, Inc. They were designed in a joint effort by Jack Cashin, Sam Chavez and Roger Hibbard of USL, Inc.

The ASTD (analog sound track digitizer) was originaly the concept of DTSC and USL, Inc. did get involved with the design and testing on the CCD side. USL, Inc. new the laser system too unreliable. USL, Inc. is no longer involved with the ASTD or DTSC. As Derrick points out, the units work well yet are rather expensive.

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Manuel Francisco Valencia
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 151
From: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 05-31-2002 03:38 PM

I believe that these are great readers but I seem to be having a few problems with mine. After about two months of having them they both do not work. The LED went out on one of them which is the same one I posted about before. The other can no longer track worth of crap! I was getting solid 0's 1's and 2's out of it and now 4 5 6 and then all of a sudden F! And I know it is not defective prints. But then again it is probably just my two readers that have the problem and not related to design.

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-31-2002 10:14 PM

If they jumped that fast I would be looking at the aginment and focus being off the wall.
Since these have been on the market for about a year or less then the dealer who installed and supplied them should be bound to send out an engineer and realign them.

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