Edirol R4 Pro Timecode

[David C jones]

Hi Mike,

There are a couple of differences between the R4 Pro and the 744T:

The R4 has RCA outputs, the 744T uses XLR’s. And the R4 Pro does not offer the 23.976 frame-rate. Depending on you’re project, these differences may not matter.

Best,

Dave J

[Jordan Wolf]

Can you rent one for a non-important shoot and give it a test run? That’s my preference – always try the gear in situ so that you know how it will function when put into the situation you have in mind.

Wolf
<><

[Michael Martin]

Thank you for your feedback. I do see that on the website it lists these frame rates:

23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 29.97D, 30, 30D

https://www.rolandsystemsgroup.com/en/products/edirol-by-roland/field-recording-mainmenu-390/r-4-pro

Maybe an update added 23.976?

-Michael Martin
Martin Media Designs
Location Sound/Audio Post Production/Sound Design

[David C jones]

You’re right. This appears to be a different (or updated) unit than the one I looked at.

Dave J

[Chuck Pullen]

Hey Michael, just saw your post about the R-4 Pro. I upgraded to the pro from the R-4 last year specifically for the missing drop frame TC option. While it has worked flawlessly for me, I will tell you that when I use the R4 to generate timecode and send it to my cameras, all of the cameras sync to the same timecode, yet the TC embedded on the .BWF(s) from the R-4 Pro is always off! Why would a device record TC that doesn’t match the TC it generates? Couldn’t tell you, Edirol couldn’t tell me. It’s not off by much, just enough that I always need to adjust the audio files when I’m editing.

Chuck

[Daniel Frome]

Hey Chuck – hate to bring up an old thread — but I was thinking about getting the R4-Pro, and the issue you mention about BWF timecode being off from the TC sent to other devices is alarming.

Were you ever able to troubleshoot this?

[Michael Martin]

Daniel,
I used one for over 2 years and found it very reliable although a little on the cheap side compared to a 744 or 788. Invest in NP1 batteries, you can get 15 hours on 1 charge. I only had 1 complaint about timecode which I figured out was a miscommunication between the AC and myself. If you want to be very accurate use a lockit box on the R4-Pro and one the camera that way you know that you’re using absolutely perfect clocks on both devices. I did this whenever I worked with a camera that could jam timecode, especially red since they lose timecode when power gets disconnected.

-Michael Martin
Martin Media Company LLC
Location Sound/Audio Post Production/Sound Design

[Daniel Frome]

Thanks for the response Michael. If I may ask another scenario:

What if the R4pro was sending LTC timecode into a a DSLR, like a 5D? The LTC audio track should line up perfectly with the BWF files, correct? That kind of what I’m trying to achieve for my personal projects.

[Bouke Vahl]

It ‘should’ work, but you need to test.
In my experience i’ve seen offsets between BWF and TC out if the ‘preroll’ function (record a bit before hitting the record button) was used.

If the offset is always the same, it’s easy to compensate.
Also, be aware you need an Avid to decode the LTC, or shop with me (fcpAUXtc reader. Don’t let the name fool you, it works with any NLE that supports QT.)

hth,

Bouke

https://www.videotoolshed.com/
smart tools for video pros

[Daniel Frome]

Thanks for this great advice about the preroll function.

Yes, I’m an Avid editor as my day job, so this is exactly why I’ve been bent on using the LTC function.