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Author Topic: DTS without timecode Mike Rendall Film Handler Posts: 78 From: Southampton, Hampshire, UK Registered: Nov 2002 posted 12-03-2002 09:41 AM                     I posted this message on rec.arts.movies.tech with no success so hopefully some of the techies who hang out here could help? I used to know a way to make a dts6D play the contents of the cd-rom without using the time code. This used to involve putting a normal AT PC keyboard in the socket at the back, when the discs had finished loading the OS and application into the dts unit (signified by the flashing system light) you could just press a sequence of keys followed by a number representing the track no. on the disc. The problem occurs now that I cannot remember the sequence of keys, I think it was Escape followed by Space, then the track number, but having tried that it no longer works. If you put the dts disc into a normal pc and try to run dts.exe it quits before you can read the menu properly that appears on the screen, I assume if you put a ISA video card into the dts6d unit you can watch what is happening? (I thought you needed a video card in a 486 for it to complete the POST? - or maybe I am wrong, or dts have rejigged the BIOS?) The reason for this is that it is quite nice to hear the THX tags for demonstration purposes (after all it is a student cinema) and listen to all the comedic american cinema chain idents.  |  IP: Logged Karen Hultgren Master Film Handler Posts: 492 From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 12-03-2002 11:35 AM                        Mike, I think I sent you an email yesturday. Did you not receive it? Karen at DTS khultgren@dtsonline.com  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 12-03-2002 01:16 PM                        There was a discussion here with the title "Playing With dts Menus" or something similar. Just do a search with "dts" and "keyboard" and you will find some answers.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 12-03-2002 02:15 PM                     Karen, since this question constantly keeps being asked and every time you answer it via email, will you please just post it here once and for all? The forums shouldn't be used as a sort of phone-in service where the answers to the problems are not posted, for that does no one any good down the road when searching the archives at midnight on a Saturday.  |  IP: Logged Mike Rendall Film Handler Posts: 78 From: Southampton, Hampshire, UK Registered: Nov 2002 posted 12-04-2002 03:12 AM                     I have now managed to find the answers ( Thanks Michael and Karen ). I have posted them below if anyone else is interested also. To make a dts 6d player run without time code.... <Cut from a post from Antonio Marcheselli > To test sound system in one of our theater I usually connect an old AT keyboard to the DTS 6D, load a disk, wait for "system" led blinking. Then I press "ESC" in keyboard, to return on main menu. On main menu I have: 1. Play with timecode 2. Play without timecode 3. I do not remember! I select 2 and Enter. Wait to have the track list. I select the track and I press enter, the player goes in Digital and I can hear the soundtrack in the theater without print. I enjoy myself listening all THX trailer, sometimes! I have to do all these operations without see any screen of course. I think that with a VGA card onboard you should see also the screens. IMHO a VGA card could be useful because the screen "play with timecode" contains many many useful information: number of break, status of the player, etc etc. <End of Cut> The new question I have is.. Now that it is very hard to obtain new 486 motherboards, what technology are the new 6d's being shipped with? are these pentiums or did dts buy up a warehouse full of 486s?  |  IP: Logged Shaun Flichel Film Handler Posts: 42 From: Regina, Sask., Canada Registered: Sep 2002 posted 12-04-2002 03:29 AM                     IMHO I dont think DTS has Intel or AMD or any other processor. I think they have their own made for such a product and therefore the video card and keyboard is all in their plans to diagnose, correct me if I'm wrong Karen. To me, sound off a CD is Truely digital so in that case I love DTS, Except we are still waitin for a replacement from our company and another unit is looking NFG, still a few bugs to be worked out, I would really like to see a cooling fan in the 6d's though, not just the power supply fan, the components do heat up and I think this is where most of the problems occur, add some breathers in the top with an additional fan. But thats my opinion. Shaun  |  IP: Logged Patrick de Groot Expert Film Handler Posts: 161 From: Sprang-Capelle, Netherlands Registered: Apr 2001 posted 12-04-2002 04:35 AM                     >>To me, sound off a CD is Truely digital so in that case I love DTS Well, it's just as digital as Dolby Digital is. DTS also uses compression algorithms, only the results are bigger files and so the sound quality is higher some say. I've read somewhere that Dolby Digital on DVD uses a higher bitrate (higher quality) then SRD on film... Is this true? And why isn't there yet a followup of DTS (dvd)? There is a lack on competition in this area. Dolby has a monopoly (noone may use there techniques, or they have to pay licensees with restrictions on usage) It is time for some open standard (at least the decoding part, as with mp3) But Dolby will not develop this nor will DTS...  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-04-2002 09:48 AM                     The motherboard is a 486 with a specific bios to allow it to boot off a rom disk with Dos  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 12-04-2002 10:13 AM                    I believe the older ones were 386's. Audio decoding is in hardware so computing needs are minimal.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 12-04-2002 11:04 AM                        quote: And why isn't there yet a followup of DTS (dvd)? There is a lack on competition in this area. Dolby has a monopoly (noone may use there techniques, or they have to pay licensees with restrictions on usage) It is time for some open standard (at least the decoding part, as with mp3) But Dolby will not develop this nor will DTS... Why should dts switch to DVD? The system as it is can deliver up to 200 minutes of 6-channel audio in very good quality. Then there is the compatibility issue. All the existing units would have to be upgraded. I don`t think theater owners would be very enthusiastic about that. There will also never be an open standard. Why should Dolby or anybody else make their products available for free? They have developed the system, and they are a professional company, not a charity. As it is now, most of the cinemas have digital sound, so there wouldn`t be a market for any new system even if there is still a little space available on the prints...  |  IP: Logged Mike Rendall Film Handler Posts: 78 From: Southampton, Hampshire, UK Registered: Nov 2002 posted 12-04-2002 11:24 AM                     I thought dts were at some point going to go with DVD drives in their new systems, that way they can have just one disc to contain all the audio for a film in as many languages that they can fit on the disc! (as well as the subtitles) I suppose, if they use DVD then they will no longer need to use compression so it will be a loss-less digital sound format.  |  IP: Logged Aaron Sisemore Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day! Posts: 3061 From: Rockwall TX USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 12-04-2002 12:15 PM                     quote: IMHO I dont think DTS has Intel or AMD or any other processor. The first DTS-6's used Intel 386SX processors. Later models used Intel 486SX-33 processors (I have seen them with my own eyes- no fans or coolers needed on the early processors)... Motherboards were plain old ISA PC boards- the ROM-DOS is on one of the proprietary DTS hardware boards. This approach would definitely keep manufacturing costs way down as 386 and 486 processors (today as opposed to 1993) are virtually worthless (in the PC marketplace), as are older ISA-only motherboards. Karen, is DTS still using the i486 or have they gone to Pentium I's now? -Aaron  |  IP: Logged Karen Hultgren Master Film Handler Posts: 492 From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 12-04-2002 01:49 PM                        There is no reason to switch to DVD on DTS players for cinemas at this time. Due to the way we presently encode standard 5.1 sound for cinemas, you won't gain any higher quality on with a DVD disc vs. a CD-ROM disc. Don't confuse or compare software for the home market with the cinema. They are completely different and not interchangable. Karen at DTS khultgren@dtsonline.com  |  IP: Logged Karen Hultgren Master Film Handler Posts: 492 From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 12-04-2002 01:55 PM                        Brad, I did not post a response to playing DTS discs with a keyboard connected to the player since Mike sent me a private email before he posted here. I saw his question again after I already sent him a response. Karen at DTS  |  IP: Logged Karen Hultgren Master Film Handler Posts: 492 From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 12-04-2002 01:59 PM                        Actually, we do use DVD discs for our DTS-CSS units (cinema subtitling, captioning, & narration system). Karen at DTS khultgren@dtsonline.com  |  IP: Logged

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