SMART MOD IIC User Manual

Copyright 1995 by SMART Devices Inc.

5945 Peachtree Corners East

Norcross, GA 30071-1337

Table of Contents

SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................2

SECTION 2 FEATURES.......................................................................2

SECTION 3 CARD DESCRIPTION......................................................3

SECTION 4 INSTALLATION.................................................................8

-

WIRING HOOKUP INSTRUCTIONS.................................8

SECTION 5 CALIBRATION..................................................................10

- A CHAIN CALIBRATION.................................................10

- B CHAIN CALIBRATION.................................................12

SECTION 6 OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS.........................................14

SECTION 7 SCHEMATICS ..................................................................15

SMART products are designed to deliver unsurpassed quality in workmanship and perfor­mance. The following information gives detailed instructions on the installation and opera­tion of the SMART MODIIC processor. We strongly encourage new owners of the MODIIC
to thoroughly read this entire manual before placing their new SMART product into service.
This will ensure that the MODIIC will be operated properly to give the superior performance
that it was designed to deliver.

For service or installation assistance, please call our
Technical Support Department between the hours of

8 a.m-5 p.m. E.S.T., Mon.-Fri.

1-800-45-SMART

LIMITED WARRANTY: SMART products and accessories are warranted against malfunction or failure due to defects in workmanship or
materials for a period of one year from the date of shipment. If a problem occurs during the warranty period, the unit will be repaired, or
replaced at our option, without charge for materials or labor. If air freight is requested by the dealer, the difference between air and surface
charges will be billed to the dealer. This limited warranty does not cover products that have been abused, altered, modified, or operated in
other than specified conditions. Prior factory approval is required on all returns. Returned equipment or defective parts must be shipped
freight prepaid to us by the dealer or customer.

Our limited warranty does not cover damages resulting from accident, misuse or abuse, lack of responsible care, or failures not attributable to
manufacturing defects, except as provided herein. SMART Devices, Inc. makes no warranties, express or implied, including warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

RETURN POLICY: Factory authorization MUST be obtained before returning any product. A 15% restocking charge will be issued on unused
equipment (in original box) that is returned for credit. Credit is issued to the dealers account. The credit may be used against future purchases
and no cash transactions are offered. All returns must be shipped freight prepaid by the dealer. Equipment returned without a factory RA
(Return Authorization) will be refused.

Installation and Service Manual

MODIIC Digital/Optical Cinema Processor

SECTION 1:

INTRODUCTION

The MODIIC Cinema Stereo Processor is a full six
channel system featuring the latest technology in opti­cal stereo soundtrack reproduction. This advanced
processor comes standard with many features, yet is
easy to operate.

The MODIIC has the ability to play spectral recording
encoded soundtracks with the built-in SR emulation
noise reduction. Digital soundtracks may be processed
in six channel mode which includes split surrounds
and subwoofer.

Mono soundtracks may be enhanced by using the
optional 3-D sound module which may be factory
installed or easily added in the future. The 3-D sound
module, a design conceived and patented by SRS
Labs, produces a realistic stereo effect from monaural
soundtracks. SMART Devices, Inc. is the only cinema
manufacturer licensed to use this amazing 3-D process
in its cinema processors.

SECTION 2:

FEATURES

FADER CONTROL:

To begin, the MODIIC has one STEREO MASTER
FADER that controls the overall playback level for all
six channels. This master fader is used as the volume
control for all formats except music mode. The master
music level control is located behind the front panel
on the Format Card.

FORMAT SWITCHING:

The formats available on the MODIIC are Mono, 3-D
Mono, Stereo A, Film SR, Digital and Music. All for­mats may be manually controlled by green pushbut­tons on the front panel Format Card. The pushbuttons
are lighted with internal LED’s to indicate which for­mat is selected. The indicator LED’s can be seen from
a distance so it is not necessary to be near the proces­sor to verify the status. Format switching is also possi­ble by connecting an automation or remote switch
contacts to the FORMAT SELECT terminals on the
back of the MODIIC.

Intelligent design, superb sound quality and the many
features push the MODIIC processor into a class all its
own.

To achieve optimum results from your new MODIIC
cinema processor, the theatre engineer installing the
system should be totally familiar with all features and
adjustments. Careful attention to detail and familiarity
with the installation instructions will allow you to
offer a system that has a sound quality second to none.

SOLAR CELL INPUTS:

The MODIIC has stereo solar cell inputs with electron­ic changeover for two projectors. Each pair of stereo
cell inputs is a quasi-balanced circuit which helps to
reduce any interference pickup on the solar cell leads.

DIGITAL INPUTS:

The MODIIC is fully compatible with popular digital
formats (i.e. DTS, Dolby Digital, etc.). The MODIIC
will easily process the stage, split surround and sub-

2

INSTALLATION & OPERATION

woofer channels from an external digital decoder.

MUSIC INPUTS:

The MODIIC is designed to process both stereo and mono music sources from tape, CD or cartridge players. The
music processing circuitry contains a simple matrix which derives four channels of sound from a stereo music
source.

SURROUND CHANNEL TIME DELAY:

The MODIIC has a digital time delay circuit for the surround channel while playing optical stereo prints. Time
delay of the surround channel in optical stereo mode is necessary for two reasons: 1) to mask any front to sur­round crosstalk and, 2) to synchronize the stage and surround channels to eliminate echo caused by different
sound path lengths from the stage and surround speakers.

MAIN OUTPUTS:

The MODIIC has six output channels: LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT, LEFT SURROUND, RIGHT SURROUND AND
SUB(woofer). The SUB outputs are balanced with SUB+ and SUB- terminals available. This allows a standard
dual channel amplifier to be used in mono bridged mode to feed a subwoofer speaker.

MAIN POWER SUPPLY:

A heavy duty fully-regulated power supply is furnished with the MODIIC processor. This bipolar supply is
heavily filtered and supplies ample current for both the positive and negative 20 VDC supplies. This external
power supply minimizes the chances of hum pickup when high gain electronic circuits are placed in the same
chassis as a power supply. Also, the large power capacity of the supply provides a very “stiff” voltage to all cards
in the MODIIC to prevent power sag (momentary drop of the supply output due to heavy loads). This gives
excellent transient response and superior stability.

EMERGENCY SOUND BACKUP POWER SUPPLY:

A backup power supply is included with the MODIIC to power the backup preamp built into the MODIIC. This
will ensure that you will never lose a show when using the MODIIC processor. The backup supply is located
within the main power supply package and delivers about 15 VDC at 100 mA. The backup capability is a stan­dard feature on the MODIIC and is not an extra cost option as it is on other systems.

MODULAR CIRCUITRY:

The MODIIC system is housed in a card cage rack mount assembly. All circuitry in the MODIIC is on individual
plug-in cards that allows for easy servicing and future expansion of the system. Each card has its own voltage
regulators that stabilize the circuits locally as well as filter unwanted signals that may be present on the main
power buses.

SECTION 3:

CARD DESCRIPTION

Test points are included on some cards for the sound engineer to access vital circuit points with his scope or
meter. These terminals will accept a meter probe or “alligator” clip. Power must be turned off to the MODIIC
before any attempt is made to remove or install a card. If not, then damage to individual circuit cards may result.

FORMAT CARD:

SRS5x390
Audio format selection, both manual and through automation, is controlled by the Format Card. The different
format changes available are MONO, 3-D MONO, STEREO A (Dolby type A encoded prints), FILM SR (Dolby
type SR encoded prints), DIGITAL and MUSIC. A format is active when the corresponding button is illuminated.
The 3-D Mono feature is active when the 3-D Mono button is lit.

3

MODIIC STEREO PROCES-

Electrical power to the other cards in the system is dis­tributed through this card. The Format Card is where
the STEREO MASTER FADER, MUSIC LEVEL control
and REMOTE/LOCAL volume control switches are
located. The NORMAL/BACKUP switch is also locat­ed on this card. Flipping this switch to BACKUP gives
an emergency mono center channel. The backup audio
level is set by a multi-turn pot on the Mono/Backup
Card.

Jumper H3

Jumper H2

3-D button on the Format Card. By toggling the 3-D feature on and off, you can hear the dif­ference the 3-D process makes. If the 3-D feature is activated, the button will remain lit all the
time, but the 3-D “action” is only used in Mono mode and only if the optional 3-D Mono card
has been installed. Without the optional 3-D Mono card, the 3-D button has no effect in Mono
mode. In Stereo, Digital and Music modes, the 3-D “action” is not part of the signal process­ing.

DUAL PROJECTOR PREAMP CARD:

MOD4x300

There are two jumpers on the
Format Card that select different
defaults. Jumper H3 is used to
select default optical selection for
digital movies (see DEFAULT
OPTICAL SELECTION in the
WIRING HOOKUP INSTRUC­TIONS section). Jumper H2 is used to select whether or not the 3-D feature
is on or off for Mono mode when the processor is powered on (see dia­gram). Units are shipped to power up with the 3-D function active. Either
way, the 3-D feature can be activated or disabled by simply pushing the

There are two stereo solar cell preamplifiers in the
MODIIC. Each preamplifier channel is equipped with
slit-loss correction. The Stereo-optical preamplifiers
on this card increase the incoming level from the
stereo solar cells. Electronic changeover circuitry
between stereo pairs is built on the card to allow use
in dual projector booths. If the MODIIC is installed in
a single projector booth, leave the second projector
inputs unconnected.

The Dual Projector Preamp Card has two solar cell
preamplifier gain controls (marked L1 G, etc.) and two
slit-loss correction controls (marked L1 HF, etc.) for
each projector. There is sufficient gain built into the
preamps for narrow slit optical sound lenses when the
exciter lamp is run at 80% of its rated value. The card

is silk screened to make it easier to see the location of each preamplifier gain and slit-loss correction control pot.

4

INSTALLATION & OPERATION

MONO/BACKUP CARD:

MOD2x305
The MONO/BACKUP card provides the necessary
frequency response shaping and level shifting to pro­vide a quality mono signal from mono prints. In addi­tion, a special open ended noise reduction circuit
called Dynamic Noise Reduction is used to eliminate
much of the “hiss” and film scratch noise often pre­sent on film.

The MONO/BACKUP card contains the necessary cir­cuitry for the emergency backup system in the event
of loss of sound within the MODIIC processor. The
multi-turn pot on this card is for setting the emer­gency backup level.

3-D MONO/BACKUP CARD:

SRS5x305
This optional card can be ordered to replace the above Mono/Backup card. The 3-D feature, a design patented by
SRS Labs, will generate a very realistic two channel Left-Right stereo sound from any mono print. The MODIIC
can be figured to power up with the 3-D feature active for Mono prints (see Format Card description), or it can be
activated by simply pushing the 3-D Mono button on the Format card. The 3-D Mono feature is only used in
Mono mode. Both the Mono and 3-D Mono lights will be lit when this feature is active.

The 3-D Mono/Backup card also contains the circuitry for the emergency backup system.

METER CARD:

MOD2x335

The two LED arrays on this card are used to monitor
the levels of various points in the cir­cuitry. These are used during cali­bration for setting preamp levels and
also during normal operation for
monitoring other levels. DIP switch­es on the card select what will be
monitored. There are five DIP
switches. The top two switches (#5 & #4) control the
top LED array. The bottom three DIP switches (#3 ­#1) control the bottom LED array. A DIP switch to the
right means that it is on, and the corresponding LED
array will indicate the selected channel or output.
Only two DIP switches should be on at one time, one
for the top LED array and one for the bottom LED
array. All other DIP switches should be set to off (to
the left).

Note: In order to make the overall appearance of the MODIIC look symmetrical as viewed from the front, the
LED’s on the Meter Card were moved to the solder side. Because of this, the Meter Card will have to be removed
anytime it is necessary to remove the left Noise Reduction Card. If not, then the LED’s on the Meter Card will
block the Noise Reduction Card from being removed.

5