my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » DTS - 6D has NO RAM (Page 1)

This topic comprises 3 pages: 1  2  3

Author Topic: DTS - 6D has NO RAM Anthony Johnson Film Handler Posts: 2 From: Henderson, NV, USA Registered: Sep 2002 posted 04-03-2003 06:14 PM                     The other day I was in the chat room here on Film-Tech. While in the chatroom someone asked the question, "How much RAM (Random Access Memory) does the DTS-6D have?". Well, at the time, I responded that it didn't have any. Having a manual for the DTS unit in front of me, & not finding any mention of RAM in the manual, is how I based my answer to the question. However, others in the chatroom strongly disagreed. Being that I did not have an actual DTS-6D unit in front of me that I could look inside of, I had to say that I could have possibly been incorrect. However, I then went to the DTS website & emailed one of the Tech-support people. Here is the response I later received via email: Greetings Kristin, I am on FilmTech all the time and did not see your post. The DTS players do not use RAM for audio storage. We use timecode to tell the player what and when to play off the discs (where the DTS digital track is stored). Karen Hultgren DTS Customer Service Technical Specialist Tel: (818) 706-3525 or (800) 959-4109 Fax: (818) 879-2746 www.dtsonline.com -----Original Message----- From: SeaJaye Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 10:43 PM To: Kristin Thomson Subject: DTS - 6D To Whomever This May Concern, Does the DTS-6D have any ram? I was recently asked this question while chatting on FilmTech.Com. The theatre I work for uses these units, & I have an installation and operation manual. I have read the entire manual, & have found no reference to RAM. If indeed the DTS-6D does have RAM, how much does it have? In advance, I would like to thank you for any help you can offer. _______________________________________________________________ Maybe, I'm wrong, but I sort of tend to believe the folks from DTS.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 04-03-2003 06:27 PM                        Where then is the audio data stored while it is being processed? And where is the dts.exe loaded?  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 04-03-2003 06:33 PM                    Of course it has RAM. Kinda hard to have a functional PC without it.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 04-03-2003 07:00 PM                        And why is an e-mail addressed to you with "Greetings, Kristin"? Is that your second name?  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 04-03-2003 07:06 PM                     There is a difference between digital audio being stored somewhere, such as a hard drive or CD-ROM discs. Still, any PC (even a DTS machine) must have a certain amount of hardware RAM to operate. I don't know how much RAM a DTS-6, 6D or 6AD player has installed, but it must have at least some to load DOS. There's probably not any more need to have 4MB of RAM, although I would bet newer DTS-6D machines would likely have 16MB or 32MB SIMM or DIMM modules since RAM is not sold in tiny amounts anymore.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-03-2003 07:42 PM                     I thought we could not quote email messages in forum posts. You ought to go back and hit the EDIT button above your post and then paraphrase the contents of that email...especially since it does not appear to have been addressed to you. I may be confusing this with a rule from another online community. If so then, by all means, disregard.  |  IP: Logged Karen Hultgren Master Film Handler Posts: 492 From: Agoura Hills, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-03-2003 07:46 PM                        So, are you 'Kristin'? There are memory chips inside the unit but I need more informatuon on what you are trying to do. The question sounded very fishy to me. Karen at DTS khultgren@dtsonline.com  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-03-2003 08:12 PM                     If you insert a video card in one of the spare slots in the mommy board you can watch it boot up and it will tell you how much RAM is in the particuluar unit you have. I want to say it is usually in the range of 4 to 8 mb though. Runs DOS so it doesn't need very much and I doubt that it uses all it has.... There are other ROM's in it that contain the actual DTS operating programs and such. BTW: The Mommie Board has a special BIOS on it that is common only to DTS boards. Mark @ CLACO Mark  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-03-2003 08:20 PM                     So is this a case of "more RAM will improve performance" ? I'm curious whether this is just an academic question or if somebody actually feels the need to go adding RAM to their DTS unit. Is this for a special-purpose venue? If so, why didn't the producer(s) of the film work this out prior to making a movie that cannot play in the existing DTS machines? For that matter, who produced the disc(s) for this multi-multi-multi channel, extra-extra super-deluxe special edition release that none of us seem to have booked? I have to admit -- I'm curious.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 04-03-2003 09:27 PM                     I never saw any RAM chips on the MB DTS uses. Maybe it is in the special hardware DTS has inserted. I wonder if there might be a special BIOS chip that has all the crap needed to load dts.exe  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 04-03-2003 11:39 PM                        Anthony, pursuant to the forum FAQ, you are not permitted to post private emails on the forums without the other person's permission. Since Karen has posted in this thread and I haven't heard any objection from her I'll assume for now that you do in fact have her permission to post it. If you do not have her permission, I ask that you remove the posted email. In any case, please read the forum FAQ again before posting. Thank you.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-03-2003 11:52 PM                     "So is this a case of "more RAM will improve performance" ?" No, it doesn't take much computing power for a DTS processor to operate. More ram doesn't better anything according to DTS, nor is more RAM required for conversion to special venue. I think the amount of RAM on the MB is pretty much the minimum amount needed for the MB to function. _________________________________________________________________ "I never saw any RAM chips on the MB DTS uses. Maybe it is in the special hardware DTS has inserted." There are plug in strips of RAM(simms, dimms, what ever) like in any other computer, but remember these are primarily 386, and 486 based mommyboards. "I wonder if there might be a special BIOS chip that has all the crap needed to load dts.exe" I don't think the DTS.exe is in the bios. I believe its on a seperate ROM chip on one of the other boards, possibly on the CD ROM itself..... As I mentioned you can plug in a video card to the mommie board and watch the DTS bios do its special thing during boot up. It starts out smilar to a regular bios but then does other things that are DTS specific that a regular bios doesn't do. Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-04-2003 12:30 AM                     Okay, then -- can someone fill me in on why this is an issue? I don't get it -- If the DTS system is just fine the way it is, then why is someone trying to add more RAM? It seems a pressing issue, too. This is the very first post for the topic starter after six whole months of membership.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 04-04-2003 12:38 AM                        There would be ZERO benefit in adding additional RAM to a DTS unit's motherboard. Once the machine is booted the motherboard doesn't do much other than providing a data bus and power to components.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 04-04-2003 07:30 AM                    MG: I don't think the DTS.exe is in the bios. I believe its on a seperate ROM chip on one of the other boards, possibly on the CD ROM itself.. Yes, it's on every DTS CD ROM. MK: I don't get it -- If the DTS system is just fine the way it is, then why is someone trying to add more RAM? Who said they wanted to add more RAM? DCWO: Once the machine is booted the motherboard doesn't do much other than providing a data bus and power to components. Between managing time code, ID numbers, file management etc., along with delivering blocks of compressed audio data to decoding hardware I'd say it keeps busy. It's not computing intensive but it's not like it just sits there.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 3 pages: 1  2  3

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.