For those making the switch to Thunderbolt for your PCIe needs.

[Michael Garber]

I went almost all-in with Thunderbolt a year ago. Now I’m all T-bolt. I had purchased a Sonnet PCIe expansion chassis and had a Kona 3G card in it. All I can say is that it was loud, but worked fine. I sold it on eBay about 3 months ago.

I would recommend selling what you can and going Thunderbolt where you can. If you need fibre, then yeah, I guess you’re stuck with a PCIe enclosure for now. Just make sure the PCIe card is compatible with the enclosure. That’s one area that bit me when I first bought the chassis.

Also, I ended up going with an Ultrastudio Express – which I don’t really recommend other than for monitoring Resolve. It’s had its share of problems. If I had that to do again, I’d spend the money on an AJA Io XT or the upcoming 4K.

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company
Blog: GARBERSHOP
My Moviola Webinar on Cutting News in FCP X

[Jeremy Garchow]

Thanks, Michael.

[Michael Garber] “Also, I ended up going with an Ultrastudio Express – which I don’t really recommend other than for monitoring Resolve. It’s had its share of problems. If I had that to do again, I’d spend the money on an AJA Io XT or the upcoming 4K.”

This is exactly why I’d like to repurchase our video out devices.

This way, I can switch back and forth to the better tool for the job, and also use them elsewhere (not just on the studio computers).

Cheers,

Jeremy

[Dave Jenkins]

I’m going with the AJA T-Tap and the UltraStudio Mini Monitor, hopefully I can use both without conflicts. Then when we start with 4k I’ll take a look at the options. I’ll keep my AJA card in my current MacPro for capture. I’ve always loved AJA products but looking at moving to DaVinci Resolve for grading so….

Dajen Productions, Santa Barbara, CA
MacPro 3.2GHz Quad Core – AJA Kona LHe+
FCS 3 OS X 10.7.4
FCP X, Logic Pro, Squeeze, Filemaker 10.8.3

[David Roth weiss]

Hey Jeremy,

Consider calling me some time before you buy your new Mac Pro(s). Without wanting to sound negative, I’d really like to discuss a few of the potential technical limitations/roadblocks you might encounter with 4K/5K workflows moving forward that I’ve been reluctant to mention here. 861-2709 in the nine – four – nine area code is my direct line.

David

David Roth Weiss
ProMax Systems
Burbank
DRW@ProMax.com

Sales | Integration | Support

David is a Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Apple Final Cut Pro forum.

[Michael Garber]

I find that the Thunderbolt devices pretty much stay put. But that’s mainly because of cabling and the fact that I have only two computers now. But it is nice to be able to swap out quickly.

Also, I recommend picking up some USB 3 to eSATA adapters in addition to the LaCie eSATA to thunderbolt hub. They’re really cheap and come in handy if you need more than two esata drives connected at a time. You might even consider using those instead of the hub if you’re not using a lot of eSATA drives.

So far, I haven’t run out of space with the number and kinds of drives I have connected to my computer at a time. That said, I have come close!

Michael Garber
5th Wall – a post production company
Blog: GARBERSHOP
My Moviola Webinar on Cutting News in FCP X

[Steve Connor]

[David Roth Weiss] “Without wanting to sound negative, I’d really like to discuss a few of the potential technical limitations/roadblocks you might encounter with 4K/5K workflows moving forward that I’ve been reluctant to mention here”

I’m sure there are quite a few people here that would like to hear about these potential problems before they drop $$$$ on a new MacPro!

Steve Connor

There’s nothing we can’t argue about on the FCPX COW Forum

[David Roth weiss]

[Steve Connor] “I’m sure there are quite a few people here that would like to hear about these potential problems before they drop $$$$ on a new MacPro!”

Hi Steve,

Completely understandable, and a full discussion of the “potential limitations” (prefer not to call them potential problems) is in the works. That will come as soon we unify our company position.

However, so as not to keep you or anyone else completely in the dark, the single most important element of any discussion of the New Mac Pro and 4K/5K workflows is to look at the fine print on the Apple website, which essentially states that ALL of Apple’s testing of 4K workflows has been accomplished using ONLY ProRes 422 and ProRes 4444 files.

This fact has certainly escaped many people I speak with on a daily basis, but may or may not be a complete surprise to many here, especially as most here seem to be well aware that the new Mavericks OS lays the groundwork for transcoding of ALL files to just two choices in the future, i.e. Pro Res and h.264. And, while Pro Res and Pro Res 4444 may suffice for many if not most editors, it certainly does not suffice for ALL, especially those considered as “finishing editors,” who must be prepared to deliver whatever file formats their clients require.

There are several other potential 4K/5K limitations to discuss, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Okay?

David Roth Weiss
ProMax Systems
Burbank
DRW@ProMax.com

Sales | Integration | Support

David is a Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Apple Final Cut Pro forum.

[Steve Connor]

Will be interesting to see what you come up with. Apparently some people will be getting their new MacPros in the next week so we will start to get a better picture of how it works outside of Apple’s testing.

Steve Connor

There’s nothing we can’t argue about on the FCPX COW Forum

[Tim Wilson]

[Jeremy Garchow] “What are you doing with your PCIe cards?

Holiday ornaments, hung from the mantle right next to my NuBus cards.

The tree is also decorated with U-matic tape heads and the eight one MEG simms that I paid $5000 for in 1991. They’re family heirlooms man. “Grandma, what’s RAM, and why does Pop Pop cry whenever he looks at those little green sticks?”

The good news is that all this stays pretty shiny for a good long while.

[Bret Williams]

What kind of problems with express? I have one and it’s a rock. I flip between AE, legacy, premiere, X, resolve, ps and it’s all good. Love it.