Intermittent glitch with DSP100

[Carsten Kurz]

Peter - I may not remember this properly, but, wasn't it that you had already bought a DOREMI server to replace this DSS100/DSP100 quite some time ago?

[Peter Foyster]

Yes, Carsten, you are right. I felt at the time that I would persist with the these units as I was quite familiar with them and didn't really have the time to learn how to use the DOREMI. I never did pick up the Doremi unit so i imagine it is still sitting with the guy that sold it to me.

The Doremi unit is almost as obsolete as the DSS/DSP100 so I'm not sure if I would be worth pursuing.

I will try to talk to the guy and maybe get the unit and have a play with it. Alternatively, he may have something a bit more recent or even the odd DSS100 that I could use for spares.

[Carsten Kurz]

The Doremi technically is closer towards the DSS200 than to the DSS100. Of course, there are Doremis, and there are old Doremis. I hope you haven't been offered one with a Dolphin B board...


As far as I remember, you use a series-1 projector? In that case, I would probably buy any second hand Doremi, if the price is right.
Of course you could now just as well buy a DSS200 - that would bring you towards most recent software, and keeps a familiar GUI. Not that it plays a pivotal role, but, you could reuse the new set of hard discs, and, the DSS200 (as well as the Doremi) can play 25fps. A DSS200 should stay a reliable unit for a couple of years. I guess it's about time to release the DSS100. Never quite understood how it made it to Australia with it's known 25fps weakness.

- Carsten

[Peter Foyster]

Well apparently my guy does not have any spare 100s or even 200s.

He has the one "old" DCP2000 (which has the Dolphin board) and has had it powered up continuously but not connected to a projector so he doesn't know how it will work. I have already paid for the Doremi so that is one good thing.

Even if I decided to go with the Doremi, there isn't the time for installation and for me to get familiar with the unit whilst we are screening. Of course if the replacement DSS100 fails I will have little choice in the matter. Any idea what an old DSS200 would be sold for nowadays (if I could find one) or are they pretty much doorstops like the 100.

I will try to keep going with the Dolby unit and consider my options at the end of the season.

[Leo Enticknap]

Until immediately before the pandemic, we had pretty high demand for used DSS200s: I was refurbishing for resale more or less every unit we received as trade in for upgrades (usually screens upgrading from Series 1 to Series 2 projectors, and rack servers to IMS units in the process). But I'm told that since then, demand has been much lower, so much so that I can't remember when I last did one. My guess is that because there are now so few Series 1 projectors left in the field (I no longer have any among my regular service customers), end users are upgrading rack servers such as the DSS200, DCP-2K4, SX-2000, etc. used with Enigma cards directly to IMSes when they become problematic, rather than attempt repairs or replacement with a "used but OK" example of the same model.

If you like, I can keep an eye out for when we next come across a DSS200, but shipping and Australian import duty could make that a very pricey option. That having been said, the last major refurb job I did, around the fall of 2020, was to send a bunch of them to Guam.

[Steve Guttag]

2021 was not kind to our DSS servers. It hasn't been mass failure or anything but with almost no failures to suddenly see some, it was noticeable. If it was anything but the mediablock, we fixed the server (motherboards, memory and, of course HDD)...however, a mediablock failure meant retirement. We have a substantial number of sites configured as "mini-plexes" using on server as the "TMS." As such, we have done what we could to keep those fully functional. However, that day of reckoning is coming. We used to have 3 or 4 spare units but those are now gone. With new projectors being almost all 4K, IMS3000 and SR-1000 4K are what are replacing our existing fleet of servers (Dolby, GDC or Doremi). Unfortunately, we'll never have as unified a TMS system as we had with Show Manager and the DSS servers. The majority of our customers found it to be the most compatible with their operation. Going forward, probably CineDigital, GDC and ACE (in no particular order, it depends on how much show-to-show control the client wants versus fully-automated).

[Peter Foyster]

Thanks Leo,

Would it be possible to strip any unit you come across and just provide a working motherboard, memory chips, etc. for my broken unit? I would need to first confirm that it is, in fact a faulty motherboard. At least I could then have another spare unit for emergencies like the one I just experienced.

I can understand why a lot of film guys quit the industry when digital came in.

[Carsten Kurz]

Peter, you should keep a hand on that Doremi, and try to find a second hand DSS200. I have seen them going below 1000US$, if for any money at all. A lot of DSS200 are phased out in Germany right now because there is a huge modernisation program going on currently,

[Peter Foyster]

The guy with the Doremi also had a few DSS200s which were in various states of disrepair. I am waiting to confirm that he still has at least one spare case, and what components are still working. If Leo ever finds another DSS200 he may be able to salvage the bits I need and I would not have to face the cost of freighting a heavy case over. Its maybe a long shot but worth considering.

Even a working DSS100 motherboard would be good if such a thing can be found.

On reflection, I think my DSS100 had been telling for some time that it was going to expire. I was occasionally getting errors when loading trailers and this had become more frequent lately. If there is a connection between the errors and the Showplayer resettting once in a while, then it would explain why it died.

[Leo Enticknap]

Going forward, probably CineDigital, GDC and ACE (in no particular order, it depends on how much show-to-show control the client wants versus fully-automated).

I recently did the Rosetta Bridge integration training (we're deploying it for one small chain) and was very impressed with it. An NDA prevents me from going into specific details, but it's extremely versatile, especially in relation to remote scheduling and content deployment, and maintenance planning. Definitely worth checking out.

Peter - will keep an eye out for any DSS100s that may come our way.

[Peter Foyster]

Thanks Leo,

After much thought and investigation I feel that my best course of action at this point would be to try to restore the old DSS100.
As a standby unit, it could be swapped over in less than 30 minutes, including the hard drives.

I brought the unit home and tried a couple of things, including reseating the memory modules and even swapping their position.

The short error beep codes that follow 10 seconds after the initial beep on startup are as in the following sequence;

1-4-2-1

The motherboard is a Supermicro X7DVL-E (Rev. 1.21), which I understand can still be purchased relatively cheaply, however I have been unable to identify the specific sequence in the Phoenix beep codes to confirm the actual issue.

I probably need to get someone to perform some proper diagnostics to try to determine where the fault lies, before rushing off to find a motherboard. Some spare memory modules and a video card would need to be tried to eliminate some of the possibilities before looking at a replacement motherboard.

[Steve Guttag]

Seriously, as Dolby Tech Support. They know the beep codes. On the memory sticks. Try reseating them. After that, try one at a time. It will boot (and run) on 1 stick.

[Steve Guttag]

Leo, I'd be interested in learning more about Rosetta Bridge (UniqueX) TMS. Naturally, their web page is sparse of any real information on it or brochure downloads...even their videos are sparse on information.

[Marcel Birgelen]

The short error beep codes that follow 10 seconds after the initial beep on startup are as in the following sequence;

1-4-2-1

The motherboard is a Supermicro X7DVL-E (Rev. 1.21), which I understand can still be purchased relatively cheaply, however I have been unable to identify the specific sequence in the Phoenix beep codes to confirm the actual issue.

<sarcasm mode>I've employed my superior Googling skills and I found something for you:

CMOS RAM read/write failure (this commonly indicates a problem on the ISA bus such as a card not seated)

Source

</sarcasm mode>

So, let's assume that your beep-counting skills are flawless and this information is still accurate, the information isn't very helpful either. Even this motherboard is sufficiently new as not to feature a single ISA slot so if there is anything on he ISA bus at all, it would be soldered onto the motherboard. Anyway, you could try to reseat e.g. the RAID controller or remove it entirely and see if it wants to boot without it. A defective card can cause the motherboard to crash in POST.

[Peter Foyster]

I did try both of them, one at a time to no avail.