Also i recently saw Rush hour 2 in a auditorium equiped with both Dolby Digital and DTS. The presentation was definately digital sound but there was no sound snipe so which sound system was used?? I tend to prefer the sound of DTS so if i knew that this cinema used DTS when possible I would go there often, but with no sound logo I assume Dolby Digital is being used so I attend a Dolby Digital only cinema which cost less to travel to.

what do you guys think?

Also, IMO, the digital snipes do tend to get old after awhile (especially the DTS Flying Disc, Dolby City, and SDDS 'Current Affair' triangle) and not having the option of getting them replaced or updated free (Dolby and THX are the exceptions to this rule) sucks.

I guess it is not as bad for the audience since they don't need to sit through them as often as I do. But with 56 ads and 30 trailers on the front of each film nowadays, plus the policy, it would seem annoying to have a digital logo that has to be sat through as well. Especially when the policy is over a minute long like UA's Blade Runner 2 ODDyssey.

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Dolby and THX (if you are certified of course) send out replacement trailer sets for the asking (usually 1 flat/1 scope of a particular type per screen).

DTS sometimes charges (I believe around $30 per screen for a set of four, 2 flat/2 scope) and sometimes throws a few free ones your way, especially if you are a good customer

Sony charges like $50 each or some other ridiculously high price for their trailers, that's the main reason I never bothered with getting the new style SDDS logos.

Aaron

Woahhhhhhhh I'm an expert film handler now

This is somewhat disappointing to hear what goes on, or rather doesn't go on the front of features. I supervise a circuit of several hundred screens and we go to great lengths to ensure our patrons know they are about to hear the film in one of the 3 digital formats or in one of our THX houses.

DTS and SDDS logos have come to us free of charge, Dolby supplies initial batches with each processor installation and THX supply new logos upon each re-certification. I want our patrons to know that we have more digital equipped houses than any of our competitors, which is indeed the case. Our policy for 4 years has been one of 100% digital in every new location we build.

In case you are wondering, yes I was working as a projectionist in the last 8 years and have certainly had to remove digital or THX logos from prints as they move houses. I can not even guarantee that on a rare occaison that an inappropriate digital logo has been run, but to me this is far outweighed by the thrill the audience has after seeing the full SDDS logo or Dolby Digital Train followed by THX Tex. The ooohhhs and aaahhhs from the audience always give me a thrill and are all part of the presentation the big theatre screens and big theatre sound can deliver.

The cost of new logos is a small price to pay to tell the audience what they are getting in our theatres.

After all, the audience IS listening.

I agree that showing the proper sound trailers with digital sound is all part of "SHOWMANSHIP" that is too often a victim of the cost-cutting mentality in today's multiplex. If there isn't enough time to change out the trailer if the print is moved, shouldn't there be?

As a poor compromise, how practical would it be to put the sound trailers at the head of the roll, and bypass them if the print is not in a digital house?

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

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My main problem is with the cost of these things. When I was a projectionist I never used DTS or SDDS and so couldn't comment there, but Dolby only give one set away (with the new processor), and when they were worn out you had to buy replacements at around UKP30 per trailer. Because the trailers were constantly being edited in and out of bullshit reels they tended to wear out really quite quickly, and of course once the digital sound starts dropping out they're useless anyway.

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