We're considering installing a DTS unit in addition to our CP65/DA20, for a number of reasons, mainly due to the fact that being a student run cinema, by the time we get prints, some multiplex has usually scratched the hell out of them, resulting in quite a few dropouts to SR - American Pie 2 comes to mind recently where someone had mananged to scratch the SRD track so much that we were reading 8's to F's throughout the entire feature (we usually run 2-4 on a good day).

Anyway, before investing money in this, what is the situation with obtaining DTS discs in the UK? Warner Bros. usually include them as standard in their shipments but as for the other distributors, is it simply a case of requesting them, or is getting hold of discs as problematic as some people have made out, especially with back catalogue titles? Obviously, if we can only get hold of discs for the odd film, spending a not inconsiderate amount on this probably wouldn't be worthwhile!

Thanks,

DTS Europe
Unit 5, Tavistock IndustrialEstate,
Ruscombe Lane
Twyford
Berkshire, England RG10 9NJ
E-mail: dtsinfo@dtsonline.co.uk
Phone: (011) 44-1189-349199
Fax: (011) 44-1189-349198

Up here I am sory to say that I can no longer recomend DTS to my customers, because disk supply is almost non existent. One of my customers, 8 screens, 4 DTS, 4 SR.D, is in the process of costing to remove the DTS 6AD's (1 year old), and replace with CP650, as they are simply not getting the use from them. I have two RFT's under my care, both have DTS, one has used it a handful of times in 2 years, the other never gets disks so never uses it. The distributors are useless. One of my services has it in writing from several of them, that they do not have discs for 'xxxx' feature and have no intentions of getting any. DTS UK were no help either, they told him that disc distribution is down to the the film distributors. BTW this is all related to new releases, so I suspect that with rep material you can forget all about it!

This is a real shame as there is nothing wrong with the DTS system, it's robust and reliable, and sounds good too!

On the other hand, some of my customers (large chains) don't seem to have too much trouble getting discs, this suggests that they are reserved for 'the big boys', which I doubt you fall into the category of.

Sorry to sound so negative, but if I were your engineer I'd have a hard time sleeping at night knowing I'd sold you a DTS unit that will be of little use to you. That said we've got a second hand one in right now that needs upgrading, but I'm sure would be yours for not a lot of £££!

if you are getting damaged copies, call the dispatch depot (Glasgow for you?) and the distributor concerned, quote the copy number and kick up hell! You are paying for it after all!

I have to say though I do approve of WB's procedure of actually putting the discs in their own plastic tub in the box - at least that way its more obvious when people forget to put them back on their return. Just a shame the others can't follow suit!

Just out of interest, if we did choose to go down this root, what sort of price would we be looking at for something like a refurb DTS-6D? And is it possible to configure the setup so that you could drop back to SRD rather than SR? From what I have read it looks as though its a case of switching off the DA20 in a "one or the other" type configuration. Pete - I think Alex will be getting one of your people in over the next couple of weeks to do some work - would they be able to advise on this kind of thing?

cheers,

Now about the reversion. Someone keep me right here (Steve Guttag??!) I've never personally installed a CP65 with DA20 AND DTS. I have seen Ultra Stereo with DA20 AND DTS, and that installation has big notices all over it about only having one digital unit on at a time, I think that the DTS player feeds into the DA20, which is in bypass when powered off, hence allowing the DTS signal into the CP65. But surely there is a way of putting the DA20 into bypass with it powered on?? If the DTS went through the DA20, then the DTS revert pulse could be wired to push the DA20 in, which if reverted would push the CP65 into SR anyway, assuming auto digital was disabled on the DA20. Or am I talking out of the orifice a totally different substance is supposed to come out of?

What I will do is send them this thread.

Yes, I agree with Karen that things are improving.

However...

Karen, why the disks are coming in so different ways?
I've received many different enclosures:

1 - Just the disk case (most of the time)
2 - A larger case reel-shaped that fit into a reel case (one time: Star Wars)
3 - A red box with a CD case inside... Unfortunately the cd case don't fit into the red box... (Warner Bros)

Whis this kind of enclosures is not unusual to forget the disk in the booth.

Also, WHY TO POOL OUT THE CD FROM ITS CASE I HAVE TO TROUBLE SO MUCH???? The mechanism is tooooo strong, I really risked many times to broke the disks...
I believe that the second case is the better one.

Not too much of a problem as we are equipped with Dolby SRD and DTS, so we just put the remains in a bag, along with a note, when it's sent back.

I can tell you how we handle them here. We package trailer discs in paper sleeves and mail them off.

We pack feature discs in slim poly cases and place them in large hard plastic reels. The plastic reels are sent to the film distribuator who places them in the Goldberg cans in-between the film reels.

How things are done in the UK could be different. I'll find out (probably) tomorrow.

Rob: I used to work at City Screen and it doesn't have DTS in any of the auditoria, sorry. I do gather that there's a possibility of 70mm being installed in screen 1 in the near future, though.

Pete: Deluxe Film Services supply York from Perivale rather than Glasgow (or rather they did 'in my day'), via Securicor, who had a habit of delivering the Odeon's films to us and vice-versa.

Another mieow and hiss I have about the awful green boxes is that they were so heavy in themselves that a green box plus six reels probably is to heavy to safely lift single-handed. But the same weight of film in a plain simple cardboard box is no problem, especially as you can lift it to chest height and cradle it in your arms - i.e. you back is not contorted as you walk with the film. The green boxes are so bulky that you just can't do that. I can well believe that this was a deliberate act of political correctness, and if so that's another good reason why the individual responsible should be executed. I'm all in favour of health and safety, and health and safety is 90% about common sense: we know what we can safely carry and what we can't.

Example: It's 10am on Friday morning, you're the only one in the cinema, you have three films on crossover to make up for a 1.00 start and they arrive in containers which are deliberately designed so that they cannot safely be lifted by one person. Thanks mate, whoever you are!

ETS's reasoning for doing this I assume is because a 7 reel film no longer requires 2 4 reel-slot cases, but only one 4 reel-slot case and a 3 reel-slot case. Make sense? Please push for the thicker cases again.

I don't think City Screen have done this as yet as we at one point in the process of arranging to hitch a lift with them to go and see 2001 in 70mm in Bradford as the print they were screening was one of a handful of newly struck 35mm prints. City Screen is without a doubt the best place in town - just wish the bar wasn't quite so outrageously priced!

Is Gerry still delivering the films? My favourite Securicor cock-up in York was when he delivered 'Mission Impossible 2' to us and 'Romance' to the Odeon by mistake. So I did the usual 'phoning round ritual, with UIP swearing blind that MI2 had been successfully delivered to the Odeon (despite the fact that the green box in question was sitting in our foyer with an Odeon address label on it), the 'Romance' distributor swearing blind that the print had been delivered to us and me just swearing.

Eventually the Odeon called us to say that they'd had 'some foreign shit' delivered to them. The guy said 'Well, it says 'Romance' on the label but the rest of it's all in Wop language.' A voice in the background then corrected him, 'No, it's in f-----g frog language.' The caller continued to me, 'anyway we don't show any of that crap here, but we thought that you might.' The end result was a film swap by taxi. Talk about cultural diversity...

As for the City Screen bar, the prices for members are a lot lower - if you go there regularly it might be worth joining. I think it costs around £15 per year and that also gets you 50p off the ticket price for a film. So you have to do quite a lot of drinking and/or watching for it to be worthwhile, but if you do that anyway then it might. The bar used to be for members and ticket-holders only, but last autumn they finally got a licence to let members of the public in too. However, in order to encourage membership they then stuck up the drink prices for non-members. Although I now work in Middlesbrough I still live in York, and pop in there for a pint occasionally. I agree - lovely bar but you can double the booze to cash ratio in virtually any one of the other 365 hostelries within the outer ring road...

BTW, by the 'Film Theatre', does he mean Museum Gardens? There haven't been any film shows in that place since September 1999!