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RS422 control of Sony HDV VTR.
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I’d say it’s more in terms of solving workflow issues. I sort of feel the same way. It’s not HD, It’s not SD. It’s sort of a nothing format. I think it is bridge to the next big thing.
David
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Thank you, Walter. I can control the deck without a problem if the capture setting is HDV and Device Control is HDV Firewire. But when the capture setting is Kona2 1080i 8 bit and the Device Control is Apple Firewire, Log & Capture cannot initialize the deck.
If I change Device Control to HDV Firewire or Sony HDV Firewire, an error message pops up telling me that if I’m capturing in something other than HDV, Device Control must not be set to HDV.
I’ve been through all the menu settings for the deck several times, and there’s nothing I can see to change. There are no physical switches to change. There’s a front panel light that is lit for either DV or HDV iLink, so I assume it’s auto-sensing based on the format loaded on the cassette in the tray.
I’m open for suggestions, and if it’s something obvious and easy, I’m willing to look stupid if it’ll help to get this resolved.
Brian Conner
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Just for the record, I have now used the Addenda RS-4/L to give RS422 control to the Sony HDV VTR (which uses LANC, not RS422). The Addenda plugs in between the AJA product and the Sony HDV VTR. There is no software to install – it just works.
Bob, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Let me flesh this out a little. After you plug it in, and enable the Kona2 serial port in System Preferences > Network (if you haven’t used that port and enabled it before this), you need to edit the Kona2 Device Control preset in FCP. Change it from Sony VTR A to LANC via Addenda RS-4/L. Then, make that a new Easy Setup.
Before I changed it to LANC via Addenda RS-4/L, I was consternated by the fact that, even though Log & Capture could control the HD-M10U for play and stop, it couldn’t properly read and update the timecode displayed in the TC box.
Now it works great.
Brian Conner
P. S. On this same system build, I’ve also been fighting: 1) a defective FO cable to the Huge 4210, 2) corrupted firmware for the ATTO FC-42XS, 3) a squirrely connector on the back of the K-Box (Aja shipped a replacement, and when I swapped the cable, it fixed it, so I shipped the replacement K-Box back with what I thought was the bad cable. Then, the next time I powered up, I got No Video on either HD-SDI input again. Quickly figured out the connector on the K-Box is B-A-D. Aja is shipping another replacement.)
P. P. S. Since I’m venting OT, I’ll also mention the aggravation of the G5’s PCI-X slot mounting screws and the retainers they’re supposed to screw into. They do not want to catch and actually tighten all the way. ARRRGGGGGG!
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I spoke too soon. After packing the system up, delivering it to the client, and setting it up, the HVR-M10U can not find the In point of any logged clip. It tries, then takes off helter-skelter to the head of the cassette, and Log & Capture displays “No Communication”.
I’ve tried three different HDV cassettes. I’ve swapped out the K-Box cabling for the Kona2 octopus cable. I’ve tried a new RS-4/L. I’ve substituted a Sony Z1 camcorder for the M10U. I’ve reseated the Kona2. I’ve replaced the K-Box and the K-Box cables.
The only things left to try are a new Kona2, and uninstalling the Kona2 driver.
I called Aja tech support, and Clarke suggested adding the Panasonic (reduced) deck polling plugin. I’ve Emailed that to the client, and they’ll try it on Monday. He said that FCP5 doubled the number of times that Final Cut polls the deck as it finds its way to the In point of a captured clip. The Panasonic plug takes that back to the FCP4 polling routine.
Is this a singular problem, or have others heard of such troubles?
Brian Conner
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[Brian Conner] “this a singular problem, or have others heard of such troubles?”
Brian
have you tried a different deck? you have been chasing this for awhile and I know at least a dozen people not having any problems at all.
email mail me your custom setups, let me take a look at them.
ga
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have you tried a different deck?
We tried a Z1 camcorder in place of the M10U. Using analog HDV component out of the deck or camcorder into the Aja HD-10A, and using the LANC out of the deck/camcorder into the RS-4/L.
I’ll be going onsite to the client’s location early next week, and I’ll get the setup to Email to you then. The client doesn’t have this G5 connected to the outside world, so I’ll burn to a CD-R and bring that to my place, and Email you from there.
But I can tell you that I took the “Kona2 uncompressed 1080i 8 bit” Easy Setup, then modified the Device Control to Kona2 RS422 using “LANC via the Addenda RS-4/L” adapter. IOW, I took the “Kona2 RS422 Sony A VCR” Device Control preset, duplicated it, then modified it to use the RS-4/L. Then I created an Easy Setup from that combination.
Brian Conner
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Gary,
I just now Emailed the two Custom Easy Setups to your dot mac account. I trust you haven’t changed it in the past year or two.
Thank you,
Brian
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The problem persists. The client has been too busy editing his first three shows to stop for any more troubleshooting. He’s using Capture Now, but at some point, he’ll need to Media Manage his sequences, so we need to find the cause for the problem.
Gary, have you had the time to try the Easy Setups I Emailed to you?
We’ve swapped out every single piece of the puzzle, except for the G5. And we’ve tried the Kona2 card in all three PCI-X slots.
Anybody have any other ideas?
Brian Conner
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Brian,
Our FCP user group here in Toronto was focused directly on solutions to all of these post production problems that HDV presents and the consensus of many people trying to use this format is to dub the media prior to capture or to transcode it and not attempt to recapture it at all.
So many peoblems with the MPEG-2 stream.
The tests I did in my HDV article were very controled and on short sequences, but people attempting to use this format without a lot of front end planning are running into serious problems, much like the ones you are facing.
The best thing to do is grab everythign with handles and re-sync the shots. for the deck control try to use the firewire deck control while outputting the video via the component outputs. You will take a big quality hit there as the component outs are not that great.
David
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David,
I might be misunderstanding you, but the situation with this client is different from what you describe, I think.
He is using an Aja HD10A to convert from component HDV to uncompressed 1080i during the initial capture. He is editing in uncompressed 1080i, and outputting uncompressed 1080i directly to an HDW-S2000 HDCAM deck.
He is capturing large chunks, editing them down, then outputting for a 30 minute program (22 minutes of program, IIRC). To save drive space, after a program is approved and the HDCAM is accepted at OLN, he needs to media manage, retaining the timeline clips with handles.
Everything works great except deck control. The Sony HDV deck (and the Sony HDV camcorder as well) are not controllable. The client can Play, Stop, FF, REV, and set Ins and Outs, but when he captures, the deck cannot find the In point, and after poodling around the In point for a short while, flies off in reverse searching for it. “No communication” pops up below the image in the Log & Capture window.
Gary asked me to Email him the Easy Setups from the client’s G5, including the custom Easy Setups I created for this configuration. I sent it to him, but I assume he’s been traveling or tied up in a big project, because I haven’t heard back from him.
The configuration:
Dual 2.7 G5
Kona2
HD10A converter
Huge Systems 4210 + ATTO FC42XS
Aja HDP converter + 23″ Apple Cinema Display
FCP 5.0.3
v10.4.2
QT 7.0.3
Sony HDV deck
Sony HDCAM deck
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