Audio Distorted – Kona 3

[Walter Biscardi]

[lumiere] “Any reason why one out of 3 times, the audio coming out of the Kona 3 SDI (via BOB) to HDCAM deck would be distorted (static sound)?

My solution so far has been to restart the transfer (edit to tape) but it tends to creep up sometimes in the middle of a show… Network has already failed a few masters for “distorted audio”.”

Where is the volume set on your Mac? It should not be set to full volume, but about 4 clicks from full volume. This is considered “unity.”

That’s the first thing I would check in addition to ensuring you’re running the latest Kona drivers for your version of FCP.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

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[Frederic Lumiere]

[walter biscardi] “Where is the volume set on your Mac? It should not be set to full volume, but about 4 clicks from full volume. This is considered “unity.””

I don’t use the Kona audio for my Mac’s audio output.

I only use the Kona audio in FCP.

-20db tone is perfect on the deck.

Frederic

[Walter Biscardi]

[lumiere] “I don’t use the Kona audio for my Mac’s audio output.

I only use the Kona audio in FCP.

-20db tone is perfect on the deck.”

The volume control on your Mac also controls the volume of the audio playback through your Kona card. The volume on your Mac should remain at four clicks from full. I have seen instances of full volume on a Mac causing some distortion on audio playback. that’s why I asked. All of our machines are set to “unity.”

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Broadcast and independent productions.

All Things Apple Podcast! https://cowcast.creativecow.net/all_things_apple/index.html

Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi

[Frederic Lumiere]

[walter biscardi] “The volume control on your Mac also controls the volume of the audio playback through your Kona card. The volume on your Mac should remain at four clicks from full. I have seen instances of full volume on a Mac causing some distortion on audio playback. that’s why I asked. All of our machines are set to “unity.””

My understanding is that this is only the case if you set your Mac’s System Pref/Sound Output settings to use Kona to output audio which I don’t do. For the very reason you mention (being vulnerable to your Mac audio output level).

Anyway, I don’t think audio level is the cause of the issue here since:

1/ When the scratching goes away, no levels have been modified (just traying again)

2/ The deck shows a perfect -20db level on the tone

[Steve Covello]

Frederic –

As you’ve probably surmised by now, the two variables are connected despite it seeming like they wouldn’t be.

Digital decks have a funny way of being able to work ALMOST correctly under less than ideal situations because of their ability to conceal/correct. So an incorrect reference signal arrangement will actually cause audio distortions, sometimes minute enough to make you think it’s something wrong with something else.

Unless there is A) something fundamentally bad about the source audio itself; B) a bad mix in the FCP timeline; C) something wrong with the AJA card or Mac, you can pretty much count on the problem being bad reference setup.

steve covello

[Daryl Burney]

I also have had an ongoing problem with reference between AJA kona and a HDW2000.

I took your advise Bob and am trialing the Gen10…… It doesn’t help. The HDCAM deck has no complaints with the trilevel ref. Deck to deck dubs, not a prob. ProTools to HDCAM deck not a prob. FCP to deck… a big problem. THe result is green artifacts and severe channel condition.
It seems the only way to master to HDCAM from FCP with the Kona card is as stated previously in this thread…..

HDW2000 set to reference on video input and FCP to freerun with no HDW2000 return video (this causes a loopback)

KONA it seems to me your card is not HDCAM ready. This method is but a work around. It is an embarrassment to master like this in front of clients. Not to mention tragically unreliable. Audio is often crackly/distorted sounding (also mentioned previously in this thread). Getting proper sync between the Kona card and FCP is just a matter of luck.

I have sung Kona’s praises in the past and comverted many from the competition but am now left wondering…

Where is the fix? ….

Daryl

[Gary Adcock]

[daryl burney] “KONA it seems to me your card is not HDCAM ready”

Daryl
first off you are Hijacking a thread without changing the title.
I am not seeing these issues and I coming in and out of HDCam decks on a near daily basis. I regularly and recording from JH3 players and SRW series decks without any of the issues you describe.

Each and every time I hear about the REF issue on the 2000 deck I have 2 questions-

has the deck been updated via Sony Service?
are you sure about the settings?

It is only the oldest MDW2000’s that exhibit this issue, and it is a harware issue in the deck from everything that I have been told.

Taking the Deck out of E E mode fixes it for most people. (that eliminates the pass thru issue for most)

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows
Inside look at the IoHD

[Daryl Burney]

Sorry about the Hijacking!

I will call Sony tomorrow to enquire further about this issue. It is an early model.
Hopefully this will resolve it for me.

thx for your advice
regards
Daryl

[Frederic Lumiere]

The AJA Gen 10 properly set to 1080i ref solved the issue for me.

Frederic

Frederic Lumiere
Producer
Lumiere Media

[Daryl Burney]

Although I am in the PAL/50i world I have been having the same distorted scratchy (even though levels are correct) audio on layback to my HDW2000.

As with you, rebooting will usually make it go away.

Even though everything is locking and you can master to tape it IS a reference problem.

This is how I solved it..

Of course trilevel sync eg “Gen10” is a must.

Then set Kona to reference.

The trick is with the menu settings on the HDW2000.
Set to the following:

F2: REF
Menu 309: Auto2
Menu 334: Normal

If you have a look at the manual you will notice that these settings will keep the deck stable using the REF input at all times but will switch to INPUT when you actually start editing to tape ie locking to the incoming video. No loopback occurs using the above settings.

If you have an early HDW like mine you may also need Sony to do a firmware upgrade. The firmware upgrade will stabilise the reference/loopback that can occur when you are sitting in “edit to tape” mode (just before actual mastering).

Hope this helps. This is working for me after many months of distorted audio frustration.

regards
Daryl Burney
post supervisor
editlounge pte ltd
Singapore