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Author Topic: Dolby Software and Linux
Ferdinando Innocenti
Film Handler

Posts: 79
From: Genova / Italy
Registered: Jun 2004


 - posted 06-11-2007 04:30 PM      Profile for Ferdinando Innocenti   Email Ferdinando Innocenti   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Is there anyone of you using Dolby software (CP650 setup, Load500 and Windras, but also DMA8 software) under Linux OS?

Which distro? and in emulation mode (Wine?) or in virtual mode?

Thanks

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007


 - posted 06-11-2007 07:37 PM      Profile for Chris Slycord   Email Chris Slycord   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Doesn't all dolby software run in DOS? So you'd have to try something like dosemu instead.

Though if you're doing this to have one real processor and copy the software away to computers that'll do the same job as the sound processor, you better be careful because it's probably not legal for you to do it.

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Ferdinando Innocenti
Film Handler

Posts: 79
From: Genova / Italy
Registered: Jun 2004


 - posted 06-12-2007 02:10 AM      Profile for Ferdinando Innocenti   Email Ferdinando Innocenti   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
No, I don't want to copy Dolby firmware and software!

I like to run my Dolby softwares under my Debian OS, without turn off and on my notebook to access a xp partition.

And no, only some Dolby softwares run in DOS (Load500 and Dras, but with some bugs [Smile] )

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007


 - posted 06-12-2007 02:48 AM      Profile for Chris Slycord   Email Chris Slycord   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
And I'm saying that copying the software from your dolby hardware to be run off of another computer will most likely be against your EULA for the sound processor. And I would NEVER trust something mission critical like running sound processing off something as temperamental as wine.

And like I said you will be copying that stuff from your hardware to the computer you'll be running debian on. Unless you're meaning you want to install debian on your dolby hardware and still have the regular functionality stay.

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Michael Schaffer
"Where is the
Boardwalk Hotel?"

Posts: 4143
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Apr 2002


 - posted 06-12-2007 03:08 AM      Profile for Michael Schaffer   Author's Homepage   Email Michael Schaffer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Chris - Very obviously, Ferdinando isn't meaning to do any of that stuff. Apparently you don't have the slightest clue what he is talking about, how those sound processor work, and what the programs do that he is referring to. And no, you can't copy the Dolby processors' software onto a computer and "run sound from it". That's a pretty bizarre idea. A PC is a completely different piece of hardware.

Anyway, Ferdinando, Dolby publish these programs to be run under Windows, and since they are fairly simple in nature, you can theoretically run them in emulation environments, but you might run into additional problems since you also typically need these programs to access the serial port or an emulated serial port, and you will find there are some problems with that, and unless you have a hardware serial port which can be directly addressed through the Windows emulation, it might get very difficult.

Just do the simple and correct thing and install a dual boot system, and run the applications under Windows proper. I am a little curious why it would be such a big deal for you to turn off and boot your notebook to Windows. You don't need these programs all the time anyway. They are only for setup. Adjustments to setup can also be made directly via the front panel on the CP650. The only application where you really need it is the DMA8 setup since there is no other way to enter settings.

But why do you need to run the programs all the time? Are you a service technician or one of these projectionists who tinker with stuff all the time, "tweaking" the sound while the show is running and all that?

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Ferdinando Innocenti
Film Handler

Posts: 79
From: Genova / Italy
Registered: Jun 2004


 - posted 06-12-2007 03:14 AM      Profile for Ferdinando Innocenti   Email Ferdinando Innocenti   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Chris, I think you are misunderstanding.

I'd like to run Dolby adjusting softwares such as Windras (to adjust srd reading) under Linux OS.

Nothing more.

There are no problems with EULA; some weeks ago I spoke with a Dolby engineer who said that there are a lot of technicians using Dolby sw under MAC OS X, but he has no notice about Linux.

This is the reason for my question

Thanks for your answer, Michael.
I'm a service technician. When I adjust a room, I wrote a documentation for customer, I attach screenshots and some advices to make the system better.

And when I am in a 16 rooms cinema, I don't like to work all the time under WinXP!

I have a dual boot system now. I work better under Linux, but I experienced some problems in configuring serial port under Wine.

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007


 - posted 06-12-2007 05:53 PM      Profile for Chris Slycord   Email Chris Slycord   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Michael Schaffer
Chris - Very obviously, Ferdinando isn't meaning to do any of that stuff. Apparently you don't have the slightest clue what he is talking about, how those sound processor work, and what the programs do that he is referring to. And no, you can't copy the Dolby processors' software onto a computer and "run sound from it". That's a pretty bizarre idea. A PC is a completely different piece of hardware.
A simple "you misunderstood" could've sufficed.

And yeah my idea was pretty bizarre. Even if you got a recent SCSI computer you'd still have to buy the other internal hardware that the dolby processors use. Clearly I was off my rocker.

So for a comment that might actually help:
If the software needs a serial port, it's possible to have a fake serial port associated with a usb port. Then if the hardware you're working through also uses a serial port there are usb-to-serial adapters which are pretty cheap.

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Christopher Meredith
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 126
From: Jackson, MS, USA
Registered: Apr 2006


 - posted 06-14-2007 12:46 PM      Profile for Christopher Meredith   Author's Homepage   Email Christopher Meredith   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
One option would be VMWare Server. It's free and it works, though you might not prefer the overhead, just to run one or two programs.

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007


 - posted 06-15-2007 12:49 PM      Profile for Chris Slycord   Email Chris Slycord   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If you choose vmware consider looking at virtualbox also. It's similar and a much smaller download.

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