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Author Topic: Incredible shrinking shipping cases
Mike Blakesley
Film God

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


 - posted 10-13-2015 06:51 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Here's the newest hard drive shipping container we've gotten from Deluxe. I would say it's about 1/4 the size of the previous gray boxes. It's about the size of a thick book.

The inside has that rigid foam rather than the bouncy stuff from the previous cases; I wonder if the jarring in shipping will lead to more drive problems?
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A nice touch is the top is covered with that "label release" type of material that a shipping label will stick firmly, but will peel off easily.

Also they have apparently done away with paperwork included with the drive (at least, there was none with this drive). It's pretty much unneeded anyway, but the credit-offset is not printed on the drive label either. C'mon guys, put it somewhere willya?

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Dave Macaulay
Film God

Posts: 2321
From: Toronto, Canada
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 10-13-2015 07:00 PM      Profile for Dave Macaulay   Email Dave Macaulay   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I think that now they've stopped sending CRU adapters they realized their cases were crazy oversize. I've seen many with the drive bouncing loosely in the cavity with none of the smaller foam pieces.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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


 - posted 10-13-2015 08:14 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I did get one of the old larger boxes with a rigid foam insert that had slots cut out for three or four drives. But yeah, the drives bounce around pretty good in the larger boxes.

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James Westbrook
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1133
From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa
Registered: Mar 2006


 - posted 10-13-2015 11:39 PM      Profile for James Westbrook   Email James Westbrook   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Deluxe wants everyone to use their website to get the credit offset data, which if the movie is from some independent distributors will not be on that site despite the drive being shipped by Deluxe.

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011


 - posted 10-14-2015 12:00 AM      Profile for Frank Cox   Author's Homepage   Email Frank Cox   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I had one the other day where the little locking finger on the end of the lever on the front of the drive was broken off. The lever was there but the little finger was gone. It loaded fine, though it didn't latch into the drive bay.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002


 - posted 10-14-2015 02:25 AM      Profile for Jack Ondracek   Author's Homepage   Email Jack Ondracek   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Saw one of those new cases at another theatre tonight. Didn't recognize it then. Interesting.

Overall, our experience with the system has been pretty good. Even with the strangely insecure foam padding, we haven't received a failed drive. The drives generally show up on time and the keys have always worked.

Just the volume of trailers we get every week and the ability to show (and change) what we want without having to pull the center of the film load out and splice things around is almost worth the cost of the upgrade. Well... that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. It was hard enough for a non-chain theatre to get the trailers they needed, even before the labs started backing off.

The system does take a bit of babysitting, as did film, but not all of that is Deluxe's fault. Most often, it's a booking or holdover problem, which one might chalk up to "failure to communicate". In the few cases where a drive hasn't made it here in time to show, we've been able to borrow them from a competitor we get along with pretty well. Paying attention to what you've got and what you need, and getting on any issues mid-week takes care of nearly all problems without really much effort.

As Bobby Bare sings... 'there ain't no ten'... but I'd say the system is up to somewhere around a 'B'.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

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From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004


 - posted 10-14-2015 03:36 AM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Since Deluxe Technicolor did the merger, they prob decided on coming up with this shipment design to cut down shipping charges for both ways since we are dealing with something lighter and less expensive to manufacture. I got four of them today, but not the first time.

Yet, also did receive my TMBD trailer drive in the classic orange Pelican case.

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Carsten Kurz
Film God

Posts: 4340
From: Cologne, NRW, Germany
Registered: Aug 2009


 - posted 10-14-2015 06:08 AM      Profile for Carsten Kurz   Email Carsten Kurz   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Small?

https://www.cru-inc.com/products/digital-cinema/dc-mini-carrying-case/

These can snug into a letter box as a large envelope.

- Carsten

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Ken Lackner
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1907
From: Atlanta, GA, USA
Registered: Sep 2001


 - posted 10-14-2015 09:48 AM      Profile for Ken Lackner   Email Ken Lackner   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
What is so special about the "DCmini Cartridge" that is meant to accompany the above case? Unless I'm missing something, it looks like it's just a portable USB hard drive.

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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006


 - posted 10-14-2015 11:24 AM      Profile for Jim Cassedy   Email Jim Cassedy   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I've been getting those smaller shipping boxes for a a couple of months,
but then again, most of the shows I do are press, preview, or Academy
screenings, and are often shipped outside of the "standard" distribution
channels. I did notice that at one of the theaters I annoy people at, most
of their features were coming in the the new boxes but they still seemed
to be getting their trailer drives in the orange shipping cases.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

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


 - posted 10-14-2015 11:40 AM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Jack Ondracek
Overall, our experience with the system has been pretty good. Even with the strangely insecure foam padding, we haven't received a failed drive.
In 5 years, we've only gotten one drive that outright failed to work at all, and of course it had to happen while I was on vacation.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

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From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 10-14-2015 01:52 PM      Profile for Martin McCaffery   Author's Homepage   Email Martin McCaffery   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
In the two years we've had digital I've had at least two failed drive, possibly three (one of them a couple of weeks ago). Haven't missed a show Tech/Deluxe have been good about getting a replacement here.
Just like with film, if the drive isn't in my hand by Weds morning for a Friday show, I call and check on the delivery. I've had more than enough experiences with film and digital with our show not being in the system to trust it is on its way.
Only one big key snafu (disturb didn't enter the end date properly) but that was with a house full of kids at 10am.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002


 - posted 10-14-2015 02:25 PM      Profile for Jack Ondracek   Author's Homepage   Email Jack Ondracek   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I've heard of some of these issues with digital prints & keys. I think my point is that, in the same way it was possible to get defective prints, duplicate reels and, in worst case scenarios, mismatched split-shipments, it's probably unreasonable to expect perfection from digital. The boxes may look different, but it seems somewhat similar "distribution gears" are turning here.

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Stephan Shelley
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 854
From: castro valley, CA, usa
Registered: Nov 2014


 - posted 10-14-2015 03:30 PM      Profile for Stephan Shelley   Email Stephan Shelley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Speaking of things arriving late. I loved the keys to The Intern not arriving till 3:30 pm on Thursday and we had a 7pm show that night. I was on the phone several times about it.

Stephan

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004


 - posted 10-14-2015 03:52 PM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Mike Blakesley
Also they have apparently done away with paperwork included with the drive (at least, there was none with this drive). It's pretty much unneeded anyway, but the credit-offset is not printed on the drive label either. C'mon guys, put it somewhere willya?
Once in a while, I'll get these without paper info in them, and as with you, I have no idea on credit offset.

Thus, I create my own (and since we both have GDC) where I figure that average credit time is over 6 minutes, I'll make the credit offset 4 minutes before the end time that is listed in the edit cue window. Not the best way, but I'll get my lights up in the mean time.

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