DTS DTS-6D, Installation And Operation Manual

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1
I. INTRODUCTION
The DTS digital sound process for motion pictures is designed for the digital sound release of motion pictures in
6-track theaters. It is a dual system in that the digital audio data is recorded on CD-ROM discs. A special DTS
timecode is printed on the motion picture print along with a conventional stereo optical soundtrack. The
timecode is used by the DTS system to synchronize the sound and picture. The timecode lies between the
picture and optical sound track, and is printed onto the release print from the soundtrack negative. There is a
single inventory of prints.
The DTS-6D system provides left, center, right, split surrounds (or mono surround) and subwoof channels. The
system allows for play times up to 5 hours. They are completely automatic and fail-safe in operation requiring no
action by the projectionist. The systems automatically start and stop, and track film breaks and change-overs.
The digital audio data is sampled at 44.1K samples per second. APTX100 digital audio data compression (4 : 1)
is used. Transfer into the process can be made from conventionally mixed analog or digital sound masters.
How Does The DTS-6D System Work?
Using DTS timecode printed on the motion picture film, the DTS-6D system (with matching movie discs loaded)
reads the timecode and plays the correct sound for each frame of film projected. The projectionist inserts the
movie disc(s) into the DTS-6D and threads the film though the DTS timecode reader head. Once the film is
started, the DTS system checks a keyed serial number in the timecode and on the movie disc(s) to assure the
correct sound is being played with the movie being shown. Films released in the DTS digital sound format also
contain a traditional analog (optical) sound track (
SR
,
A-TYPE
, or
MONO
) which serves as a back-up sound
source. If a problem occurs in the DTS digital system, the DTS-6D switches out of digital and pulses the cinema
processor to the proper analog sound format. And at the end of the show, the DTS-6D switches the cinema
processor to the
NON-SYNC
format.