problem creating DCP on Mac Mini (2018), Mojave

[carl]

Has anything at all changed about your system between your previous tests (DCP-o-matic crashing whenever you create a DCP longer than 2 minutes) to these tests (DCP-o-matic never crashing on DCP creation)?

The question is: are cinema servers able to read HFS+? I always used extFS, because I´ve heard, all servers could read this.

As far as I know, almost zero cinema servers can read HFS+

[Carsten]

It may be a problem with the paragon software. If I reread the whole thread, I think it's Paragon related...

Unfortunately, only some servers will read HFS+. Doremis are among them, but I still wouldn't recommend it. No one uses HFS+ for DCP distribution.

The only supported options by all servers are ext2/3 and NTFS.

Are you sure you use the latest version of Paragon extFS?

I am not surprised that writing and/or playing through Paragon extFS is wonky. There have been quite a few reports about extFS causing issues.
In this case, neither a failed verify, nor a failed playback necessarily indicates a bad DCP - it may just be a problem with extFS reading the DCP.

However - in your initial reports you say that writing AND reading to/from your internal APFS drive does not work - and that would be a serious issue.
Check creating a longer DCP on your internal APFS drive. Then play and verify from there using player 2.14.11.

If you don't mind the few € - get Tuxera NTFS - it is very fast, and offers another way for you to distribute DCPs. I know and usually endorse ext2/3 as the only official format - but unfortunately, the available drivers for OS X are not very solid. So, for a 'local' distribution, NTFS is totally viable.



- Carsten

[pontorosso]

No, nothing changed in the system, which is strange. It looks more like instability. The only stabile thing is, that DCPs couldn´t be played from an extFS formatted external drive.

[pontorosso]

Carsten, my Paragon program is the last version. NTFS: you are talking about "local Distribution" - I have organizers also in Australia, Japan and other far away countries. I don´t know whether they would be able to read NTFS formatted drives.
Yes, I will create a long DCP on internal drive and verify on the DCPomatic player.

[pontorosso]

Carl and Carsten, I found out something which could be important to solve the problem: I played a DCP from an external extFS drive which was in INTEROP Standard and not in SMPTE - and it works on the dcpomatic player. All other SMPTE created DCPs played from an external extFS showed the error 101 and could not be loaded.
Of course, INTEROP is not the solution, but perhaps you have an idea for a solution, when INTEROP works and SMPTE not. Thanks for your Patience!

(Another Information: I created a 62 minutes DCP on internal APFS drive and it works on dcpomatic player, verify is OK. When copied to an external extFS drive, it cannot be played as always.)

Out of interest for me the fundamental question is: if a DCP is working on the dcpomatic player, is it automatically also working on a cinema server? Of course, the solution must be in finding the problem with the extFS drives or Paragon perhaps.

[carl]

I guess we'll have to put aside the mystery of why DCP creation was previously crashing.

The Interop/SMPTE distinction is very surprising. Can you reproduce that with other tests? Do you always see interop working and SMPTE succeeding?

Let's go from your baseline that a long DCP creation on internal APFS works fine.

How comfortable are you with the command line ("Terminal")?

[pontorosso]

I right now also found another INTEROP file on the same extFS external drive - and I am very sorry - this one is also not working and also shows error 101... Really sorry, but this experience tells me, that INTEROP is not the way to a solution

And to make the confusion perfect: I also found now a short DCP file (40 sec) with SMPTE from the same extFS external drive WHICH WORKS!
Could it be the lenghth of a movie...?

another DCP with INTEROP is now ready for testing: an 18 minutes DCP with INTEROP and this one IS PLAYABLE! The same was not playable in SMPTE.

Terminal: sorry, I am not comfortable with that.

[carl]

Would a remote assistance session be possible? So I can look at what's going on with your Mac directly?

[pontorosso]

Remote assistance: I think I have nothing installed for that at the moment. What do I need?

[carl]

Apparently you can do it through the apple messages app...