GDC TMS transfer from TMS to SMS stall bug

[Leo Enticknap]

I have been contacted by three customers in the last two days reporting that their GDC TMS won't transfer anything from the TMS to individual screen servers. It turns out that this is a known bug in older versions that can be fixed by updating to current, as so:

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I don't know why this bug is suddenly manifesting across multiple sites now, but it seems to be. Just thought that it was worth a heads up here.

[Steve Guttag]

This problem showed up on 12/13/24 and it is universal, to the best of my knowledge. Content won't transfer. Use the TMS2000's help menu to download the latest version (which is more current than on their FTP site, when I ran into the problem).

You want to be using: TMS-GDC-4.3.14721.12131913.

[Leo Enticknap]

I wonder why whatever version these sites were on previously worked perfectly OK, in one case since the spring (I last updated it around Easter time in response to another issue), and in the other two, likely for years, and the bug has suddenly activated now? Maybe a specific CPL that it didn't like, though I didn't think to check at the time.

My approach to updating GDC TMSes is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," because I've found that it's a bit like swapping out cat745 batteries: about one in three times, the update process breaks the software installation completely, and you have to reinstall from scratch, including Filezilla Server and the other add-ons. In these cases, something was broke and needed fixing, though.

[Steve Guttag]

Knock on wood...I don't think I've ever had a TMS2000 crash on update. Now, crash while operating...yeah, sure...it isn't the most stable thing. Best practice on updating the TMS is to start by rebooting the host server (not just restart the program, send the entire computer through the cycle to ensure all services are stopped/started).

I tend to agree. I don't update the TMS2000 sites unless a client has a specific issue that an update claims to fix. Thus far, the GDC updates haven't broken any features, for me.

As to this specific problem of content transfers...some are suspecting one of the MS NET was an issue and I'm guessing it was date related because the transfers just stopped on Friday (content transfers, I don't recall if it was SPLs too). If it was a specific piece of content, it wouldn't have be date related. You would have had people encountering it on different days as that troubled content made its way around.

[Brian Vita]

We've been dealing with this all weekend. While it's unclear if it's a Windows-related issue or a bug in the program itself, the mechanism that allows the TMS to transfer content, KDMs, and SPL stopped working in the early hours of Friday the 13th.

While upgrading to the current build will clear this issue, DO NOT DO THE UPGRADE without reading the following:

1. After downloading the upgrade, close the TMS program manually.

2. Go into Windows settings ->security and turn OFF Real-Time Protection. If you do not do this, Windows will flag components of the TMS installer as viruses and prevent them from loading. Do not delay in installing the update because Windows will automatically turn Real-Time Protection back on after several minutes.

3. In your firewall, whitelist the following items:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Postgres
C:\Program Files (x86)\Filezilla Server
C:\Program Files (x86)\GDC
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\TMS
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\TMSConnect

There have been some instances reported where the installation outlined above does not work. In those cases it is necessary to go into Windows Virus and Threat Protection and restore the elements of the TMS that have been quarantined after the installation. If you attempt to do the upgrade without following the instructions above, you will likely find a lot of the programs components quarantined.

Please note that the above instructions only apply to some Windows 7 installations and all Windows 10/11 installs. If you are using an older OS (We found two running on Windows Server 2008 R2) you most likely not have the installation issue and can proceed to install the upgrade directly.

I just finished doing about 40 of these over the weekend. If done properly you should be all set. If it doesn't work, go back and check the virus and quarantine settings.

I have posted a support article on this in our company's knowledge base. It is available to all at: https://support.totalcinemasolutions...er-12-13-24

[Paul H. Rayton]

Hi, Brian -- I just tried the link you provided, and it seems to be inop. I see this message, "this page doesn't exist". It seems to be taking me at your company site, but the link isn't exactly right. Or is that because (as per the message box in the lower right, "we're offline" at this time?)

image.png

[Frank Cox]

There is an extraneous character at the end of the link he posted.

This one works:

https://support.totalcinemasolutions...after-12-13-24

[Brian Vita]

Thank you, Frank, for catching the typo. The knowledge base site is up 24/7, and we try to keep adding articles to it. We are open to any submissions that you feel we should add. We are specifically not putting any equipment passwords on the site to avoid raising the ire of the manufacturers.

As Frank pointed out, the corrected link is:

https://support.totalcinemasolutions...after-12-13-24

The link to the top page of the knowledge base is:

https://support.totalcinemasolutions.com/portal/en/home

From the top page the search bar will take you to the various articles.

Brian

[Leo Enticknap]

So all these GDC TMSes decided to shit the bed on Friday the 13th? And there was me thinking that was just a superstition...

Please note that the above instructions only apply to some Windows 7 installations and all Windows 10/11 installs. If you are using an older OS (We found two running on Windows Server 2008 R2) you most likely not have the installation issue and can proceed to install the upgrade directly.

That likely explains why our IT guy uses whatever is the current version of Windows Server when building GDC TMS machines, and not consumer Windows: these steps are not necessary when updating the application. Thinking back, it could be that the ones I've had trouble updating were built by third parties using consumer versions of Windows. I don't recall the GDC manual warning you to do the Windows firewall and anti-malware disabling steps before running an updater.

It annoys me that the GDC TMS app has to run with administrator privileges. This strikes me as unnecessary and an inherent security risk. All it does is manage files on a storage volume (for which admin rights are not needed: just ownership rights to the necessary drives and folders, which is perfectly possible with a "user" account in Windows), transfer them over a LAN, and send and receive API commands from devices on a LAN. Low level access to the operating system is not needed to do any of those things, and plenty of other apps do them without it.

[Steve Guttag]

I get the impression that the TMS2000 started off to be more of an accommodation TMS to get GDC's foot in the door during the VPF programs. As such, it stood on the shoulders of 3rd party programs to get it up and running quickly. It has then evolved to be a rather accommodating TMS but it is still standing on its roots. It certainly crashes more than other TMSes (needing either the program to fully shutdown/restart or the whole TMS host computer to shutdown/restart). It is horrifically slow on start up as it sniffs all of its kingdom for content and server status. One would have to think that they are prevented from making it start up quicker without a sever rewrite of the underlying boot up sequences and possible dependencies of 3rd party apps.

The only places I did consumer GDC TMSes were in a handful of 5 plexes (and smaller) and I did use Windows 7 Pro as the host operating system running on a Dell Mini-Tower. As I recall, GDC had a shopping list of known working equipment, including an external Star-Tech 4-drive RAID storage. Honesetly, for the most part, those worked. I have none left in service though. Those theatres, by and large, have shut down (some as recently as post C19. The remaining ones were built professionally on Dell servers running Windows Server (including 2008 R2...but that one is slated to be changed in 2025).

Another thing that the TMS2000 bring is the ability to be very hands-on with the show builds. It also has the Dolby style of horizontal linear show build ups (with drag-and-drop) that is lacking in other TMS systems (and SMS servers, for that matter).

[Brian Vita]

We have received an update from GDC on clearing the stalling issue. It is reflected in the updated knowledge base article below.

It should be noted that in addition to not moving content, some of the other manifestations are an inability to show the projector status and an inability to ingest content. These are cleared.

https://support.totalcinemasolutions...r-12-13-24-gdc

[Brian Vita]

It is horrifically slow on start up as it sniffs all of its kingdom for content and server status. One would have to think that they are prevented from making it start up quicker without a sever rewrite of the underlying boot up sequences and possible dependencies of 3rd party apps.

The delay in restarting is caused by the system reinventorying all of the auditorium server's content.

[Steve Guttag]

But that really is a design choice, isn't it? It could start up with the last known inventory and then poll the SMS servers to see what their current states are (as it should do periodically anyway). I don't see this sort of performance from other TMS systems.