[Alec Gitelman]

i believe if you look at the clip motion properties after you drop it in the timeline you’ll see that the distort value is not equal to 0. that’s what fcp will do, i guess it is smart enough.

however, you don’t have to jump through hoops to make your graphics. latest photoshop versions, 7 and up i believe, can work with non-square pixels. just choose the video preset for pal SD and you will get a 720×576 file that will be 4×3 on screen.

[Alec Gitelman]

i’m afraid that doesn’t solve my issue. mpeg streamclip does not join those files and doesn’t even import ac3, unless i’m missing something.

[Alec Gitelman]

to avoid confusion, i mean setting up a firewire array on one of our systems to run daily/weekly backups. i’ll have a hard time explaining to my bosses the need for extra investment in network drives.

[Alec Gitelman]

Thanks Chris,

this very much answers my question. as long as there is no considerable cost or performance benefit to a diy system i would prefer to go with a turnkey solution, considering very limited IT knowledge in our office. guys at Apace even offered to build us a custom 8Tb v2100 for a few $K more than the standard 6Tb. moreover, your answer is a good guide as to how we should approach the SAN installation.

one more question, what made you decide to go with lacie network drives rather than Apace eStor? also, what would be your advice on what to do with a few dozen external drives that we’ll have sitting around after the installation? can some of those be set up for backup or is it not possible?

Alec.

[Alec Gitelman]

Chris,

since you have done the research that I am currently trying to do maybe you could answer my questions.

We’re looking to install shared storage in our small production house – 2 dedicated FCP stations, maybe another one for freelancers coming in at crunchtime. Choosing between Tiger MetaLan and Apace vStor, a MetaLan installation would cost over $12K once you’re done (new computer, switch, software, raid). an entry level vStor is $9K and very little else needs to be done, minimal networking job. How is MetaLan more affordable, as everyone claims? What could be the advantage? I though it would also add another edit station/render node but apparently all it does is being a server.

I’m leaning towards Apace’s system, but I would like to understand the appeal of Tiger Technology solution.
Alec.

[Alec Gitelman]

abel cine are great, but check dctv for HVR-Z1U rentals.

[Alec Gitelman]

Thanks.

I’ve read the manual. Unfortunately It does not quite answer all my questions and concerns. Is there anything else I could read on this topic?

I understand I cannot update other projects. However, I’m doing cuts to someone else’s feature doc., so I’m naturally concerned. If I can change the content of nests inside a project, how is it different to the outside? Is all the edit information hidden within a timeline when nesting or is it accessing an outside timeline? And is nesting from the same project different from nesting from other projects?

[Alec Gitelman]

thanks. wanted to confirm before delivering.

[Alec Gitelman]

I have a first generation, almost 2-year old mbp. 2.16 intel core duo. Works fine.

[Alec Gitelman]

I’m not quite sure I follow what you’re suggesting. Nevertheless, this was a clip from the B-camera and luckily the second cameraman saved his files. What I learned is “not to touch the files with bare hands.” I hear Premier Pro handles the MP4’s without metadata, so I should install that for backup.

p.s. judging from the names of your programs – you have a fun job :).