DCP-2K4, Blackmagic 6GHDI converter, and static.

[Tony Bandiera Jr]

(My responses to multi quotes are in bold italics.)

There are no ramifications. If the studios were worried about certain servers being out in the wild, they wouldn't be out there.

By definition security and usability are at odds, and yet both are connected to profit. Clearly neither security nor usability in principle are perfect in DCinema, but the balance between them has been optimized for least shows lost and least movies pirated. To that end, I consider DCI's security successful.

^^^^^ This, exactly. Even in the film print days, there were certain collectors (and more than a few technicians who had full prints or random reels for testing purposes) that the studios had full knowledge of. Granted, most if not all of such prints were NOT first or second run product, and often of B or C grade films. But other than for one or two notorious individuals, the studios never bothered or cared to go after them for piracy or selling prints.

I'm not trying to pick a fight, but how can allowing a media block to play unencrypted source content without encryption lower that effort?
(DCI Security) Exactly. AND that capability is what allows trailers to play. Imagine the chaos if TRAILERS had to have KDMs to work?


Anyways, in terms of Devin's project, all this is moot. There are at least two models of DCI-compliant media blocks (the Dolby DSP100 and cat862) that have an unencrypted in = unencrypted out mode, and there may be others, whether anyone feels that this is a good idea or not. If somebody acquires one for personal use and that acquisition and use does not involve doing anything illegal, I don't have a problem with that.

Thank you. Devin's project is SPECIFICALLY for his own content to be played back via legacy hardware with ease. And not to insult Devin, but someone who is here asking the questions he has been asking would not have the knowledge to hack into the DCI security in the first place, even if that was his end goal (Which it obviously is not.)

So unfortunately, trying to utilise any old DCI kit for anything else apart from taking the commodity parts, is a no-go area from my perspective. It shouldn't work anyway, and otherwise, it should be destroyed if no longer in service if you ask me. It's just not worth the risks involved.

Yet so far in all of your responses to this thread you never justified those "risks" in Devins case. For your arguments to have ANY validity to what Devin is trying to do, you would have to PROVE that Devin has/can do ALL of the following:

• Access to DCI encrypted content
• Ability in both hardware and software modification to attempt to hack or bypass DCI security protocols (Which as I mentioned above, his being here and asking what he has so far, tells me he has neither.)
• Motive to use said decrypted content for public exhibition or monetary gain (try proving that, you can't.)
• An outlet to distribute such content for any gain.

As I said, the studios are the ONLY problem by how they have handled the use of screeners and by the totally stupid release to streaming windows. As a creative person myself, I am all for protecting any authors IP, but if the people who are supposed to be doing so are so inept and reckless as the studios have proven to be, I have absolutely no sympathy for said inept and reckless people. It is the filmmakers that need to DEMAND that the studios stop the nonsense of unencrypted screeners and (nearly) day and date first run streaming.

Oh, and RE non encrypted screeners: Most of the "Bel Aire" screening rooms have DCI compliant projection systems, so there is absolutely NO EXCUSE to have DVD screeners anymore. Those who don't have DCI equipment need to go to the theatre like the rest of us to watch their screeners.

[Devin McNamara]

Ok so I checked the system tab under the diagnostic tool. My dolphin 1.0 firmware is 21.4n and software version is 2.8.16-0. According to Dolby’s website these are the older versions before the DCI compliant system was in effect. I do believe it is a dolphin 1.0 as it lacks the FIPS security epoxy and the SM board with the molex and Ethernet jack going to the usb hub. If all these are true then I’m not sure what’s happening. Is it possible that all the DCPs that are on here are actually encrypted? Is there a way to check? I’d have a hard time believing that preshow content is encrypted but I suppose it’s entirely possible. I believe we get our preshow stuff from PeaconPieProductions. Maybe they all are encrypted…

[John Thomas]

A quick way to look closer at a DCP's details is to go to the Editor tab, add the DCP to a playlist, and double click on it. You'll see some basic stuff. Then you can click details and see some closer details about audio and resolution.

But even before that: In the Editor tab, in that left-hand list of DCP's, if the content has a red lock icon next to it, that means it is encrypted and unplayable. Green lock means encrypted and playable. Orange lock means encrypted and playable but expiring soon. No lock means unencrypted. In a typical setup you will get an error just trying to play encrypted content without a KDM, so I doubt that is the issue here.



Getting "CineSnow" is a common failure mode on Dolphin boards, so that's a consideration, especially since this is a server that was removed and replaced in some context. I've never attempted what you're doing here specifically so I can't offer too much advice beyond reseating the Dolphin board and making sure the gold contacts on the Dolphin board and the PCI slot are in good shape.

I do have 2 or 3 spare Dolphins in my office and a lot of documentation. If I get some time I'll see if there's a specific something that needs to be done to use a Dolphin in this way, assuming it's even possible. The whole thing about running it in 3D mode is new to me. Very cool if true. Maybe put a couple seconds of 3D Black before the content and see if that makes a difference with the CineSnow.

[Carsten Kurz]

Again, this is a Dolphin 1.0, not a Dolphin B. There is no special security risk involved with these, otherwise, Distributors would have banned their certs from being eligible for KDM creation. So, it can play encrypted content. Many Dolphin 1.0 are still in regular operation at cinemas.

Encrypted DCPs and Cinelink/TLS/ Link encryption through are two separate matters. A server can Link-Encrypt towards the projector even if the DCP is unencrypted - and some servers with very special configuration (e.g. IMAX XENON Doremis) will even output encrypted DCPs over an unencrypted HD-SDI Link (hence they are blacklisted for general KDM generation).

The 3D-playlist option is only to create a more compatible/common single-link color model (component) on the SDI output. If the display or SDI->HDMI converter hooked up to the Doremi can deal with the 12bit Dual-Link P3 HD-SDI properly, the standard 2D mode is also possible.

A Dolphin 1.0 system still should be updated and Dolbys cert extension patch should be applied early enough, otherwise it would become bricked at the end of 2025.

[Devin McNamara]

The server was actually never replaced. The theater that used it was completely gutted out and replaced with something else. This server was hooked up to a barco series one projector through the IMBs HD-SDI inputs which may explain the use of the non encapsulated dolphin card. I’m guessing they had problems with the encapsulated one so they got this one. I am half tempted to take the server back to the theater and hook it up to this projector as it is still up in the booth and plugged into power, and see if I can get an output that way. This would at least tell me if the dolphin card is indeed faulty.

[Pete Naples]

Devin, check your messages.

[Dave Macaulay]

Series one can't have an IMB. Their input is via dual SDI. This is normal, and their only option for cinema content. There are DVI inputs for non cinema content.
Before series 2, SDI was all you could use. All cinema servers for series one and most for series two have dual SDI video output.
Encrypted/unencrypted content has nothing to do with the server to projector connection. Encrypted refers to the movie data in its DCP. It is complex encryption that I don't understand but you give the distributor the server's "certificates" and a KDM is generated allowing decryption in that server for a defined time period.
Once the data is decrypted, it is not just sent to the SDI cables. It's encrypted again - "link encryption" - with one of a few codes, sent to the SDI cables, and then decrypted again in the projector. This is done in a series one on the TI Interface Board, series two has a TI "Enigma" LD module.
After that the data is converted into whatever crazy format that goes to the light engine. That's not encrypted but presumably complex enough to not be worth trying to turn into video for piracy.

Some systems can bypass link encryption for open content. I've never tried that but I have seen settings on servers (DSS?) and projectors (Christie?).

[Devin McNamara]

Yeah I’m not sure how series one got out. It’s a series two, a DP2K-15C. I brought my server to the theater and could not get output there either. Preparing to just accept my defeat I set my server aside and decided to try on of our backup units from our sister theater that closed down. This one’s known good working. Got it powered up, set the projector device and proper IP addresses, and even was able to communicate with it through device controller. I set the input to HD-SDI again like on my server and boom… nothing from this one either. Perhaps I’m just doing something wrong here but I assume that once I set the input to HDSDI, fire the lamp, open the dowser, and set the format to either scope or flat, that I should get at least something. Am I missing something here? Is there a certain color space, mode or other setting I am missing?

[Carsten Kurz]

Just setting to HD-SDI may not work - these projectors would also need the proper link decryptor settings, they may have an IMB or IMS installed and link-encrypted HD-SDI does not work right away on these machines. Don't worry. Just a bit of a learning curve.

[Pete Naples]

Yeah I’m not sure how series one got out. It’s a series two, a DP2K-15C. I brought my server to the theater and could not get output there either. Preparing to just accept my defeat I set my server aside and decided to try on of our backup units from our sister theater that closed down. This one’s known good working. Got it powered up, set the projector device and proper IP addresses, and even was able to communicate with it through device controller. I set the input to HD-SDI again like on my server and boom… nothing from this one either. Perhaps I’m just doing something wrong here but I assume that once I set the input to HDSDI, fire the lamp, open the dowser, and set the format to either scope or flat, that I should get at least something. Am I missing something here? Is there a certain color space, mode or other setting I am missing?

Devin,

You would need to set the input on the projector to be HD/SDI dual link. If it currently has a IMS or similar device installed, the Flat/Scope macros will be looking at that.

[Devin McNamara]

So what does the dolphin B board look like? Does anyone have pictures of it? I’m surprised I have not been able to find any online. Why did it have four BNC connections on it? Is it a separate board or is it just simply connected to the coax connectors on the standard card then mounted to a PCI plate?

[Carsten Kurz]

The Dolphin B was pictured in a Doremi training slide document. I can look it up if you're really interested. It's not too exciting. I think it was basically a JPEG2000 decoder board with all DCI specific functions running in software on the server CPU. So it was in no way DCI compliant as far as safety/secure functions were concerned.

[Devin McNamara]

Well guys I think I’m throwing in the towel. I think that either my dolphin board is dead or that what I’m trying to do with my particular setup isn’t possible. I’ve been at this for about two straight weeks now, a few different converters and I I have been able to get is static . Given that part are hard to find and they are probably more that the cost of my car, I’m thinking I should probably just chuck it in the dumpster or maybe I’ll just gut it out and find something to do with the parts. I haven’t quite thought about it yet. Thanks for all the help you guys have given me.

[Devin McNamara]

Ok I refuse to let this die. I’m going to pull a log on it and post it here for y’all to have a look. Maybe there is something wrong that I can fix. Anyway should I just attach the file or could I post a link to the Dolby analysis after I generate the report? Thanks guys!

[Devin McNamara]

Ok so I pulled a log. Here it is:

http://loganalyzer.dolbycustomer.com...c44c4d1535e1a0

Out of all the things on here the one that stands out the most is the Dolphin RTC is lost. Being that this card does not have the Security Manager hardware is this part of my problem or is this generated because there is no SM in there?

I guess there is a bit of history I should probably discuss. So I picked up the first Doremi, this one I simply pulled out all the components as the power supply is bad. I used this Chassis for a PC case. This Doremi had the Dolphin 1.0 board inside. I managed to pick up another Doremi. This one refused to boot. I checked the BIOS and found the boot order scrambled. I'm guessing a failing CMOS battery. This Doremi has the 1.2 Dolphin board with the DCI compliant firmware in it. I'm assuming that I won't be able to play unencrypted DCPs without communication with a DCI projector. With that in mind, I removed the boot SSD, The dolphin card and hard drive raid. I placed all the previous hardware mentioned into this server. So the first Doremi Dolphin card, the boot drive and RAID drives are in the second unit. The original motherboard is still in there. This probably explains the Chassis number not set error in the report. As far as I know, I believe that I have successfully disabled Cinelink through FTPing into the server using CyberDuck. This file appears in both doremi\etc\ and doremi\etc\0. I changed it to "0" on both of these files and FTPed them back in. Checking with the built in text editor that it is indeed set to how i did on my PC's notepad. With all my hardware hooked up, upon bootup my TV's screen shows a bright green screen. This is the same regardless of which Dolphin board I use so I assume this is the normal startup of a Dolphin card. The screen will remain this way until the second I start a playlist in Cinelister. I have tons of DCPs from the theater including preshow content and a DCP I made of a favorite movie of mine. Playing the theater stuff results in the CineSnow. Playing my movie results in the TV blanking to the "No Signal" Screen. Audio goes through regardless of the content I use. The log shows multiple Decoder errors and crashes so this may be what is messing with me.