Installation manual

DTS-6 Installation Manual Section 1: Introduction
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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-6 system provides left, center, right, split surrounds (or mono surround) and subwoof
channels. The systems allow for play times up to 3 1/3 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-6 Work?
Using DTS timecode printed on the motion picture film, the DTS-6 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-6 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 (either “SR” or “A” type) which serves as a back-up sound source.