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FCP/Blackmagic Output Problem
I am using Final Cut Pro HD on a dual 2.5Ghz G5, with a Decklink Dual Link HD card. I am using a fully populated XServe RAID 2Tb array.
I am having a frustratingly intermittent problem with “Edit To Tape” when outputting SD timelines to a Digibeta DVW-A500.
The sequence outputs fine, but when playing the tape back, I discover that everything is ONE frame late.
If I adjust the Offset in the Preferences, then it becomes ONE frame early. Trashing my preferences seems to help (but not all the time).
I have a full machine room- and everything is running off of the same genlock/blackburst.
Note: This is all SD – not HD.
If anyone has any suggestions- they would be greatly appreciated.thanks.
josh.
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6 Replies
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I’m not in front of anything right now, so I apologize for not having all the info straight
First, some assumptions:
1. You are doing insert edits, not assemble.
2. By intermittent, you mean this error occurs when outputting to the SAME machine, and if you output a second or third time, then the problem goes away. NOT that the error occurs on different days going to different machines?
3. You are working within a pro environment.
4. You have an editable copy of your device control preset for the DVW A500.
4. You have determined that AFTER doing the edit, that the VITC and LTC match EXACTLY.
5. T/C mode is correct (ie, outputting a NDF sequence to a tape striped with NDF timecode)Some ideas:
In FCP:
1. Check that 422 control is set to VTC & LTC in your preset
2. Your offset is set to “0”
3. Obviously, “Sony 422” protocolOn digibeta:
1. Top control panel “TC Gen” switch set to “Regen”
2. Bottom control paned “TC Source” set to “Auto”
3. Menu item 5?? “VITC TC” set to “Regen”
4. Top control panel, “Output reference” set to “EXT”These setting work for us all the time. There may be other things I’m missing. Good luck.
Thom
We all owe our jobs to Philo T. Farnsworth .
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Great little checklist. Thanks.
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one thing I’d like to add:
We use to “blank & timecode” our digi-beta tapes with
capstan lock set to “8 FD” and when inserting set to “2 FD”.
I’ve been told by our technicans this ensures ultimate
accuracy when inserting to tape.hth,
henning -
You may also find that if you add Bars and Tone in the Edit to Tape mastering window your program will start 1 frame late. We set the offset correctly with no Mastering elements and then slates/bar-tone in the sequence.
Phil
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I had been having a very similar problem at my facility. We are a fully featured facility with 15 FCP stations with Decklink cards, a Symphony, a MC Adrenaline, & a MCX. I regularly and randomly had a + or -1 frame discrepancy in my layoffs from the Blackmagic machines. The Avids did not have any problems.
I thought it was a sync problem so I had an engineer do a facility wide test of our sync signals. He found a few bad cables and calibrated our D/As. The problem went away for almost a year.
Bryan Shelton
Curious Pictures -
Josh
Did you ever find a solution for this problem? I have a near identical set-up and I’m getting exactly the same problem with my Digibeta
Cheers
John Christie
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