More Frustrations with XDCam EX Format

[Ron Pestes]

I have to agree that the work flow is a problem. If we could just have XDCAM Transfer for Windows it would solve a big problem for me. Browser does not let you set in and out points. All you can do is copy the entire contents of the card over. Thats crazy. I have read the entire manual and it never says how to review certain clips, set in and out points and “add to que”.

Also, media that works is not cheap. I have had several errors on SD cards and so has my partner with his EX-1. SXS seems to be the only reliable card and they ARE expensive.

It would seem that Sony could come out with a one step process to get .mov files into both Apple and Windows computers.

Ian are you listening?

ronpesteshdvideo.com
Apple Certified Master Pro FCS 2
Sony EX-3
MacBook Pro
Dell M6600
New convert to Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium

[Bob Cole]

[Ron Pestes] “Also, media that works is not cheap. I have had several errors on SD cards and so has my partner with his EX-1. SXS seems to be the only reliable card and they ARE expensive. “

Roger that. I’ve never had a problem with SxS cards, while I have had one problem with an SD card. Many people do fine with SD cards, but it only takes one blown shoot to more than pay for a set of SxS cards.

[Brent Dunn]

I don’t use clip browser. Since Final Cut now can do a log and transfer, I don’t have a need for it.

I make a folder with a title, the drag the BPAV folder into it. I don’t have a SxS card reader, so when I need to grab files off of my SxS card, I need to plug in the camera and copy it over. I use an SD card reader for my SD card adapter.

Once I have all my BPAV files transferred, I then back them up on my external drive, do a quick review to make sure the clips are there, and then delete my old clips from my cards to prep for the next shoot.

It’s nice to have an assistant, but they have to be trained and dependable.

Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.net

Sony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut Studio

HP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite

[Craig Seeman]

[Brent Dunn] “I make a folder with a title, the drag the BPAV folder into it.”

If you’ve been following this and other threads on this forum, you’d know this is fundamentally the wrong thing to do. A single bad copy can cost a professional a fortune. ClipBrowser with CRC or ShotPut and the equivalent is a must for any professional. Sorry but what you suggest is flatly the wrong thing to suggest for any professional.

[W. Lawrence stevens]

The Plot Thickens:

I checked back to compare the bytes from the SD Card to one of my in-field transfers done by an assistant. It turns out there was a bad file copy and I did not catch it when I was doing my double check. The number of bytes were the same but oddly, files and folders were different. I was able to save this MP4 by purchasing some software (mentioned above) which allows the Mac to play MP4 files natively. Fine. Now here’s the problem.

I’m looking at the latest location shooting where I have 12 A Cam SD cards shot with our PMW-350 and 12 B Cam SD cards shot with the Ex-1R. All the transfers were perfect. Byte for byte, file for file, folder for folder. They show the exact same file structure, size, etc. Guess what?

All the A Cam transfers are readible in Transfer and Browser and Clip Browser. But NONE of the B Cam tranfers are working. This is frustrating becase both A and B Cam files were uploaded in the exact same fashion and under the same conditions. I have done this hudreds of times previously without a problem. Nothing has changed in my workflow.

Any thoughts? Another mystery to solve.

(I’m sorry, I can’t use Shotput in the field… I need to use Windows 7 folder copy and make it work reliably somehow.)

PMW-350
EX1-R
Nikon D3
(wlstevens.com)

[Craig Seeman]

[W. Lawrence Stevens] “But NONE of the B Cam tranfers are working. This is frustrating becase both A and B Cam files were uploaded in the exact same fashion and under the same conditions. “

If you didn’t use ClipBrowser with CRC it makes no difference. You’re driving without a seatbelt and car accidents can be fatal.

[Bob Cole]

An odd experience with ShotPut Pro, and I wonder whether anyone else has had a similar one. Yesterday, I tried several times to transfer an SxS card, using ShotPut Pro. It kept getting stuck at the point where it said 5 minutes remained. I used Sony’s Clip Browser ver. 2.6 to do the transfer, one hard drive at a time. Then I tried ShotPut Pro again – and it froze at the 5 minute mark – but I went out to dinner, and when I came back, it was finished. So all is well, sort of.

Should I be concerned? The one thing I didn’t think to try was a restart of the MacBook Pro.

Bob C

[Andy Mees]

[W. Lawrence Stevens] “(I’m sorry, I can’t use Shotput in the field… I need to use Windows 7 folder copy and make it work reliably somehow.)”

Sorry, just not seeing why you can’t use XDCAM Browser, it’s just putting a GUI on the copy function, works just fine on Windows, and offers a CRC check option after copy … why so dead set on using a dodgy folder copy instead?

[Michael Palmer]

I received this notice from ShoPut Pro.
CRITICAL ShotPut ProTM Update — v4.1.2 for Macintosh

Yesterday we discovered and fixed a serious problem specific to ShotPut Pro v4.1.1 for Macintosh. Users that have recently purchased or updated to v4.1.1 are advised to immediately update to v4.1.2 to avoid potential data loss.

We found that in certain instances, without warning, the software was not copying all selected files. Unfortunately, this problem was not detected during our normal tests prior to release.

Please update your copy of the software immediately to v4.1.2 to correct this potential problem.

To update, click “Check for Updates” within the application menu. Or log into your account at https://www.imagineproducts.com. Click My Serial Numbers at the top of the page, and click the download link next to your v4 serial number (ending with “D1112”).

We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused, and are very grateful to those who alerted us in a timely manner to it. Please know we’ve also taken steps to detect such problems in the future releases.

Again, this problem is specific to v4.1.1 only. Prior versions of ShotPut Pro for Macintosh are not affected. ShotPut Pro for Windows is not affected.

Good Luck
Michael Palmer

[Wolf Austad]

There’s no way of copying reliably with either Windows folder copy or Mac Finder copy.

If you have a problem with copy speeds, switch to UHS-1 SD-HC cards (Panasonic, Sandisk and Delkin make them). If you have a decent USB 2 bus you’ll download at half the time you used to, if you have USB 3 and appropriate reader you’ll get around 70MBytes/s real life download speed, maybe more depending on system, etc. You might have to get some new SD to SxS adapters to use the new UHS-1 speed class SD cards. Or, if price is really no object, just get some 64GB SxS cards… 😉 They ARE more reliable for copy. And much faster!

In my experience 90% of copy errors, when using SD or CF cards, originate in the card reader (mostly overheating). So, if you are using Shot Put Pro don’t use ‘File Size Comparison’, use ‘MD5 checksum’ or ‘Byte Size Comparison’. There are card readers that are solid enough to be able to use ‘File Size Comparison’ verification method and be reasonably safe. F.ex. SxS or P2 in Panasonic USB Reader. SD or CF readers that you buy for $50 are not that safe. In my experience, that is…

Hope that helps.

Aasulv Wolf Austad, fnf
Director of Photography
Los Angeles based