Sony SDDS Print Master User manual

Brand: Sony

Model: SDDS Print Master

Category: Measuring, testing & control

Type: User manual

SDDS Print Master

Guidelines

R evision 2, October 2001

1 SDDS Print Master Format

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 2 of 26

Contents

1 SDDS Print Master Format 4

1.1 Media 4

1.2 Track assignments 4

1.3 Synchronisation 5

1.4 Audio and levels 5

1.5 Media labelling 6

1.6 Checking 6

1.7 Test tapes 6

2 Notes, Hints and T ips 7

2.1 Setting up the studio 7

2.2 Striping and syncing 7

2.3 Multi-format print masters 8

2.4 Foreign language print masters 8

2.5 The importance of checking SDDS masters 9

3 DAS H Machines – Care and U se 10

3.1 Models 10

3.2 Head cleaning 10

3.3 Pre-striping 10

3.4 Number of reels on a tape 10

3.5 Punch-ins 10

4 DT R S Machines – Care and U se 11

4.1 Models 11

4.2 Levels 11

4.3 Clean air 11

4.4 Errors 11

4.5 Compatibility 12

4.6 Maintenance 12

4.7 Cleaning 12

4.8 Head hour display 12

4.9 Error rate display 12

4.10 Tape gets stuck inside 12

4.11 Hints for making print masters on DTRS machines 13

1 SDDS Print Master Format

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 3 of 26

5 Akai DD8 machines – Care and U se 14

5.1 Models 14

5.2 Media 14

5.3 At the optical camera transfer facility 14

5.4 Track assignment 14

5.5 Synchronisation at the dubbing theatre 14

5.6 Levels 15

5.7 Problems with MO drives 15

5.8 Drive servicing 16

6 SDDS - T he i ndus t r y's best sounding f or mat 17

Hear the Difference

6.2 System Basics

SDDS Products

6.4 Big Sound for the Big Screen

6.5 Further details – Why is it the best sounding system? 18

6.6 Testimonials 19

7 Dolby level versus operating level. Historical notes. 20

8 Subwoof er s 21

8.1 Introduction 21

8.2 Setting the acoustical reference level on the dub stage. 21

8.3 Setting the subwoofer acoustical gain using a screen speaker as a reference. 21

8.4 Why we do it this way. 22

8.5 What it means. 22

8.6 Setting the digital screen speakers in the cinema. 22

8.7 Setting the digital subwoofer in the cinema. 23

8.8 Optical subwoofer defined. 23

8.9 Setting the optical subwoofer. 23

8.10 Subwoofer polarity. 24

8.11 Rule-of-thumb methods. 24

9 Glossary of Terms 25

1 SDDS Print Master Format

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 4 of 26

1 SDDS Print Master Format

1.1

Media

T he following ar e ex ampl es of the types of media s ui t abl e for delivering an SDDS

Printmaster. However, facilities vary from s ite to s i te as do cus tomer s ’ pr ef erred

delivery requirements, it is therefore advi s ed that you check with both the cus tomer

and the negati ve r ecor der site whi ch format is required.

For negatives made i n:-

Use:-

USA DT RS Hi8

DASH

6 track magnetic f ilm

Akai DD8plus MO

UK DT RS Hi8

Akai DD8plus MO

T he r es t of Europe DT RS Hi8 or as specified l ocally

1.2

T rack assignments

Audio Channel DAS H Channel DT R S/MO Channel

LEFT 1 1

LEFT CENTRE 2 2

CENT RE 3 3

RI GHT CENTRE 4 4

RI GHT 5 5

SUBWOOF E R 6 6

LEFT SURROUND 7 7

RI GHT SURROUND 8 8

LEFT TOTAL (Dolby SR) 11 N/A

RI GHT TOTAL (Dolby SR) 12 N/A

OPT IONAL MATERIAL 15 N/A

MONO DI AL OGU E GUIDE 16 N/A

M&E LEFT 17 N/A

M&E LEFT CENTRE 18 N/A

M&E CENTRE 19 N/A

M&E RIGHT CENTRE 20 N/A

M&E RIGHT 21 N/A

M&E SUBWOOF E R 22 N/A

M&E LEFT SURROUND 23 N/A

M&E RIGHT SURROUND 24 N/A

1 SDDS Print Master Format

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 5 of 26

1.3

Synchr onisation

Sampling f r equency 44.1kHz. i.e. 44100 samples for every 24 frames of picture.

48kHz can be us ed, but this will be s ampl e-r ate- conver ted i n the camer a. Make s ur e

the box is CLEARLY marked i f the mas ter is at 48kHz.

T imecode 25 frames per second, referenced to 50Hz, film speed 24 fps

Or 30 frames per second, non drop fr ame, referenced to 60Hz, film s peed 24fps

NOT E: For NTSC r ef er en ced mi x i ng, the mas ter tape mus t be pr e- s tr i ped at

30fps/60Hz, then “pulled down” on the mi xi ng s tage to 29.97fps NTSC s y n c wi t h

44.056kHz sampling fr equency. In this case the film s peed is 23.98 fps.

T imecode mus t be r efer enced to the di gi tal audio.

Reel 1 = 1 hour start, reel 2 = 2 hour etc.

Head pop/ sync pi p should s tar t two s econds or 3 feet before the fi r s t frame of

picture. e.g. for reel 1, pip at 1:00:06:00, first frame at 1:00:08:00.

1.4

Audio and levels

Oper ating level is –20dBfs. Wide band pi nk noise at the s ame R MS value as this will

produce the following S PLs in the ci nema. Please note, to compar e l evel s of tone and

pink noise, a t r ue R MS voltmeter must be us ed. Console meter s will read di fferently for

tone and pi nk noise.

Channel SPL C-Weighted measur ement

LEFT 85

LEFT CENTRE 85

CENT RE 85

RI GHT CENTRE 85

RI GHT 85

SUBWOOF E R Appr ox 91 see*

LEFT SURROUND 82

RI GHT SURROUND 82

*T he s ubwoofer channel has 10dB of in band gain. For a f ull explanation of this, see

the “S ubwoofers ” section on page 21.

T ones should be r ecor ded on all used channels at the head of each reel . 30 seconds

each of 1kHz at –20dBfs, and pi nk noise at the R MS level of the 1kHz tone.

Surround delay is set in the ci nema pr ocessor. No delay on the mas ter .

Overlap. 2 seconds or 3 feet of audio fr om the s ubs equent reel must be r ecor ded

after the end of the r eel . This can optionally end wi th a t ail pip.

A/ D conversion. No audio pr e-emphas is .

1 SDDS Print Master Format

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 6 of 26

1.5

Media l abelling

T he tape or disc s hou l d be labelled wi th:

T he name of the film

T he r eel number

T he wor ds “SDDS master”

T he l anguage ver s i on

T he date

T he box should be l abelled wi th the above thi ngs and al s o:

T he s ampling fr equency

T he ti mecode fr ame r ate

T he film s peed

T he tr ack assignment

Details of tones

T imecode s tar t time

T otal footage

1.6

Checking

It is strongly recommended that all SDDS masters are pl ayed back with picture after

recording, before the opti cal transfer is made. A di gi tal clone coul d be al s o made at

this time.

1.7

T est tapes

T est tapes are available fr om the S ony Cinema Pr oduct s (SCP) office, details on page

Error! Bookmar k not defined.. These contain 1kHz at –20dBfs plus pink noise at

the RMS value of this tone.

2 Notes, Hints and T ips

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 7 of 26

2 Notes, Hints and Tips

2.1

Setting up t he s t udi o

T he dubbi ng theatr e moni tor i ng s ys tem s hould be equalised to the i ndus tr y standard

ISO-2969 “X” cur ve, as used i n cinemas. T he method us ed to achi eve thi s is beyond

the s cope of this text, but details can be found i n the DF P- 3000 Quick Start Guide,

available fr om S ony Cinema Pr oducts (SCP) office, details on page Error! Bookmar k

not defined.. This is usually carried out before the pr oj ect is begun.

It is important to r ecor d the mas ter at the correct level. The audi o is transferred

digitally into the camer a, with no oppor tuni ty for level adjustments. A r efer ence “tes t

tape” is available fr om the S CP office. Correct studio alignment can be achi eved by

following thes e s teps :

Play back the 1kHz section of the S DDS test tape. T his is recorded at exactly

-20dBfs.

T his should r ead hous e oper ati ng l evel at the cons ol e. This is usually 0VU in the

USA and 0dB u in the UK. It is also known as “Dolby Level”.

Play back the pink noise s ecti on of the tes t tape. Monitor each loudspeaker in

turn and s et the moni tor i ng l evel s using a S PL meter to the val ues shown in

section 1.4 on page 5.

Send 1kHz at house oper ati ng level to the mas ter machine. This should r ead

-20dBfs on the r ecor d machi ne meter s . It should als o r ead oper ati ng l evel

(unity gain) through the machi ne at the cons ol e.

If no tes t tape is available:

Send 1kHz at house oper ati ng level to the mas ter machine, make s ur e i t reads

–20dBfs at the machi ne meter s .

Check for unity gain through the machi ne, back at the cons ol e.

Measure the output of this machine wi th a t r ue R MS voltmeter, and then send

pink noise at the s ame l evel . For 0VU operating l evel this is 1.23 Vrms.

Use thi s pink noise to s et the moni tor i ng l evels as in section 1.4.

2.2

Str iping and s yncing

DASH and DT RS tapes should be for matted and pr e-s tr i ped wi th timecode befor e the

session. It is imperative that the ti mecode and di gi tal audio ar e l ocked together . The

simplest way to achi eve thi s is to s tr ipe the tape fr om the machi ne’s internal

generator. T he opti cal transfer rooms are s et up wi th a 25fps PAL or a 30fps B&W

NT SC v i deo s ync. Timecode i s only used for positional information. The s peed s ync

comes from the di gi tal audio i ts elf, which is locked to video, and tr ans ferred di gi tally to

the camer a.

T he r ecommended s et up for studios is to us e a mas t er video s ync, to whi ch

everything is locked; projector, playback and mas ter machines. This will give the bes t

results. However some ol d pr oj ector s run from the mai ns only, without provision for

video s ync. In this case, timecode mus t be gener ated fr om the mains - l ocked pr oj ector .

T his is usually OK, but it is particularly important to ens ur e the ti mecode to digital lock

is correct. Here we will have a s i t uat i on where ti mecode i s used for speed i nfor mati on

2 Notes, Hints and T ips

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 8 of 26

in the dubbi ng theatr e and di gi tal audio i s used when the negati ve i s made. Extra car e

must be taken.

If NT S C v i deo sync is used i n the dubbi ng theatr e, it is very important that the

master tapes are pr e- s tr i ped wi th 30 non-drop fr ame ti mecode at 60Hz. This will then

mean that the ti mecode tr ack, control track and A/D converter are all running at the

same s peed, second for second. 30 frames of code for 44100 samples and 24 frames

of picture. During r ecor di ng of the mas ter , the machi ne mus t be “pulled down” using

the F s shift function. This has the effect of locking the A/D converter with the NT S C

29.97 fps video input. This means that the machi ne tr ans por t, the ti mecode and the

A/D converter will all run slow. 29.97 fps and 44.056kHz. The pr oj ector in this case will

be r unning at 23.96 fps. Therefore 24 frames of picture will still equal 44100 samples.

NEVER stripe at 29.97 NDF. T he “s econds ” of the NDF code will be of longer duration

than the “s econds ” of the contr ol track. Therefore 44100 samples of audio will not

equal 30 frames of code and 24 frames of picture.

Obviously, if a 48kHz master is required, then similar rules appl y , but the r ecor di ng

sampling fr equency would be 47.952kHz in this case.

2.3

Mult i-format print masters

T he S DDS format has been carefully designed to enable i t to fi t in well with other

digital audio pri nt master sessions, as the moni tor i ng s tandar ds are compati ble. T he

RMS pink noise at -20dBfs specification is the s ame as DTS and S RD, however some

small differences may be found wi th SRD due to his tor ical RMS measurement

techniques. This is currently being addr essed by Dolby and s hor tl y all formats will be

within 0.5dB. To s ave ti me at the s ession, the S DDS master can be taken as a par allel

feed and all masters can be r ecor ded at the s ame ti me. However it is very important

that the S DDS master is then played back with picture to check for errors.

2.4

Foreign language pr int masters

Normally the pr ocedur e i s to r ecor d the mas ter along with all other formats as above,

then, if time i s short, to us e the S DDS master to make the L tR t. This fold-down

process is not ideal for monitoring the mas ter , but allows the S DDS master to be

checked to s ome ex tent. Ideally a s epar at e pl ayback pass should be made (cl ones can

be made at this time, perhaps).

2 Notes, Hints and T ips

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 9 of 26

2.5

T he i mpor t ance of checking S DDS masters

Digital machines are us ually reliable i n use. However they are s till prone to errors such

as:

Head errors – age or dirt

Alignment problems

Losing s ync

Slippi ng s ync on playback

Faulty patch leads

T ape dr op outs

Weird noi s es from faulty converters or aliasing

It is therefore vi tal to listen back to all masters with picture. This will avoid cos tl y

reshooting of negatives. The mas ter may not be moni tor ed when it is transferred to

film as all soundtracks are s hot in one pass.

3 DASH Machines – Care and Us e

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 10 of 26

3 DASH Machines – Care and Use

3.1

Models

T here ar e fi ve model s in current use

Sony PCM3324

Sony PCM3324A

Sony PCM3324S

Sony PCM3348

Sony PCM3348HR

T he top two machi nes from this list can be us ed but are not recommended. The other s

have eas y provision for Fs shift pull down and have a us ef ul 0.2dB per segment

calibration mode.

3.2

Head cleaning

Ensure the utmos t care when cleaning heads on these machi nes . Move i n a s i de to

side di r ecti on only. Moving up and down can damage the head per manentl y and

replacement is extremely costly. Clean with isopropyl alcohol and an appr oved chamoi s

cleaning s ti ck.

3.3

Pr e-str iping

Although you can manage wi th advance r ecor d mode, it is far better to pr e-s tr ipe all

tapes. Format at single s peed us i ng advance r ecor d wi th all tracks armed. SCPC does

not recommend us i ng the “Pr eS tr i pi ng” function, which formats at 4X speed.

3.4

Number of reel s on a t ape

It is best to have one tape per reel , as this makes replacing r eel s much easier.

However tape cos ts are hi gh. If more than one r eel per tape i s recorded, then it is

recommended that continuous timecode i s recorded thr oughout the tape.

Synchronisation errors will then be mi ni mi s ed. The box must be cl ear l y labelled wi th

start and end ti mes . There mus t be an absolute mi ni mum of 1 minute between reel s .

Five mi nutes is recommended.

3.5

Punch-ins

If drop-ins or punch-ins are necessary, make s ur e the cr ossfade ti me on the machi ne i s

set to mini mum. T his is also another good r eas on for pre-formatting.

4 DT RS Machines – Care and Us e

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 11 of 26

4 DTRS Machines – Care and Use

4.1

Models

DT RS machine ar e s emi -pr ofessional machines designed for “large” home s tudi os .

T hey became qui ckl y adopted as a s t andar d 8 track digital tape machi ne i n European

dubbi ng s tudios . It is still often the for mat of choice for moving mater i al between

studios. There ar e two makes and s ever al models, the mos t important of which are

listed bel ow.

T ascam DA88 – the or i gi nal

Sony PCM800

T ascam DA98

At present the S DDS masters must be i n standard 16 bit format. New high bit rate

modes are now available, but the camer a s i t es only have s tandar d PCM800s and

DA88s so they can’t play back the new formats .

4.2

L evels

Note that the DA88 and PCM800 are factor y set so that +4dBu = –16dBfs. An

allowance for this has to be made if mixing wi th studio oper ati ng l evels other than

0dBu (as 0dBu = –20dBfs). The machi ne i ts el f can be modi fi ed for different levels, or

console i nput/output trims can be us ed. If in doubt, check using the S DDS DTRS test

tape. The DA98 has software s el ectable l evel s for +4dBu = -16, -18 and – 20dBfs.

4.3

Clean air

T here i s a cooling fan in the DA88 and PCM800, which sucks air through the machi ne.

T here i s no filter and the onl y entry hole i s the cassette dr awer . This means that any

dirt, cigarette s moke etc. in the air is pulled di r ectl y over the heads , which is very bad

for the per for mance of the machi ne. It is recommended that the air around the

machines is kept as clean as possible, with no s moking in the s ame r oom. There i s a

simple modi fi cati on to change the di r ecti on of the fan and add a filter. T he machi ne

seems to be s lightly hotter after this mod, so car eful checks must be made after war ds .

Details are on Eddi e Ciletti’s web s i te www.tangi bl e- technology.com

4.4

Errors

Errors can occur for a var i et y of reasons. Problems caused by dirty or worn heads can

be checked for by playing back the mas ter after recording. However, many recent

problems we have found wer e all caused by tape path misalignment. This means that

the tape will play back fine on the machi ne on which it was recorded, but causes errors

on other machines.

4 DT RS Machines – Care and Us e

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 12 of 26

4.5

Compat ibility

Note that there i s no difference i n line up pr ocedur e between the T as cam DA-88 and

the S ony PCM-800. Both machines use the s ame S ony Hi-8 transport, and both

machines are manufactur ed by T EAC.

4.6

Maint enance

Check the head hour s regularly (see bel ow) . Every 250 hours the uni t should be

cleaned manually and the tape path alignment checked. T his should be per for med by

an experienced engi neer with the correct tools and tes t tapes. Every 1000 hours the

machine s houl d be fully aligned wi th probable r epl acement of the pi nch roller and r eel

tables and the possible r epl acement of the heads . Real world ex per i ence has shown

that the heads last for between 750 and 1200 hours.

4.7

Cleaning

T he error rate of a k nown good tape s houl d be checked r egul ar l y (see bel ow – if the

error LED lights it’s far too l ate!). When the error rate begi ns to r i s e, a cl eani ng tape

should be us ed and then the errors checked agai n. If there i s no i mpr ovement, the

machine s houl d be cl eaned manually and r e- aligned. Note that each pass of the

cleaning tape will reduce the head life by appr oxi matel y 5 to 10 hours. Manual cleaning

does not reduce head life, but there i s a danger that the head will be damaged (tur n

anti-clockwise onl y) and al s o the s tr ong possibility that the tape path alignment will be

altered. It is therefore al ways advisable to check the alignment after manual cleaning.

4.8

Head hour display

T o invoke the head hour display, hold S T OP+ PL AY whilst powering on. The di s pl ay will

say “d XXXX” wher e XXXX is the total head hour s

4.9

Error rate di s pl ay

Hold FF+STOP+PLAY and power on. Within 2 seconds press STOP (for DA88) or PLAY

(for PCM-800). The di s pl ay says “test”. Press REMOTE. Meters 1 and 2 now s how head

errors in play mode. A “tes t ” tape wi th a t one s houl d be made when the heads are

new. T he s tate of the head and alignment can then be moni tor ed us i ng thi s tape.

Newly recorded tapes should als o be checked for error rate per i odically. An “in-spec”

machine will not show anything on the meter s .

4.10

T ape get s stuck inside

If errors occur , sometimes the machi ne won’t eject, for “safety” reasons . To ej ect,

enter test mode as above. Instead of pressing RE MOT E, press EJECT. The tape will

now ej ect. Next turn off the machi ne and back on to exit test mode. If the tape i s

damaged, do not continue to us e the machi ne!

4 DT RS Machines – Care and Us e

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 13 of 26

4.11

Hint s for making pr int masters on DT R S machines

If possible pl ay back the mas ter in a di fferent machine to whi ch it was recorded.

If a DA98 is available. This can be us ed i n “confidence” mode. This plays back the

audio off tape whilst recording us i ng r ead after write heads . Bear in mind the following

T he audi o output of the DA98 is delayed by 6 frames. The pr oj ector must be

advanced to compens ate for this.

T he tr acks are ar med i n pairs in this mode. Please ens ur e that no noi s e, hiss

etc. is recorded on unused tr acks , especially in a 5 . 1 format film. Tracks 2 and

4 LC an d RC ar e s till played back in the ci nema, so any noise pr es ent on them

will be r epr oduced i n the ci nema.

It is not possible to dr op-i n/punch-i n in this mode.

5 Akai DD8 machines – Care and Us e

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 14 of 26

5 Akai DD8 machines – Care and Use

5.1

Models

T here ar e two models of the DD8. Camera s i t es have the mos t recent model, which is

the DD8 plus.

5.2

Media

Masters should be s upplied on 2.6Gb MO car t r i dges , with 1 reel per side.

Note: please check with the opt ical transfer facility and t he f ilm distributor

before us i ng Akai DD8 MO di s cs for SDDS masters. Not all optical transfer

facilities have Akai machines. It is not a s t andar d r equi r ement. If you’re not sure, mix

to DT RS .

5.3

At the opt ical camera t r ans f er facility

T he audi o will be tr ans ferred di gi tally via AE S into the camer a. The camer a i s

synchronised to a PAL video s ync. Timecode i s used for positional information, and i s

synchronised wi th a CB electronics Bi-phase to timecode conver ter . The eas i es t and

safest method i s for the camer a f acility to make a “s t r ai ght across” tr ansfer without re-

assigning tr acks , changing s ync et c. Please bear this in mind when making mas ter s .

5.4

T rack assignment

It would gr eatl y help the tr ans fer facility if the s tandar d tr ack assignment is adhered

to. This can be found at section 1.2 on page 4. Tracks can be s wapped i nter nally when

making cl ones etc. This can be s et up i n two ways . Either

“routing inputs ” by pressing S YS T EM – INPUTS, or

“track mappi ng” by pressing S YS T EM – MORE – MORE – TRACKS. T his lets

you swap r ound the output assignments of recorded tr acks .

5.5

Synchr onisation at the dubbing t heat r e

Sampling F r equency 44.1kHz with Film s peed 24 FPS. R emember! 44100 samples for

every 24 frames of picture.

T he DD8 can be s ynchr oni s ed i n several ways.

Video S ync ( r ecommended)

Biphase

Word s ync

T imecode onl y (not recommended, and will not work with NT SC pu lldown)

5 Akai DD8 machines – Care and Us e

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 15 of 26

If a PAL sync i s used, this is set up as follows

Press SYSTEM – DIGI

Set Sample Rate to 44.1kHz

Set Digital Sync t o PAL Video s ync

Press SYNC

Set Ext. time s our ce to 25FPS

Please note that if NT SC s y n c i s used i n a “pulled down” set up, the s ampling

frequency must also be pulled down to 44.056. This is set up as follows.

Press SYSTEM - DIGI

Set Sample Rate to 44.056

Set Digital Sync t o NT SC 29.97

Press SYNC

Set Ext time s our ce to S MPT E 29.97 nd

T hen record the mas ter in the us ual way.

5.6

L evels

Reference l evel = -20dBfs

It is important to s elect the correct analogue oper ati ng l evel in the DD8, as the audi o

will be di gi tally transferred i nto the camer a. Therefore l evel s can’t be alter ed at the

optical transfer site. Use the following table as a gui de.

Studio Oper ating L evel

Set Akai ref to

T one at Gives

+4dBu or 0VU -20 +4dBu

-20dBfs

0dBu or –4VU -16 0dBu

-20dBfs

+2dBu or –2VU -18 +2dBu

-20dBfs

-4dBu or –8VU -12 -4dBu

-20dBfs

T o change the s etting on the DD8, perform the following.

Press SYSTEM – MORE – LEVELS

T he l evel can now be changed

Press EXIT.

T he new s etting mus t be s aved, either in the pr oj ect or as a def aul t in the F l as h ROM

(recommended).

Please r emember that it is important to listen back to the S DDS master, to check for

clicks, dropouts, bad connections etc.

5.7

Pr oblems with MO dr i ves

One faul t of the Akai DD8 is the fact that it doesn’t report disk reading errors. If it fails

to r etr ieve a f ile, it will simply mute one tr ack for, say, half a s econd, and then carry

on as normal. Otherwise i t may not play a t r ack at all. These pr obl ems are caus ed by:

Fragmentation – If a r eel contains a l ot of punch-ins or has been edited a l ot ,

the dr i ve may have pr obl ems acce ssing all the s mall sections.

Dirt and age – it is extremely important to s er vice the dr i ves regularly (see

below).

For SDDS masters it is recommended that a newl y formatted dis c i s used, and the

amount of punch-ins/editing i s kept to a mi ni mum.

5 Akai DD8 machines – Care and Us e

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 16 of 26

5.8

Dr ive ser vicing

T here ar e no official service i nter vals for drives, but servicing at least once a year is

recommended. Servicing can only be per for med by a s peci alist MO dr i ve s er vi ci ng

company.

Moreover, it is absolutely vital to have no smoking in the s ame r oom as these dr i ves .

T hey are i ncr edi bl y susceptible to air bor ne dus t and di r t. Cigarette s moke combi nes

the wor s t of all environments, as it is also s ticky. If you have pr obl ems with MO dr i ves

and s moki ng occur s in the s ame r oom, this is almost certainly the r eas on for the

problems.

6 SDDS - The i ndus tr y' s best sounding for mat

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 17 of 26

6 SDDS - The industry's best

sounding format

Sony Dynamic Digital Sound

(SDDS

) is the motion picture

industry's most advanced digital sound format, designed exclusively

for cinema presentation. In developing SDDS, Sony applied decades

of innovative experience in professional and home audio to deliver

the highest quality sound presentation. SDDS has been engineered

to give filmmakers increased creative freedom and ultimately to preserve the integrity of the

master soundtrack. With SDDS, today’s moviegoers can now experience a film's sound

exactly as heard by the director and sound engineers on the mixing stage.

6.1 Hear the Difference

Digital sound has changed the way people see movies. The

clarity and vibrance of SDDS truly heightens the movie going

experience. While other digital formats are limited to the same

5.1 channels as home systems, SDDS provides movie

audiences with up to eight channels of crystal clear discrete

audio. The additional two channels increases sonic detail and headroom adding impact to

the presentation.

6.2 System Basics

SDDS is a sound-on-film format comprised of the SDDS soundtrack, optically printed on

both edges of 35mm film and the SDDS playback hardware – a reader and processor. As

the film is projected, the SDDS soundtrack is scanned, its data is processed, and ultimately

converted into analogue audio signals for the cinema's loudspeakers and amplifiers.

6.3 SDDS Products

Sony manufactures a range of products that fit the

exhibitor's needs. For new cinemas, there is the

DFP-D3000 system that includes analogue and control

functions and can serve as the central processor in any

cinema, also available as an analogue only processor.

For retrofit applications there is the add-on DFP D2500 that simply

adds SDDS to any existing system.

Both systems use the DFP-R3000 Reader to scan the soundtrack.

The reader mounts to the top of any 35MM projector.

6.4 Big Sound for the Big Screen

The days of narrow ‘shoe box’ small screens are over. Today,

the emphasis is on making cinema going an event. There is a

trend towards building, larger, wider screens to maximise the

experience. SDDS enables filmmakers and theatre owners to

fill big auditoriums with six or eight channels of discrete digital

sound through five screen loudspeakers, two surround

channels and a full-frequency sub-woofer channel. The glory

days of 70mm big sound have returned with SDDS. None of the latest home theatre

environments can compete.

6 SDDS - The i ndus tr y' s best sounding for mat

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 18 of 26

6.5

Fur t her details – Why is it the bes t sounding syst em?

In normal operation the S DDS playback equipment uses both sides of the film for

playback. However, if one s i de i s damaged, the uni t will play in “digital concealment

mode”. This uses extra back up tr acks for the los t information. There i s a backup

centre and s ubwoofer . The l eft and r i ght channels are mi xed to cr eate l eft mix backup

and r i ght mix backup. These ar e pl ayed thr ough the appr opr i ate s peaker s at coded

volume level s . The effect of going i nto “DCM” is seamless. There i s always a di gi t al

centre s o dialogue i s not disturbed. T he two s i des are s epar ated fr om each other by

about 17 frames.

T he data r at e off film is 2.2Mbits/sec, rather than 370kbits/second.

T he data compr ession is Sony’s accl ai me d AT RAC, used i n broadcasting and i n minidisk

players. The compr ession ratio is only 5:1, rather than 10:1 or 13:1.

T here i s no data s har i ng between channels, all channels are full range 20kHz (even the

subwoofer ).

T he tr ack is printed i n the cyan layer. This is the deepes t layer and ther efor e the mos t

resistant to s cr atches . The r eader s also us e patented di ffuse light, which also

counteracts scratches. In normal use, with a well printed tr ack, the S DDS track will last

as long as the pi ctur e.

T he ci nema equi pment is built to S ony’s high broadcast standards. It features 28 band

digital EQ on all channels (2 band par ametr i c on the s ubwoofer ). All I/O i s balanced.

T he pi ctur e bel ow s hows the hi gh resolution, small dot size of SDDS (on the l eft) .

6 SDDS - The i ndus tr y' s best sounding for mat

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 19 of 26

6.6

T est imonials

“Eight channel SDDS is awesome! It makes a h u ge di fference on Pearl Harbor. I ’ve

never heard a movi e s ound s o r eal . By all means, seek out a t heat r e f eat ur i ng S DDS 8

to exper i ence Pear l Harbor the way we i nt ended i t . ”

Michael Bay, Director, Pearl Harbor

“T he s ens e of being t ot ally enveloped i n high-detail sound was particularly noticeable

on this (SDDS 8) soundtrack”

François Groult, chief sound mixer,

“T he Messenger: The st or y of Joan of Arc”

“While t he i ncr eas ed ‘s cr een res olution’ does indeed hel p wi t h the def i ni t i on of busy

scenes, five channels have as much place on quiet films such as ‘Erin Br ockovich’. I

always find that just having t hr ee s cr een speakers on intimate f ilms forces me t o pl ay

too many elements in the cent r e hor n; otherwise, it’s distracting to have s ounds

banging ar ound t he ex i t signs near the l ef t and r i ght speakers. With SDDS , I can use

the l ef t - cent r e and r i ght - cent r e s peaker s for a nat ur al - f eeling, narrow s ter eo i mage

throughout the whol e movi e, going wi der as necessary for exterior scenes.”

Larry Blake, supervising sound editor & rerecording mixer,

Erin Brockovich

“Movie t heatr es equipped t o pr es ent films in eight full channels can build and mai nt ai n

a gr eat er marketing edge over home t heat r es . ”

“Listening to the t hr ee- channel music became an annoying and di s t r act i ng

disappoi nt ment , even with a 12 foot (wide) screen. Obviously my earlier notion had

been mistaken. T he S DDS eight-channel advantage will work in any theatre.”

John F Allen, Boxoffice 1997

7 Dolby level versus operating l evel . Historical notes.

SDDS Print Master Guidelines, Page 20 of 26

7 Dolby level versus operating level.

Historical notes.

T he current standard for digital cinema s ound has a headr oom of 20dB above the

studio r eference level . This is usually 0VU in USA/France/Spain/I taly and 0dB u in the

UK. If you look closely at a VU meter, 0VU is also mar ked as 100% . It now seems

ludicrous that –20dB should be mar ked as 100% . However, when the meter was first

invented, it was decided, for safety that there woul d be at least 10dB of headroom

above thi s 0VU mark. This is because the meter integrates the level over time and

gives an average r eadi ng. It will miss instantaneous peaks. It therefore tends to under

read, depending on program material. In the film wor ld the fl ux level of magnetic f ilm

was set at 0VU=185nWb/m. This allows roughly 10dB of headroom, remembering that

maximum level on magnetic t ape i s not a s t r i ct l y defined poi nt, but that the ons et of

saturation and di s tor ti on is gradual. This reference level of 0VU then translated to an

SPL of 85dBc i n the ci nema. With the advent of digital recording ther e i s no “ons et of

tape s atur ati on grey area” s o it is even more i mpor tant to have l ots of headroom to

allow for instantaneous peaks. 20dBs was decided on, which seemed to s uit the

instantaneous peaks found i n film s ound tr acks .

In the UK the film metering hi s tor y is slightly different. Reference l evel practises tend

to come fr om the br oadcas t sector and the BBC i n particular was a gr eat setter of

standards. Here you are to fi nd BBC PPM met er s . Marked fr om 1 to 7, with the hi gher

numbers being 4dBs apart. PPM4 is usually 0dBu, PPM5, 0VU. The r efer ence l evel is

usually 0dBu, PPM4. The maxi mum (broadcas t) level is then PPM6, 8 dBs above

reference l evel . PPMs catch all the peaks so give a t r uer picture of the l evel . Tape fl ux

levels can be s et much higher. 0dBu=200nWb/m was the s tandar d agr eed on for

magnetic f ilm. These meter s are ver y convenient for mixing engi neer s – dialogue

peaks about 4 and mus i c about 5 is a s i mpl e maxi m.

When Dolby began their involvement with film s ound and noi s e r educti on in the 1970s,

they found a di fference of 0.75dB between USA and UK. This is accou nt e d for by the

difference between 185nWb/m and 200nWb/m. The s i mpl e r emedy for this would have

been to change the fl ux level alignment of the mag machines , but in some cas es the

electrical operating l evel was changed i ns tead, with potentially confusing r es ults .

In a U S A s t udi o, operating l evel and “Dol by level” are always the s ame. But in

Germany still today, a s i t uat i on exists where Dol by level is -4.75dB with respect to

operating level. T he r eas ons for this are pur el y historical and caus e enor mous

confusion. German broadcasting tr aditi onally used the DI N system wher e the r efer ence

level was the maxi mum broadcast level. This was set for +6dBu=320nWb/m on

magnetic f ilm and T ype 1 PPM meter s were us ed. To make a wor l dwi de film, the

reference tone has to be 185nWb/m, which then equals 85dBc i n the ci nema. It was

decided to keep the + 6dB= 320nWb/m s tandar d and then record tone at –4.75dB with

respect to r eference l evel , this equates to 185nWb/m. This was then called “Dol by

Level”. This all worked fi ne, but with the ons et of digital cinema s oundt r ack s , a bi z arre

-4.75dB=-20dBfs scenario was produced and the r eas ons why are bei ng l os t. To

counteract this, Dolby is now r ecommending that new s tudios follow the “Amer i can”

system of having the s ame Dol by level and r efer ence level . This makes sense as the

DIN maximum s ys tem has now largely disappear ed i n the film indus tr y.

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Sony SDDS Print Master User manual

Sony SDDS Print Master User manual

Sony SDDS Print Master User manual

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