Current TMS solutions

[Steve Guttag]

No...most people ignore the flash. The problem with using the douser (mechanical ones) is that you could lose a show if that douser doesn't open. Some dousers are better constructed than others too. Those with electronic dousers (the DMD just turns to all off should avoid that issue. But those are not true black as DMDs are not so good at true black.

What would be good would be if the ICP (or the OEM equivalents) could learn to deal with frame rate changes and, upon getting one, do their own mute before the flash. If the server could send that info up in metadata, it would be even better.

There are a lot of things that seem too manual to me in 2022. The system components should be able to convey what they can do and work together such that the data within the SPL/CPL tells the system what to do rather than rely what are really just work-arounds.

[Mattias Mattsson]

Thank you all for your informative answers. Very helpful!

[James Gardiner]

I would like to also remind people of my free tool, not a total TMS, but a great addition to many locations from small to enterprise.
https://github.com/jamiegau/cinema-catcher-app

I have been working hard on a major upgrade. This is on the AutoKDM and KdmAlert tool. (Note it is not yet finished as I have a few bugs to squash)
It already has a Log analyser and extensive LMS capabilities with automatic DCP verification via clairmeta.
Recently I added the AutoDiscovery solution, still needs more work done on the fingerprinting of different Cinema Devices, but is developing well. (I just don't have access to everything out there to test against)
The AutoKDM tool has been majorly upgraded so it can monitor a user's Email via IMAP and transparently catch KDMs from a live Email account (Email account used for everyday Emails as well).. but I would always suggest using a dedicated email account. It has also been updated to support Dolby, GDC, Qube, and Barco Players. It's a set-and-forget solution and basically ingests any KDM that comes into a email account to the target player automatically. Then sends a report at the end of the day or email on every ingest, up to the user)
KDM-Alert is the tool that enhances this. This tool works completely independently of any TMS-type tool you may have in use. The players must be on when it runs or it will report it offline. it looks into all known players, analyses the schedule, looks a the playlists and extracts all CPLs referenced. Then checks if a CPL is missing, or if a CPL does not have a KDM to allow it to play the show at the scheduled time.. And if so. send the user an Alert warning of pending show failure due to lack of a KDM or CPL.

The software will work on any solution/computer that can run docker (I target ubuntu server LTS typically). Even under windows, but I would not advise it, I don't test it under there and native Ingest (attached CRU disk direct or USB) has only been tested under a ubuntu host system running docker.
(Note here, the use of CRU disks is all but gone in my part of the world as digital delivery has been implemented to most sites now. Only small sites the distributors don't really care about still get CRU disks. For example, they refused to give me a digital delivery system. Still, I can see they are running out of the CRU disks they have, they are all OLD and fail rates are high now. Common to have to give a disk a physical spin to get the platter unstuck to make work. I expect in the near future, cheap USB disks/sticks for physical delivery going forward will be used and CRU will be run until dead. I have a stack of CRU drive bays and I cannot give them away (I.e. free). I offered and only 2 Australian sites took me up on wanting them.

I still need to hunt down a few bugs, then I was going to make a video about the tools. But I thought I would mention them now as its topic is relevant.
It also has a Player Status Page, mostly which works, but has a lot of work to be done to add control functionality to all the players.
I also plan a screen timeline page, may do that sooner than later as it's probably quite easy now I coded all the other Player API integration with getting schedules etc.

I do want to spend some time on the other side of the problem in the near future, building some free tools that help film distributors. For example, a web-authority type (Think how a web pages/ssl works) free generation of KDMs. A website that has all the root certs of known hardware players. Submit an encrypted CPL, and anyone can generate a KDM for any certificate-of-trust verified player-cert. I have seen to many DCPs that are non-encrypted end up with poor outcomes for the small filmmakers going down that path.

And with automated tools like AutoKDM and KDM-Alert, I don't see how the adoption of KDMs by this small end of the market should be a difficult issue.

Lastly, I could add more TMS-based features to the app above, but I considered the current ones available were reasonably priced so... Didn't think it warranted. I do have my own homegrown cloud TMS-based system that runs my three sites. It's very automated right now, you don't build any templates, it has a set output and programmatically builds all SPLs in a specific way. You can schedule preshow items with date and priority. As long as you implement the Automation-ques as named in the system, it just all works. (SessionStart, SessionEnd, Flat, Scope, PreShow, Feature, Credits)

I could look at dropping it into the free solution down the track. If there was interest. It would not be trivial to make it support all possible states involved in implementing shows. It's more involved than you would think and would involve considerable use intervention (POS schedule imports, CPL-ingest and mapping to film names per screen type (CCAP/CCAP, 51/71, 3D) , Credit marker input/verification)

Oh, and I suppose FLM integration on the DeviceDiscovery tool may be a good addition one day too. Considering it can automatically update all firmware values into the FLM message.

James

[Elia Orselli]

Personally I'm installing mostly AAM ScreenWriter and I service a site with CDM full version, but I would recommend ScreenWriter. AAM is going to release a light version called Screenlighter in a couple of months for sites with up to 4 screens.

[Joris Springer]

We switched to Eikona Cinema Manager this summer (coming from CinemaNext TMS) and it is an interesting product. It can be completely controlled by the main office where they make the campaigns for trailers and advertisements and Eikona generates the shows automatically for each theater and all screens based on the specifications that have been inserted in the TMS for that location. It works almost completely from the cloud (but has local servers running as well in case there are connection problems).
It has a few quirks (does not run yet with movies that have two DCP's properly, still need to make manual shows for that on the location) but the development is working really hard, I am personally very impressed.
It works flawlessly with Vista, checks the programming regularly to make sure the correct movies are scheduled, checks regularly if there are visitors for a show and after 15 minutes in the main feature with 0 visitors it will shut down the show, turn of the lamp and prepares the screen for the next show.
If you want you can even login in the cloud and take over the current running show if you want.
Unfortunately, if you lose internet connection in the theaters and they update the show, the changes of course won't be made and you will either have to do it manually and lock the show (otherwise it will change the show back to the way it was according to the last online update) or wait for the internet connection to return.

It offers of course a lot of features that other TMS's offer but that you can control from the cloud all your locations, it is a really nice feature.