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How many films have the SMPTE timecode on them?

How far back did they start putting it on?

What does it do?

etc. etc. etc.?

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"Would you like fries with that?"

Posted Late- Near Midnight

BUMP

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"Would you like fries with that?"

SMPTE Time code is used to sync the DTS player to the film.

DTS time code is on all North American Releases in the DTS format, including all ARTISAN, DREAMWORKS, FOX, MGM, NEW LINE, PARAMOUNT, SONY, UNIVERSAL, and WARNER BROS. releases.

The first use of DTS was for Jurassic Park in 1993. Steven Spielberg used his considerable power to get DTS installed in 876 theatres for the first showing.

For those theatres some were DTS-6 as you know it now and most were DTS-S, which had a 2-track stereo track on the disc and played through you cinema processor. Most of those DTS-S were retrofitted to DTS-6 later.

So any film in DTS has the SMPTE timecode on it?

Here's why I want to know!

I was looking at Sensory Theatre Systems trying to discover more on the CSS Sensory Seats now being used in french FAMOUS PLAYERS theatres.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica">quote:</font><HR>STS Control is an easy-to-use production software developed for programming your Sensory Theater Systems. Using a simple Windows NT graphic interface, STS Control has all of the familiar features of Windows combined with our own pull-down menu of commands to make programming an effects show so easy anyone can do it.

Once you have finished programming the show, operational commands are saved to an operating file that is used to run the show, but keeps unauthorized personnel from tampering with your programming.

STS Control tracks SMPTE time code to maintain frame-accurate synchronization of all effects cues.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The seats can:

• Air Blast
  
• Water Spritzer
  
• Scent System
  
• Seat Transducer
  
• Seat Back Audio FX
  
• Seat Cushion Poker
  
• Seat Cushion Ripple
  
• Seat Back Air Bladder
  
• Leg Tickler
  
• Neck Tickler
  
• Seat Back & Cushion Buzzers
  
• Seat Cushion Drop
  
• Motion Base

But you need an SMPTE timecode, so is the what they're talking about? Is this the samething?

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"Would you like fries with that?"

Yes, it is the exact same thing. So since more than half the films released have the DTS/SMPTE track on the film, it is an easy way to sync the effects to the film. Reading the track is very easy and cheap. There are also proposals to sync up descriptive narration tracks for the blind and subtitles for the deaf, to the SMPTE track.

You could sync anyting you want to a SMPT track like lasers, fog effects, strobe lights. You could sync a MIDI controler to it in order to play a piano or an organ. You could probably run a theatre automation off of it.

But before your head goes spinning off in to the clouds, most people go to the movies for the story.

Sorry but DTS and SMPTE timecode are similar but very different animals.
SMPTE basically is a location in feet min and frames. It does not have any information as to reel number film title etc.

JSK makes a unit that will generate SMPTE from a shaftencoder (quadrature tach) that is mounted on the projector. The Time Code generator will have to be reset for each show.

DTS has available a DTS to SMPTE converter box

DTS players can be programmed internaly to acept SMPTe instead of DTS timecode

Gordon is correct, the DTS timecode is proprietary, and different than SMPTE timecode:
http://www.dtsonline.com/cinema/index.html

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: 585-477-5325 Cell: 585-781-4036 Fax: 585-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

I was mystaken. I stand corrected.