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Topic: Dolby CP-65/DMA8+ automation settings.
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Stephen Furley
Film God
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 11-09-2013 08:59 AM
CP and DMA connected as in manual, except that the connection to the CP is via screw terminals rather than J18; it's always been that way.
Pressing any of the digital inputs 1-4 on the DMA pulses the CP to format 10, which makes sense. However, pressing Film mode on the DMA pulses the CP to Non-sync. Pages 40-41 of the DMA manual confirm that this is the normal default behaviour, but why? Pressing the 'Film' button suggests that you are about to run a film with a digital track, and therefore format 10 would be appropriate. Is it so you can select 'Film' mode before the start of the show, rather than the start of the actual film, and if so why does the same not apply to the 'Digital-1' button if the film itself happens to be in digital form?
I would rather have it set so that selecting any of the five inputs on the DMA would put the CP in format 10, since that is how all of these five inputs would actually enter the CP. Would there be any undesirable consequences of changing this configuration?
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Ken Lackner
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1907
From: Atlanta, GA, USA
Registered: Sep 2001
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posted 11-17-2013 08:58 AM
quote:
Pressing the 'Film' button suggests that you are about to run a film with a digital track,
Not exactly. Remember that originally these devices (DMA8, DMA8+, and even the USL ECI-60) were originally designed so that a processor that was not designed for digital cinema could share a single 6-channel input with a 35mm digital sound decoder (DTS6, Dolby DA20, etc) and a digital cinema system. So not only does the D/A converter provide D/A conversion, but it acts as a switch. When in Film mode, it is simply a pass-through for the 35mm digital decoder. Your 35mm automation is also passed through the DMA8, so when you start a film show, it will switch the CP65 to the appropriate format.
quote: Stephen Furley
So you're talking about a situation where everything is on digital, and 'Film' doesn't really mean film?
Yes. Most digital installations are no longer side-by-side with film (35mm equipment has been removed), but these D/A converters are installed. The automation pulses Film mode on the D/A converter and it, in turn, selects Non Sync on the processor for intermission.
quote: Stephen Furley
Would there be any undesirable consequences of changing this configuration?
Digital 1-4 on the DMA8 are for decoding digital inputs on the DMA8. The output of the DA20, DTS6D, etc, are analog outputs, that connect to the analog 6-channel input of the processor. That's where the pass-through of the DMA8 comes in. So the DMA8 MUST be in Film mode for it to pass through the analog 6-channel.
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Stephen Furley
Film God
Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 11-18-2013 05:56 AM
quote: Ken Lackner
Digital 1-4 on the DMA8 are for decoding digital inputs on the DMA8. The output of the DA20, DTS6D, etc, are analog outputs, that connect to the analog 6-channel input of the processor. That's where the pass-through of the DMA8 comes in. So the DMA8 MUST be in Film mode for it to pass through the analog 6-channel.
Yes, but for the CP-65 to be able to use that 6-channel analogue audio passed through by the DMA when in film mode it (the CP) needs to be in format 10, just as it would be if the DA-20 was connected directly to the CP without there being a DMA there. You wouldn't want it in non-sync mode.
In the past the cinema ran film in formats 1, 4 and 5 by selecting the format by the buttons on the CP, or doing the same thing from a remote panel. Digital non-film sources were selected from the digital 1-4 buttons on the DMA, and the format 10 button on the CP not touched, since if it was it would switch the DMA into film mode. There was no digital sound from film, it was all analogue. Pressing any of the digital 1-4 buttons on the DMA would switch the CP into format 10, ready to accept the output from the DMA.
In future, when Dolby Digital and DTS will be available it sounds like the best way to run a film with digital sound will be to directly select format 10 on the CP, or remmote panel, and not touch the film button on the DMA, in fact to never touch the film button directly for any format, since it will be selected automatically when the CP is put into format 10, and will not be needed for any other format.
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