Dolby E mix on DVCAM, Which decks are supported?

[puffin]

I want to listen to my mix in a local theater that has a Dolby Digital processor with an external Dolby E input. Ideally, I will take the offline picture with my mix on DVCAM to have a listen in a much larger room (800cap).
I could take our HD deck or a DBeta but the DV Cam is so portable.
We have 3 different types of DVCAMs and I have yet to get an answer from Dolby.
If you have done this, let me know.
Thanks

[Eric L]

I may be wrong as it has been a few years since I did a Dolby E layback, but I think that the bitstream is 20bit so you need a deck that can do more than 16bit AES pairs as that is how the bitstream is recorded. So if the DVCAM deck has 24bit/48k AES inputs and you can set the dvcam to "cut" on insert edit instead of crossfade (or just don't do an insert edit) it should work. Or maybe the deck has to be set to 20 bit? I'm foggy on this.

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to either confirm this or correct this. Either way, I hope this helps get you in the right direction.

[Christian Dolan]

Puffin,

AFAIK, the DVCAM format is limited to either (2) 48k, 16 bit or (4) 32k, 12 bit tracks.

Hope this helps,
Christian

[georgia]

DOLBY-E is 20 bit. You need to do this on a D-5, D-2, Digibeta, HDcam, HDcam-SR deck...
( or any other digital deck that support 20-bit AES streams )


cheers
geo

[pneyrinck]

Dolby Digital can be recorded to DVCAM because it can be formatted to be carried over 16-bit AES/SPDIF/Optical.

Paul Neyrinck
www.neyrinck.com - SoundCode for Dolby Digital, SoundCode for DTS

[JKD99]

Hi Paul,
Can you elaborate on that, please? Dolby E at 16 bit?

Thanks!

[Andy Hay]

I think what Paul is saying is that you can encode an AC-3 signal at 16-bit, not a Dolby E stream (requires 20-bit).... I assume using the neyrinck plugin, and certainly through extrenal dolby hardware (rentable).

[pneyrinck]

Hi Joe,

Dolby Digital is the data compression technology used in DVD's and feature films in cinemas. It is also known as AC3. I am suggesting Dolby Digital as an alternative to Dolby E because it can be "transported" across a 16-bit PCM stereo connection unlike Dolby E which requires 20 bits. Now that I think about it, I don't know if a Dolby Cinema Processor can decode Dolby E so you might need to use Dolby Digital anyway. Do you know the exact model of the Dolby decoder at the cinema?

As for encoding Dolby Digital, I make the SoundCode for Dolby Digital plug-in suite which can do it. There are other alternatives as well.

Paul

[georgia]

For Cinema use you need AC-3 encoding. For broadcast you can use DOLBY-E or AC-3 depending on the delivery specs... DOLBY-E is a frame based encode that can be edited and it can be decoded and re-encoded without damage. AC-3 encoded files cannot be re-encoded after decoding. They are not editable either ( although I have been successful once in a while to do a punch in/punch out.. But I DO NOT recommend it, neither does DOLBY. ) Within the Broadcast world, DOLBY-E streams are utilized until you get to the final cable head, where the final signal is decoded and re-encoded as a final AC-3 stream for your cable box and Decoder system at home.
If you're going to use this for playback in a threatre you are best using a DVD not a DVCam Tape. Most threatres, and assureadly 99% of art houses DO NOT have DOLBY-E decoding capability, nor do they understand bit streams and decoding issues. The best thing to do is give 'em a DVD...

cheers
geo

[1150Post]

Hi everybody! Sorry i haven't been around much... been slammed!

For the record:

Dolby E 5.1+2 is 20 bit. Dolby E 5.1 only is 16 bit.

Meaning, if you take advantage of the ability to include your LtRt in the Dolby E stream, you'll need 20 bits. If you only need the 5.1, no LtRt, then 16 bit is fine. Of course, this must be reflected in the set up menus on the encoder.

20 bit Dolby is the format I've generally seen as being a network deliverable. in fact, I've never generated a 16 bit Dolby Dolby stream.

I can't comment on whether the DV deck is capable of inserting and maintaining the data integrity of the Dolby E data stream. I can tell you that Dolby E is fairly robust, and as long as the deck is doing no SRC, leveling, or other resampling, you can probably slam it on there if it is the correct bit rate and sample rate for the deck. Sometimes there are menus in the deck that need to be jangled with to turn off any options that cause resamnpling issues.

FWIW...