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Author Topic: DSTR Reading 1's and 0's Robert Schultz Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Tehachapi, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 03-17-2004 03:11 PM                        I have installed a number of DSTR units recently and I have been noticing that we are getting 1's and 0's on prints that are 2-3 weeks old. I have never seen these numbers on a Cat. 701 or Cat. 702 right out of the box. I just wanted to know if anyone else was having the same experiences. Has anyone seen a consistent reading of 1's and 0's on either of the Dolby readers?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-17-2004 03:22 PM                     You will typically get at least a digit lower reading from the DSTR than with the cat 701. I can't speak for the CAT 702 as we only use the DSTR now because of its easy to replace LED and the fact that it tracks better than the others do. I can say that the CAT 702 has the same technology as the DSTR so in theory it should be comparable in error readings to the DSTR. Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged Ken Lackner Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1907 From: Atlanta, GA, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 03-17-2004 03:52 PM                     Um....out of pure curiosity, what's a DSTR??  |  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 03-17-2004 03:59 PM                        http://www.bacpinc.com/readersdigital.htm  |  IP: Logged Robert Schultz Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Tehachapi, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 03-17-2004 04:04 PM                        http://www.uslinc.com/products/dstr-20.htm  |  IP: Logged Mike Babb Master Film Handler Posts: 250 From: Norwich UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 03-17-2004 06:40 PM                        Hi Rob...I may have mentioned this when we met but for everyone else...I installed 4 of them and was getting 3-4 error rate. I'm unsure of the age of the prints but being in medium size houses I'd imagine 3+ weeks or so. I think a big factor here is they are sitting on Christies and jitter is high. Also interesting to note, they gave these readings out of the box and my tweaking might have improved some tracking details but the overall error rate stayed pretty much the same.  |  IP: Logged Robert Schultz Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Tehachapi, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 03-17-2004 08:08 PM                        Mike...have you ever gone back to those same houses to see what kind of error rates you were getting with different prints? I have seen some prints that just don't get any better then a 3 or 4, but I've never even seen a 1 (let alone a 0) on a Cat. 701 or Cat. 702 no matter what print was playing. Now my experience with the Cat. 702 is limited, but the Cat. 702 readers that I have seen in service were not getting 0's and 1's...EVER. Are the labs getting better and the Cat. 702 is also reading 1's and 0's or is the DSTR better at reading the patch?  |  IP: Logged Mike Babb Master Film Handler Posts: 250 From: Norwich UK Registered: Jul 2002 posted 03-17-2004 08:36 PM                        I haven't gone back to these, but I've been working in this place installing 4 screens so I may look them over if I have a little time. I'd like to try that alignment loop they gave us on them. I think the best I've seen on a 699/700 is 2-3 on a consistent basis. You can get it lower if you tweak it to the print but it can change reel to reel. I know people say they get lower consistently but I haven't seen it. Plus the way it changes trailer to trailer and reel to reel makes me wonder how much it is worth sweating over. What kind of heads were the ones you just installed sitting on?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-17-2004 09:26 PM                     Guys, There is new technology in the DSTR developed by BACP that was also shared with Dolby for use in the CAT 702..... They ought to read about the same error rate in theory. Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged Robert Schultz Film Handler Posts: 28 From: Tehachapi, CA, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 03-17-2004 10:04 PM                        I understand the new technology used on the DSTR. This is why I have been using them for installations. Every installation I have done has been on a Simplex or Century projector. Knowing that the DSTR and Cat. 702 are using the same advances in reader technology, the question remains... Has ANYONE seen 1's and 0's on a Cat. 702? Is anyone else getting 1's and 0's on their DSTR?  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-17-2004 10:39 PM                     Yes, I see 0s and 1s frequently on my cat702s. I have also seen those numbers from time to time on my cat701s (although as a general rule the 701 is the worst tracking of all the penthouses out there and will commonly run between 1-3). The problem is a matter or dirt and abrasion. The SRD tracks get quite a beating in most projector gates. Also the tiniest amount of dirt will wreak havoc on the reader's ability to read the track. If you have any dirt left over at the end of the show's run in the gate, you are slowly damaging that SRD track, especially if you have hardened deposits on the bands/rails. Get yourself a media film cleaner and a bottle of FilmGuard and you will see the initial error rating on even a brand new print will DROP and will never rise. If you want to see true performance out of any of those readers, ya gotta keep the films perfectly clean.  |  IP: Logged Dean Kollet Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 591 From: Florida State University Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-17-2004 11:28 PM                     Brad, What can I do with 700's that read a 4-6 all the time?  |  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 03-17-2004 11:31 PM                        Turn the LED power trim pot up very slightly. If you're allowed to do that without being shot.  |  IP: Logged Dean Kollet Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 591 From: Florida State University Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-17-2004 11:32 PM                     it's not led though...  |  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 03-17-2004 11:33 PM                        Yeah, I'd guess you would have a problem if you've got a LED array in a 700. How old is the lamp? Do you have a scope? I'm going to bed.  |  IP: Logged

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