anyone using Huge Systems FC Raids?

[Creeker]

I have one. At first it was slow to be recognized by the system. My friend also bought one and complained of the same thing. Then, I had a crash which resulted in my having to send the drive back to the Huge Corp. They replaced the controllers, (I think)with a newer version and now the system works must snappier. I’m still reserving an overall judgement, but the company did respond quickly to help get me up and running again. And they saved my data!
Cheers,
Creeker

[Jeremy Garchow]

I have a 4105. It’s been though the ringer (I travel a lot with my 4105) and has held up really well. I run it RAID 3 and I have one drive fail, but a replacement came overnight and I installed it the next day all while I continued editing. The rebuild process happened in the background and I coudn’t get over that I was editing on it while it was happening. This is why I decided to go with Huge, fast drives, fast connection, and a small form factor. The 4105 has really bought me peace of mind. What format are you working with DV, SD, HD? That should help you determine which model to buy. I work in everything except 1080i and it chomps through everything I throw at it. If you are working in 1080i I would suggest the 4210. The 4105 claims to handle it, but your drives will fill up fast and will start to drop frames when it’s 50% full. You’ll need the bigger space and faster throughout of the 4210 if you’re working in 1080i.

Hope this helps.

Jeremy

[Bob Flood]

thanx to both of you for your replys!

we have a mix of SD and HDV sources, SD through a kona LH and HDV off of a sony MV10 or whatever via firewire. (could do HD through the kona, but only have the HDV gear for HD….wish i had a varicam!)

I have heard that its better to transcode/convert the HDV to either DVCPROhd or Apple Intermediate prior to editing, which is good for the cpu but takes up more drive space. In this case i guess we go with the latter, the 4210.

thanx again!

[Jeremy Garchow]

[bob flood] “I have heard that its better to transcode/convert the HDV to either DVCProHD or Apple Intermediate prior to editing, which is good for the cpu but takes up more drive space.”

What you have heard is correct about transcoding your footage, get out of HDV and edit in DVCProHD. If you are planning on buying a Kona LH, then you have the correct hardware to digitize HDV analog in right to the DVCProHD codec. When you digitize your HDV to DVCProHD, it won’t take up that much disk space. DVCProHD at 1080i is only something like 15 MB/sec. The 4105 (in my experience) runs between 170-210 MB/sec, and the 4210 is said to clock over 400MB/Sec. Both systems have plenty of overhead of 1080i DVCProHD. It’s uncompressed HD you need to watch out for and becomes the data hog on the 4105. If you can afford the 4210 and don’t need the portability of the 4105, I’d say go for the 4210. If you are looking to save a few bucks and are really planning on working in the DVCProHD codec, than the 4105 will suit your needs.

Good luck, and most importantly have a great time.

Jeremy

[Bob Flood]

thanx!

ya know, if ya cant have fun…whats the point?

so i grab the compnent out on the hdvc deck, and bring it through my kona lh as 1080i, but waht about vtr control? can i still use firewire just to drive the deck? isnt there a latency issue between firewire and a card?

do i need an interface between rs422 on FCP and lanc or firewire on the hdv deck?

or do i just say the heck with the tc, and grab all the hdv stuff “wild” ie without tc?

thanx again?

Bob Flood
Greer & Associates, Inc.

[Jeremy Garchow]

Thanks for catching that. I’m not sure if you can use the firewire control, but my gut says you can. I have done this with DVCPRo HD material from a 1200a. Used the HD-SDI outs and used firewire for control instead of RS-422. You can also get an addenda box (I forget the model #, we used to use one on a DSR-11 to a media 100 back in the day) It’s like the RS-4L or something like that. it’s made by Addenda and called the Rosetta Stone. That will convert your lanc into RS-422. I’m sure your mileage will vary on how well that works. I’d try sending component video/audio to the LH and then use firewire for control. I’d try my best to not bring in the footage without timecode. It’s risky in case of failure. It would be easy do redigitze timecoded clips, but clips with no timecode would take forever. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Jeremy