Determining reel number by reading DTS timecode on 35mm film
In case you ever find yourself the lucky recipient of a used 35mm print with leaders that may or may not be on the correct reels and with no ID frames to verify which reel is which you would be well served to know how to read the DTS timecode. 99.99% of mainstream film has DTS timecode on it. Some smaller art/other films have it too.
The last four bits of the 20 bits between mark positions indicate the reel number. Look for a series of frames that the first bit toggles between 0 and 1 and use one of those frames. If you find a frame that has more than one bit difference it’s the title serial number.
A one is indicated by a transition (a small white dot before or after a slightly longer black spot) while a 0 is indicated by no transition (a long white OR black spot). A sync mark is indicated by the combination of a really long white and black spot.
2 comments June 8th, 2007
