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Author Topic: Who Controls DTS Discs? Todd Leach Film Handler Posts: 18 From: West Liberty, IA, USA Registered: May 2001 posted 11-20-2003 04:45 PM                        The reason I ask this question is today I received my print of "School of Rock" and it had no DTS discs. No big deal, I'll just call the film depot and have them send a set, well they tell me they don't have any so on to the next step. I call Paramount who can't believe that the depot doesn't have any discs so they call the depot. The depot tells Paramount that they were told to send the discs back. Paramount doesn't understand why they were removed, ETS is doing what they are told and I'm SOL. So if the studio's don't control the issuing of DTS discs who does?  |  IP: Logged Ian Price Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1714 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-20-2003 05:29 PM                     You can always call DTS and they will send you out a set.  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 11-20-2003 08:27 PM                     Part of the DTS encoding license with the studio / producers is they are in control of the distribution of the disks to the cinema. DTS is always helpful to people who have problems exhibiting the producer's product and should be glad to assist.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-21-2003 04:42 AM                        This problem is really getting pretty old hat, and really, really annoying, don't you think? As much as I like DTS, if I can't play it, what good is it? I just ran a print of GOTHIKA -- it came with no disks. But as per Warner's security paranoia, I got the print only 2 hours before showtime and only then discovered it was sans DTS disks. I guess what I need to do is to just call the studio two days before the screening of any sneak and tell them there are no disks. Make them send the disks out so I will have them for showtime. Not that it made a hill of beans difference for this dog of a film. My analog sounded just fine. Frank  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-21-2003 01:14 PM                        If the film companies would get off their collective asses and start sending $500 invoices to the theatres that don't return the disks, the problem would disappear instantly. They go apeshit when your print of "Gigli" is a day late arriving back, so why can't they do the same with the disks, which are scanned into the system when they're shipped out? (At least, with TES they are.)  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 11-21-2003 02:39 PM                     Well, there are a bunch of issues here. With respect to Todd's specific question, it sounds like there are multiple people at ETS and Paramount who aren't talking to each other. Nailing down exactly who is responsible is probably awkward, and you'll probably have to talk to both your local ETS depot and ETS national in LA, as well as both your local Paramount booker and Paramount's print control people. Good luck. DTS will send you discs, but they always have to check with the studio first before they can send them. Frank asks about sneak preview screenings. Those really are a special case. Frequently the discs are not reproduced and distributed until just before the release date, so it's just not possible to get them for advance screenings. I'm not exactly sure why this is, but at least part of it is that advance screenings are not always the final edit of the film, and so DTS discs are not always made for them (or worse, the print is not final and you get the DTS discs for the final movie and they're out of sync; we've seen this twice). I think lack of DTS for advance screenings is something you just have to accept. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 11-21-2003 02:52 PM                        quote: John Hawkinson scribed: Frank asks about sneak preview screenings. Those really are a special case. Frequently the discs are not reproduced and distributed until just before the release date, so it's just not possible to get them for advance screenings. This has rarely been the case for me. Almost always a Sneak Preview is a finished print and has Dolby Digital and SDDS printed on it. DTS tracks are mastered from the same siurce material... it is just a matter of encoding and stamping the discs. But with Sneaks, I have almost always gotten the discs. There have been times where the discs have been sent a week later right before the movie opened, though. Trade screenings can be a different story. Sometimes you get them, most of the time you don't. However if you are doing an audience test screening many many months in advance, you're lucky to have anything more than mono. And usually that is in the form of a seperate magnetic dubber running in sync with your projector.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 11-21-2003 03:37 PM                     Nowadays with as late as the studios are finishing the movies and intentionally delaying the trade screenings (so the bookers will give a general commitment to the product before actually seeing what a piece of crap it is), the prints ran are almost always completely finished with SRD, SDDS and a dts timecode. Personally, I find no excuse for dts to not be able to hand burn a dozen discs for trade show use instead of waiting for the pressed discs to arrive. That being said, these days there is still a 95% chance the film will have an SRD track, even if the movie is not finished. For theaters that run early screenings like this, there is no excuse to have anything other than SRD.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 11-23-2003 04:28 AM                        quote: For theaters that run early screenings like this, there is no excuse to have anything other than SRD How bout, we don't have any MONEY?  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 11-23-2003 06:19 AM                     I was implying theaters that run advance screenings on a regular basis, not the occasional special event.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 11-23-2003 07:09 AM                     Well, fellas, I guess we get what we pay for. DTS used to be the cheapest of the digital systems (not sure about now) but IMHO the long-term cost of ownership is considerably high when you factor in the amount of enjoyment you will actually get out of having it. I got mostly headaches. Last year around Easter I made notes on ten consecutive releases. Only one of them arrived with DTS and -- including that one -- only four of them finaled with DTS discs. Out of those four, only two of those movies actually played in DTS. Even after moving those units over to the "graveyard" houses, they still sit unused about half the time. Consider this -- 9 out of 10 of those movies I monitored during my test opened with analog sound. I'm betting that I could probably run my little test again right now and get similar results. I doubt that I would ever recommend DTS to a theatre looking to upgrade to digital sound. If you're low on cash, just buy a CP650SR and then upgrade that for Dolby Digital at a later time...or buy a used DA-20 adapter if you can find one. Our SRD systems have been used on 100% of prints since we installed them. In those theatres -- our main houses -- every feature has opened with digital sound. And then I could go on to mention the ease-of-use in terms of programming trailers with digital audio in mind. First, you have the actual movie previews with the SRD printed on the film instead of comparing your trailer lineup to the latest trailer disc from DTS. Then you also could consider the actual logo trailers. Dolby's commitment to helping theatres market their sound systems beats DTS hands-down. Not only does Dolby produce new trailers with far greater regularity, the trailers themselves are better than what DTS came up with for their two snipes, the oldest of which is a few years old now. I find it interesting that the studios would tolerate advance screenings with the analog track. They really should insist preview theatres to be SRD equipped -- it's the only way to be sure. Maybe that would place the studios in trouble for seeming to have a general preference but I'm only thinking about *advance* screenings. And, anyway, I recall receiving a James Bond movie from MGM with a note saying that DTS was the preferred digital system, so it isn't *necessarily* a problem...at least it hasn't been in the past.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 11-23-2003 10:30 AM                    SR•D? Pfft...6-track mag double-system!  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 11-23-2003 04:20 PM                     Hey, don't bad-mouth DTS, they'll call your bosses and get you in trouble!  |  IP: Logged Richard Fowler Film God Posts: 2392 From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Registered: Jun 2001 posted 11-23-2003 06:19 PM                     The Bahamas should not have a problem getting DTS disks if your booker is any good in complaining; he/she should a current inventory of the equipment used in the cinemas on file. The DTS system is the least expensive due to the low cost of the reader compared to Dolby / SDDS readers. It depends on the market........  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-23-2003 10:39 PM                     You know in the great white north we have no trouble except from one distributor getting even disks on time for even second run engagements  |  IP: Logged

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