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Author Topic: Capturing Dolby A, SR audio on a film scanner Paul Gordon Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 580 From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2005 posted 02-10-2015 07:37 AM                        Bit of an odd question but maybe you guys can help. Ok at work we have a film scanner that can also capture audio with a SONDOR soundhead (optical 35mm, 16mm, magtrip 16mm and fullcoat). The reader is redlight. Most of time we are capturing older mono films, but sometimes we scan a Dolby A or SR title. The problem is the scanner will just create a 24bit stereo WAV file not a 4.1 track. So how do we easily get the track decoded to 4.1? do we need to fit a dolby processor in the chain? a Cp-650 or something. The sound head is simply 2 balanced XLR's out. I'll probably have to chat with SONDOR but figured someone here might have an idea. Thanks!  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 02-10-2015 08:28 AM                     Analog Dolby Stereo (both A and SR) only contain discreet left/right on the soundtrack. You will indeed need to feed the left/right on the film into a Dolby 45/65/500/650 processor to break out the center and surround channels.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-10-2015 08:54 AM                        A Dolby SDU-4 will do it.  |  IP: Logged Paul Gordon Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 580 From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2005 posted 02-10-2015 09:07 AM                        Scott will that also give me noise reduction?  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-10-2015 10:48 AM                        No, it just does the matrix decoding. A 363 with cat 300s would do the NR, though. Or you could use a cinema processor. I believe that the CP650 has a non-sync format with SR NR that would work (or you could use the optical input if there is no preamp in the soundhead).  |  IP: Logged Paul Gordon Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 580 From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2005 posted 02-10-2015 11:21 AM                        Ok well the Sondor head does have a preamp so thats good to know. Does the 363 NR Frame go first in the chain, then the SDU-4? -paul  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-10-2015 11:40 AM                     Probably the easiest would be to grab a CP65 with real SR cards and use it to decoded If the sondor has a left/right optical preamp one could go into the terminals on the back for optical preamp output and pull the NR cards This would give you outputs of L R C S and SW the sub the SDU-4 will not provide Just jumper out the fade and eq stage  |  IP: Logged Paul Gordon Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 580 From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2005 posted 02-10-2015 12:04 PM                        Little confused Gordon. Are you saying you can bypass the preamp card on the Cp65 and still get NR and 4.1 decoding? In the Cp-65 manual it says the unit may not work if the Cat 241 card is damaged. -paul  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-10-2015 12:09 PM                        Paul--right: 363 (you will need a Dolby cat. 69 loop to set levels) to SDU4. But Gordon makes a good point--if you want a separate subwoofer channel, this option will not provide that.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-10-2015 12:48 PM                     It should work I have done it with some older processors so i suspect it should work with that or find a Panastereo CSP1200 as it allows for the AUX to go through the NR chain  |  IP: Logged Paul Gordon Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 580 From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2005 posted 02-10-2015 12:59 PM                        Cool thanks. You don't happen to have one we can buy? either a CP65 with 350 SR cards or a Panstereo unit! -paul  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-11-2015 07:22 PM                     You will also have much cleaner sound and better SR noise reduction when needed with the CSP-1200! Mark  |  IP: Logged Paul Gordon Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 580 From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2005 posted 02-12-2015 05:10 AM                        Love to find one but they seem very hard to find these days.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 02-12-2015 05:38 AM                     Don't stick to any specific device. CP65, CP500, still should be plenty of them around. What's certainly more important is to find someone who is able to install and adjust it properly with the test-loops, etc. Optical sound is not plug'nplay or set-and-forget, it's delicate to adjust initially and needs some readjustment now and then. What about Dolby Digital tracks? I know a german company operating their film scanning from an FP30D machine with both optical and SRD reader, into a CP500. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Paul Gordon Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 580 From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2005 posted 02-12-2015 08:31 AM                        Yes we have test loops and I've used CP55, 65's and 200's in a cinema setting. Sondor does make a Dolby Digital and DTS reader but currently we only have the analog head (optical and mag). 99.9% of the films we are scanning are pre-digital audio.  |  IP: Logged

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