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DSR45 and RS422 edit to tape troubles
O.K, I have a real brain buster.
I know I am doing something wrong, but I really can’t figure out what it is!I have a MacPro, Quad core,
FCS 2,
Blackmagic HD Extreme,
My project is ex-DVCAM, which I upped to Apple ProRes for the grade and GFX.Here is my plan of attack now that the edit is finished:
This morning was time to do a roll out to DVCAM to go to the audio suite; with an OMF.
Once the audio is mixed I will get a 4 track AIF back from audio post, (stereo & M/E).
Then I will Rent a Digital Beta Deck and Roll out the masters.
Deliver to Network (and pray that I read the FCP scope right!).But back to this morning!
It was the DVCAM output that stumped me.
I plugged my DSR-45P into the MacPro (Firewire for video, and remote via RS422 off the Black Magic).
I tried to do an ‘edit to tape’, but it tells me my sequence is the wrong format (or similar dialogue).
So I did the best thing and opened the manual.
Q1. As I understand it in the manual, one can only do an ‘edit to tape’ to Firewire DVCAM, if the sequence is DVCAM; am I correct in this?
Q2. Does that mean I need to render a new sequence in DVCAM if I want to output to DVCAM via Firewire?I didn’t want to take all morning rendering to DVCAM
(it took long enough to come up to ProRes!).
So I thought, why not go analogue?I will use the HD extreme to go component video and analogue audio to the DSR-45P (who cares, it’s for the audio guys and they just want to see some pix as reference).
So I hooked it all up, unplugged the Firewire cable.
Changed my easy setup to ‘Blackmagic Apple Pro-res’.But when I opened up the ‘Edit to Tape’ window, it won’t let me assemble or insert the sequence.
To be very specific; when I drag the sequence to the ‘Edit to tape’ window it does not light up any insert/Assemble/preview option.
I tried to make a new sequence (it takes the settings from the easy set up), put some FCP created bars and tone in.
Drag it to the “Edit to tape’ window. Does not go either.It would seem that the Final Cut Pro won’t allow me to assemble to the DSR-45P when I control it with the Blackmagic Serial RS422 connector.
I checked the deck settings, the little annoying switch on the back that goes RS232, or RS422.
But I can control the deck with RS422 to capture, and the ‘edit to Tape’ window tells me the deck is ‘OK’.So I am able to control the deck, deck CONTROL is not the issue.
For some reason it just won’t let me Assemble, Insert, or Preview.After lots of trials and troubles plugging and unplugging I discovered that I can Assemble to the DSR-45P via the blackmagic (Component video), if I use the FIREWIRE PAL as control.
So video and audio is analogue, control is firewire?!Q.3 Do I have to activate the ability to ‘assemble’ via the RS422 on Blackmagic?
(as one needs to in Avid) [oh dear I said the A word!]
Q.4 What is the optimal RS422 settings for the DSR-45P, and later the DVW-A500?
Q.5 Can FCP output analogue (with a Card installed) to a DSR-45P with RS-422?
(really what I am asking is if this is a DSR-45 problem with Assemble via RS422).
Q.6 Will it all work out fine when I get the digital Beta deck and connect it SDI in and out, and remote via RS422?
(a difficult question, so I guess I am asking if anyone else has a Blackmagic and outputs to Digital Beta via SDI?)
Any help would be really appreciated.
Sorry this is long, but I really wanted to be clear that I have done this many times in Avid in the past, and I thought I knew enough about editing and decks to trouble shoot this thing.
But I am really missing something here!
Or is my Blackmagic card not working?Thanks in advance!
FC
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5 Replies
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The only thing that strikes me is your comment “drag the sequence to the edit to tape window.” Does that usually work? I’ve never tried that. So maybe this helps, maybe it doesn’t, but I’ve always assumed the correct method of editing to tape was to place the sequence in the viewer window, mark your ins and outs in the viewer and the tape, and then edit to tape.
The error message you’re getting is the one people usually get when they don’t understand this and they have the sequence open, and try to edit to tape what’s in the viewer, which is actually a slug and is obviously the wrong format.
But dragging it to the edit to tape window seems like it should work just like dragging a clip to the canvas window should work.
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>The only thing that strikes me is your comment
>”drag the sequence to the edit to tape window.”
>Does that usually work? I’ve never tried that.
It works when I use Firewire control, so I assume this is not the problem?>The error message you’re getting is the one people usually get when they don’t understand
>this and they have the sequence open, and try to edit to tape what’s in the viewer, which is
>actually a slug and is obviously the wrong format.
Again I don’t think this is it as I followed the manual in how to ‘edit to tape’, and it works for me via firewire.My problem is getting it to work with RS422.
I really want frame accurate recording to tape.I did find an interesting post in the Apple forums talking about too many audio outputs for Beta SP decks.
Which led me to this post:
https://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/detail.asp?techID=180So I followed the instructions, and then I suddenly could Assemble, and insert to my DSR-45P.
But after it cued the deck, it paused for a while, then said that the deck could not set the correct mode.
Hmmm, odd! -
I Have a DSR 45 also. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t do edit to tape. It surprised me also, to find out that it really has limited usefulness as a mastering deck. When I do master to it, I just use print to tape and maually hit record on the deck – no timecode sync. If you read the manual, I think you’ll see that I’m correct.
Bob -
>I’m pretty sure it doesn’t do edit to tape.
Do you mean that FCP has no functionality to ‘edit to tape’ on a DSR-45?
That is not a limitation of the DSR-45; I have been able to frame accurate edit to it from Avid systems.
And it certainly can ‘edit to tape’ via Firewire (on FCP), but not always frame accurate; although again I have been able to successfully always have a frame accurate edit from an Avid.I read the manual and it definitely can’t do an insert or ‘assemble’ edit.
But in other NLE systems I am able to do a “crash Record”, which is actually a controlled record with the deck set to Regen TC; and it has worked for me often.It certainly is not a DSR-1800, or 2000, but it has been a perfectly fine Sub-master recorder for me in the past.
I think that possibly FCP has no ability to edit to tape in any other way except Assemble/insert/or totally blind crash record.
I found a document from Avid explaining how to set up frame accurate editing to a DSR-45:
https://www.avid.com/products/DVDeviceQual.pdf
Does Apple release deck setting recommendations?Out of interest has anyone been able to successfully do a frame accurate recording to a DSR45?
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I believe that this is a limitation of the deck. I don’t have experience using it with an Avid, but I did use it for years with my Media 100, and not being able to insert or assemble means that it simply isn’t frame accurate, with the rs422 or firewire. I’d be delighted to find out that I’m wrong about that.
Bob
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