Used IMB's

[Armand Daiguillon]

Hey all,

I currently have 5 extra GDC SX-3000 IMB's - am currently using 4 Doremi's.
I've been planning to sell the Doremi's and install 4 of those GDC's.
But to be honest ....business has been very bad and I might need more money. I don't know what the value is on these things.
I feel that although i'd like to keep the GDC's and sell the Doremis I might get more if I sell the GDC units since I believe they are newer.
Or is the resale value on both comparable ?
Any advice would be very appreciated ... really want to be able to pay rent ....

Thanks !!

[Steve Guttag]

The value of them really is going to be to what the location or chain already has. Most companies favor one brand or another for whatever reasons and they will want to stick with that brand and definitely not mix brands within one location. So, the value to them will vary based on user. Someone that is down, as you can imagine will want whatever gets them going, particularly if they are strapped for cash.

They are both now considered obsolete equipment with limited repair prospects. I believe GDC will still put a new certificate in an SX-3000...I'm not so sure that Dolby will still do likewise to a Dolphin board. COVID and the changing of office space and dealing with the various security protocols seems to have changed the long-term plans for many companies.

I would suggest doing what makes the most sense for you (operation wise) and worry about resale secondarily.

[James Gardiner]

Steve is right, I just didn;t want to say it. The units are not really worth much as they are no longer supported and only those who have failures are likely to have value/need for them. The problem is that even if a screen fails, are they going to be looking for a cheap fix or a long-term replacement? The equipment is old. The likelihood of the right set of conditions occurring for a cinema owner to want your spare IMBs is low.
The big question is, what happened to the projector these were initially purchased for. If you have a Projector/IMB full working solution you wanted to move/sell, then it has more value. A full projector solution has more appeal and you have more potential customers.

Secondly, it takes a lot of effort (effort = cost) to wait for a potential buyer. To keep the IMB's alive you have to keep the security manager (SM) happy and battery charged. Otherwise there is a good chance they disarm and are basically stuffed. Even if the vendor still offered a service to re-arm the units, the cost is likely not cheap and you again just thinking. Buy new.

I have made videos over the years to try and inform cinema owners that DCI cinema equipment is delicate. From memory it is called "A Digital Projector is not a Toaster", meaning, you cannot just leave a DCI projector/IMB in the corner for a few years and expect it to work when you plug it in, like what is expected with mechanical film equipment.

And like a computer, you should expect to have to completely replace the equipment every 10-15 years. So start saving for your next transition (to the newer generation digital kit) spend.
Considering many locations are already in the grey area of needing to replace equipment, and attendance levels are compressed due to the changing environment. I am not in a happy place when I think about these issues.

[Elia Orselli]

What model are Doremi servers? DCP2000 with Dolphin or ShowVault IMB?

[Armand Daiguillon]

What model are Doremi servers? DCP2000 with Dolphin or ShowVault IMB?

Showvault .....

[Elia Orselli]

That's very good: ShowVault IMB can still be repaired (exchanged with a working unit)

[Armand Daiguillon]

That's very good: ShowVault IMB can still be repaired (exchanged with a working unit)

And the GDC SX-3000 can not ? I thought they were newer. I personally like them better because they have the eSATA ports so that I can live play directly from a drive, which you can't do through the doremi's usb port. But it sounds like the resale on the doremis might be more viable ?

[Brad Miller]

GDC does have SX3000s they can do a swap if you've paid for the warranty. I just had to do one a few weeks ago. I've no idea how much longer they will be able to repair and offer them as swaps. I assume at some point they will have to start shipping SR1000s as replacements for those under warranty.

[Steve Guttag]

GDC has been good about putting certificates back (new certificates). They have a cost and you'll be without your unit a month or so. So long as the problem is JUST the certificate. The ShowVault/IMB seems to have had a favoring by the festival crowd so I would hope it would be supported but it is very old stuff, by server time lines. I just picked up a plex with 7 of them. Job-1...changed the certificate battery!!! (did the same thing on a site that had all GDC SX2000AR and one SR1000. Get them batteries changed!

[Leo Enticknap]

The ShowVault/IMB seems to have had a favoring by the festival crowd...

Probably because, like the DSS200, you can put 4 x 4TB drives in them, which gives you enough space to ingest an entire festival load of movies. Festivals tend to be in single screen venues that don't have a TMS, and even if they did, having everything ingested and ready to play at the touch of a button (KDMs permitting) provides the flexibility needed for last minute schedule changes, tech checks for prima donna filmmakers, etc. etc. In my Egyptian days, I swapped out the 3Ware RAID card in the DSS200 for the eight-drive variant and put 8 x 2TB drives in it: this was in the days when 4TB drives cost more or less what a 10TB one does now, but 2TB drives were relatively cheap. Being able to ingest everything for a fest as it arrived and not worry about running out of space was a big advantage.

[Steve Guttag]

I think Doremi also gained favor by not being as fussy about DCP formatting. Whereas a DSS server will balk at say a font file being missing...Doremi would just sub one of its own. Pre-Dolby ownership, the Doremi line could be a bit nimble in adapting to the needs. After all, it is built like a collection of parts...not a unified/holistic system. That lets one work on one of the parts easier than worry about the ramifications to whole system. Doremi was also notably less expensive than the likes of Dolby.

Dolby easily won on the UI and being able to play right off the drive. Dolby loss on being able to automate things as Doremi's macro system was/is much more capable than the DSS line...which has RS232 as one's only option (other than the NA10) up until near the end where one could control ONE Ethernet device.